Reply #68: You ARE referring to the Philadelphia PD, I take it?

[Euromutt]

Because it's pretty obvious this is pure vindictiveness on the department's part. They took a major black eye with the mishandling of the Fiorino stop, and now they want to in effect carry out reprisals in an attempt to shore up their self-image. Threatening--yes, threatening--to prone OCers out unnecessarily is reminiscent of the TSA's methods of handling people who have the temerity to try to opt out of full-body scans. As Deirdre Walker, former Asst. Police Chief of Montgomery County, MD wrote on the Homeland Security Watch blog,

I am also forced to conclude that the purpose of the “pat-down” was not to actually interdict contraband. In my case, I believe I was subjected to a haphazard response in order to effectively punish me for refusing secondary screening and to encourage a different decision in the future.

What the Philadelphia PD is threatening to do is no different: it's disproportionate punitive action for inconveniencing them. That's the real gangster behavior here.