As I left the gym this morning at around 7:40, I noticed a white LB police radio car stopped at the foot of the left-hand turning lane on eastbound Park Avenue, between Edwards and Riverside Blvds. (where you make the turn for Waldbaums). The cop was seated at the wheel, chatting with two women (girls?) through his drivers' side window. Then a black SUV police car pulled up alongside in the left traffic lane and put on his rotary lights - presumably to divert traffic.
I took all this in as I got into my car and drove home. Around the corner, I realized I had left my glasses at the gym, so I doubled back, parking in the center mall on Park Ave. The two police cars and the two women were still there, doing what for all the world appeared to be socializing (when's the last time you leaned into a radio car window to chat it up during an official police action?).
Returning to my car, I drove away, made a left and stopped at the southbound light on Edwards, where I observed rush hour traffic mounting. I noticed that the black police SUV was not marked on the rear and that cars heading east did not realize that it was a police vehicle (even though the roof lights were on and turning, in broad daylight it was not easily noticeable from a distance). This was obvious from all the honking, lane switching and confusion as traffic came up unexpectedly on the stopped SUV in the left lane, and before my light turned green, I heard the inevitable crash.
I didn't stick around to see what happened, and hopefully my ears were playing tricks on me. But it left me with this question: what in the world were two police officers in two separate police vehicles doing socializing with two pedestrians in the middle of a busy street? At rush hour no less.
It was certainly an accident waiting to happen, and unfortunately, they didn't have to wait too long before it did (I think).
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