Bangor Police said they had a “pleasant” interaction with a man bearing a “Cops suck” tattoo, and even posed for a nicely ironic smiling photo together.

The Bangor Police added to its ever-growing list of enjoyable Facebook tales with a story of a man named “Russell” with some unfortunate ink.

Officers noticed the tattoo when they asked Russell to move along from his location, and they took an empathetic approach.

“Maybe the ink came at a time when Russell was having a problem with authority. We understand. We have all had a problem with authority at one time or another,” Bangor Police wrote. “Could we change the way Russell feels about law enforcement if we treat him with kindness and respect?”


The officers and Russell had a nice interaction, and Russell agreed to move along, according to police.

“Russell was not arrested or charged with violations,” police said. “We like it that way.”

They even posed for a photo to document the moment, with a Bangor officer flashing a toothy grin and a thumbs up.

“Maybe I am putting too much thought into this. I see this photo as a lesson,” police wrote in the Facebook post. “If this situation had been handled differently, it might have led to the handcuffing of our friend, Russell.”

“That would have been too bad,” police continued. “Today we should all try a little conversational kindness. Avoid taking it ‘up a notch.’ It most often works quite well.”