Various news services ran a story yesterday reporting that a leprechaun was spotted conducting traffic enforcement along the roadways of Orange County, Florida. The leprechaun was actually OCSO Deputy Sheriff Richard Lockman dressed in a leprechaun costume and using a laser to detect speeders. He had a sign by him that read "Watch your speed or it will cost you your pot of gold."
Officials report the traffic enforcement operation was very successful.
We applaud the innovative use of the leprechaun costume around St. Patrick's Day to catch speeders. Police agencies are always trying different strategies to observe and cite those drivers who simply refuse to obey posted speed limit signs.
One argument that is often made against these types of enforcement operations is that they are somehow unfair because the officer is in a decoy mode of dress. We are interested in your thoughts about this point. What do you think about the police using decoys when attempting to catch speeders? Is it fair, in your opinion, to use decoys?
And as for Lakeland as we approach Easter, we have no plans at this time to have an officer wear an six-foot bunny costume and stand along the roadway to clock speeders. So if you do see a giant bunny at the side of the road, pull over immediately and call for a ride because you have obviously had too much to drink!
I say dress as a 6' speed limit sign. Who can complain about that?
Posted by: Chuck | March 17, 2007 at 09:33 PM