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Comment by LegitShady | Hacker News Reader

It's super simple. Get the police to investigate - go to the nearby business owners and ask them if they placed them or know who did, and remind them that lying to the police is a crime much worse than placing the blocks.

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You don't even have to do that. It takes your city council 15 minutes to pass a nuisance abatement ordinance that says that if there are blocks in front of your business, it's your job to get rid of them, just like it would be your job to clean graffitti off of your building even if you weren't the one who'd painted it.

They can as easily fine a business for not removing the blocks as for placing them, and it's not like there's a question about where the blocks actually are.

It's more a matter of how far you're willing to go.

Why can’t you give me the power to tow the RV?

The block has flowers painted on it, it’s pretty. Why can’t I park a block on the public street?

If RVs are allowed to park for unlimited time, can I just rent semitrucks to park in front of my business for unlimited time?

It’s a good idea until you find out how expensive it is to rent a semi’s time.

There are literally businesses that get paid to store unused trailers.

Thats because they’re valuable and will be destroyed if left unguarded, so you’ll be on the hook for the semi time and the value of the trailer.

If the blocks are on the street not sure such a law would be legal - the city is 100% responsible for the street, and placing the burden on business owners without some kind of evidence they did it probably wouldn’t be legal.

Do they have the resources to spend all that effort on what is basically littering? I also don't see that strategy working unless there's some sort of loophole that cancels out the 5th amendment. If cops try to pull that shit it's much easier to just have a blanket policy of not talking to them.

You have the right to remain silent but the police can investigate you deeper if you dont answer questions. Also - placing concrete blocks on the road is not littering - its creating a potentially dangerous situation for drivers in the area.

Is a concrete block any more dangerous than an RV that's up on blocks because the tires have been flat for weeks?

Yes, they’re harder to see and don’t ‘give’ the way a car or RV will.

It seems unlikely that small business owners and homeowners actually rented serious trucks to move these into place themselves (or made them on the spot) , I would expect with a little asking around you could find someone enterprising who picks up chunks of concrete (aka 'urbanite') and tosses them into molds with additional concrete and delivers them for a price.

If someone specifically placed these blocks, they also know the right they have to remain silent and not self incriminate.

Seattle PD doesn't even have enough resources to respond to all 911 calls right now, so it would be very hard to justify spending additional resources tracking down who place eco blocks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoist_with_his_own_petard

If only they didn't reduce the funding to their police department which is now in the middle of a recruitment crisis...

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