If the officer had time to stand there writing a ticket, then he had time to knock on the door and explain why leaving this car unattended could be problematic because of recent thefts.
He would have gained tremendous respect for being on the job, and the PR for the department would have spread by whisper campaign all over town.
What a lost opportunity!
Gotta agree with you on this. An educational 'warning' would have been a good resolution. (Assuming the guy is telling the truth and hasn't already been made aware of the law, as he claims...)
On the other hand, had he checked to see if the car was locked, and walked back to his ride and gone on with the day, we wouldn’t be having the discussion. Too bad it didn’t work out that way. If he found it unlocked, another teachable moment presented itself in going to the door, to explain that it should be locked when running or the ordinance would apply. That part was not mentioned in the article and we don’t have the ordinance to read.
It's all about the FINE!
Liberal governments need lots of money to "protect" the sheeple.
If there is a legal requirement in this jurisdiction for citizens to retreat and try to escape BEFORE engaging in any self defense, THEN YES, the officer should have been legally obligated to approach the house and try to determine what was really going on before issuing a citation. There could have been legitimate reasons (or even an emergency situation the police officer might have helped to resolve?) the man left the car unattended and the officer didt even attempt to gather any further information.
Legal robbery by the state. Nothing more.
Exiting the door tomorrow with a shotgum when the cop is 4 or 5 steps up your driveway asking him what the hell he is doing on your private property might be entertaining.