Myrtle Beach Police Department

I HAVED LIVED IN MYRTLE BEACH FOR SEVERAL YEARS,FOUR YEARS AGO I CALLED THE POLICE CAUSE I HAD A PITBULL ALMOST BITE ME.THERE RESPOND WAS,YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A VIDEO OF IT.WOW I WAS SHOCKED...NOW I AM HAVING ISSUES WITH DOGS RUNNING LOSE.I CALLED MYRTLE BEACH POLICE AND NOTHING..MY HUSKY IS ALWAYS ON A LEASH OR IN MY FENCE YARD,SHE ISNOT ALLOWED TO RUN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND *** IN PEOPLES YARD OR SCARE THEM...THE POLICE SAY WE HAVE ANIMAL CONTROL,WELL WERE ARE THEY., ITS SAD THIS IS OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT,THEY DONT CARE,AND DONT KNOW THE LAWS.BUT YOU BETTER NOT SPEED OR BREAK ANY LAWS...BUT THE POLICE BREAK THE LAWS EVERYDAY I SEE THEM ON CELL PHONES,NO TURN SIGNAL WOW...WE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BEABLE TO TURN THEM IN..NO HELP FROM OUR POLICE...HORRY AND SURFSIDE BEACH WOULD BE RIGHT OUT..I ALWAYS SAID MYRTLE BEACH IS MENTAL BEACH AND IT SUCKS...

My husband and I were arrested Friday night as we walked back to our room from a bar. We were not loud or disorderly. We knew when we left our room earlier that we would have drinks (it was a vacation) so we did the responsible thing, we walked instead of taking the car. We were walking quietly, peacefully, and happily. I may have bobbed and weaved due to too many jagerbombs, my husband may have bobbed and weaved due to a partially paralyzed foot. Unfortunately we walked by a paddy wagon as they were loading other people in. Officer Friendly came jogging up behind us and asked where we were headed. My husband, thinking the kind officer was about to offer us a ride, told him we were headed to our hotel. To this, the officer replied, "Nope. You're arrested for public intoxication!" They plucked us up along with the rest, and then continued the hunt until the wagon was full. The cops were bragging and laughing about how many arrests they had made that night.

I won't even speak of the humiliation of holding tanks, crazy cellmates, disgusting blankets, no water for 12 hours, required public urination, handcuffs, ankle shackles, or going to court without brushing my teeth.

The cab driver that picked us up from jail the next day said that he hears this all the time, and that MB is no longer safe for tourists, not because of crime, but because of the crooked cops. He said that he was curious enough to go to court one Saturday just to observe and that he was amazed by the flimsy charges people were brought up on.

One of the men was charged with possession of an illegal weapon (2"³ pocket knife). Another was arrested as he was crossing the street to a cab he had called. Another was arrested during the day as he and his wife and children were sightseeing. Another group was arrested as they waited for their DD to bring the car around. Another was charged with trespassing for smoking on the property of a restaurant he had just eaten at.

I am a 49 year old woman with a clean record; even my driving record is clean. I've been to MB at least once a year since 1974. Many of those times were during bike week. MB has always been one of my favorite places. That being said, my husband and I had a ritual burning of all things displaying the Myrtle Beach logo when we got home from JAIL and we will NEVER cross into those city limits again. If you drink at all in MB, STAY IN YOUR ROOM or risk going to jail. Arrests in Myrtle Beach are not about protecting the public; it's about the numbers; the $$$. I do regret that it is the hotel and restaurant owners who are suffering due to their government's choices. I also realize that they are the ones with the power to elect new officials.

I was disappointed to find that when I typed "Myrtle Beach sucks" into google, the results were restricted to biker sites. (no offense, okay? I consider myself a biker without a bike) But I want the boycott to include Spring Breakers and Conventioners and Shriners and Church Groups and Families and Anyone Else with that destination in mind. Please help get the word out there, to the Biker Community, and Beyond!!!