Posted on 02/28/2003 12:25:11 PM PST by Husker24
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has ticketed a man who had helped motorists get their cars unstuck during a recent snowstorm.
According to a report on KOTV-TV, Doug Jones was just trying to assist his neighbors get out of a ditch using his four-wheel drive vehicle, but ended up with a $117 ticket.
Jones says a friend called him Sunday asking for help pulling his son's car out of a ditch. Pulling onto highway 169, Jones found the car and pulled it to safety.
"There was a trooper who pulled up behind us about 150-200 feet and turned his lights on," Jones told KOTV. "He never got out, never said anything, so, after we got him out, we unhooked and I left."
Seeing a woman stuck further down the road, Jones stopped to help her, too. He then saw a couple stuck and stopped to help them. It was at that point, according to the report, that a trooper approached Jones and informed him that he had been warned about being in the road and that he now was being ticketed for improperly parking.
A report in the Oklahoman newspaper quotes Jones as saying the officer "came up and started to throw an uncontrollable fit."
Said Jones, "I was sitting there thinking that I'm just out here trying to help and getting chastised for it. This is the way I was brought up, to try to help your neighbor and that's what I teach my kids, but I don't know what do to."
Jones says he was not warned by the first officer but that if he had been, he would have taken the warning to heed.
According to KOTV, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol appreciates Good Samaritans helping out, but says safety must come first.
Trooper Mike Harrell told the station that a motorist must be ticketed "if it starts causing problems with vehicles trying to avoid them and running off the road. We appreciate their help, but there's a time and place for you to try to help."
Jones says he didn't like getting the ticket, but what was worse was having to drive off, leaving the couple still stuck in the snow. The Highway Patrol points out that keeping people out of the road is for the safety of the Good Samaritans, too, and that tow trucks have lights and safety equipment to make the process safer.
KOTV reports that the original story about Jones' ticket generated livid e-mail and phone calls from viewers. The station says people have offered to sign petitions, protest and even pay the ticket for Jones.
Jones, who says he will fight the ticket in court, says he's most upset about the way he was treated by the trooper.
"I would probably do it again," he said. "I'm not for bucking against law enforcement, cause they have a job to do, but, if I saw someone in need, I would help."
$$$ (Check who runs the towing company)
I think it's called 'kickbacks' from the wrecker companies. That's how it works down here. The cops call certain 'favorite' wrecker services when in need. Sounds like the good samaritan was digging into this officer's pocket.
I think it's called 'kickbacks' from the wrecker companies. That's how it works down here. The cops call certain 'favorite' wrecker services when in need. Sounds like the good samaritan was digging into this officer's pocket.
Safety, my kiester!!! Leaving motorists stuck in the ditch is supposed to be "safe," I suppose?
Not at all. As others have already pointed out, the patrol and police make money off of the tow companies. Anything that interferes with their payola warrants a ticket, frivolous or not. The judges are a part of it too. Just watch whether this guys ticket stands or not.
It was a money making ticket trap that involved a newly placed sign outside a Home Depot store.
After I was nailed (Another driver was being ticketed at the same time by another officer) , I discovered that hundreds (perhaps thousands by the time I got to court) of tickets were issued based on that one sign.
I did some research and discovered that the sign didn't meet "State specifications." Going to the city engineer, I discovered that they'd run out of "official" signs so they made one up themselves; and he wasn't going to do anything about it -- telling me to let him know if I won in court.
Refusing to accept a plea bargain (50% off the fine) in a court where the bailiff said no-one had ever won, I won!
The officer continually evaded answering the question: "Does that sign meet the standard and specifications published by the State?" And that officer finally answered the repeated question with: "It meets the standards and specifications of the city."
With that, I produced an appellate court decision that basically said that the city has the right to place signs, but no right to place non-standard signs.
The judge was livid, I was chewed out, I was found "not-guilty" and ...
I went back in that courtroom ten minutes later to get my documents back from the judge.
But only partial Justice was done! I never thought to force that judge to rescind those other tickets. I should have gone to the local newspaper.
This case in Oklahoma demands justice, too.
Answer to your question: Political Correctness
These "officers" are loyal only to their bureaucratic bosses; to Zee Party! Achtung!
They are not going to respond to principle, nor to the rule of law.
They are bureaucratic functionaries with badges and guns; that is, they are loyal socialist Democrat Party members who do not know the Constitution, but are subject to autocratic judge-made law --- the judges preferred, being Democrats, as far as they are all concerned.
Read Is Paris Burning?!. The Paris Police were divided; some fought for the NAZI's and some fought for the Free French as the city fell apart from the Germans' grip in 1944.
A little secret among the men and women in blue, is the civil war going on therein, as more and more left-wingers infiltrate the ranks in an attempt to alienate the whole from the rule of law and our Constitution.
The exact same thing which the NAZI's did throughout the 1930's; they piecemeal replaced retiring German police officers with near-mindless functionaries loyal to The Party.
The "code of silence" among the men and women police officers in this country, will not endure such a struggle; sooner or later, we're going to hear a lot more about the widening division within the ranks.
I'm sorry to say, that The Party has the advantage because, to make itself appear to be strong on crime, it has spent quite a lot of the taxpayers' money on "new equipment," ostensibly for the protection of LEO's. But really, to buy their loyalty.
The difference between the factions, is that the men and women loyal to the Constitution, will adhere to the duly elected civilian leadership, while the members of The Party, adhere to their union bosses, but especially their union bosses in uniform.
Really, the problem is almost exactly like the trouble, the civil war brewing within the teachers' union.
Teachers who would remain faithful to the rule of law and our Constitution, are having a heck of a time "putting up with" The Party, in order to maintain their jobs and at least some connection with our kids, so that the kids to not succumb to The Party.
Don't believe me, but you will eventually discover, these divides are as great, if not greater, than what we see of the public's.
LOL.......good way to put it! (for some HP officers)
So true. They'll call some towing hack 50 miles away because he charges $50.00 more... that's the cops share.
Doug Jones, 33, of Owasso said he's had several phone calls from people criticizing troopers for ticketing him and offering to pay the $117 fine Jones faces for pulling vehicles from snowdrifts with his four-wheel-drive vehicle.
"The response has been overwhelming," Jones said.
Others also telephoned or wrote to news offices with their opinions of troopers' actions or offers to pay the ticket.
Jones said he appreciates the support and offers, but "I don't want to see anybody pay the ticket. I'd like to see the ticket revoked."
He plans to call patrol offices to see if he can convince officials to rescind the ticket. If that fails, he said, he plans to have his day in court and "see what the judge has to say."
Jones noted his ticket scheduled a court date March 23, which is a Sunday.
Ken Duckworth, owner of a wrecker service one mile from where Jones had helped people Sunday after they slid into the median of U.S. 169 in north Tulsa, is among those who have offered to pay the fine.
"It could be your mother in that ditch. It could be anyone's mother in that ditch, and for someone to stop by and lend a helping hand, we're saying, 'Atta boy,'" Duckworth said.
Patrol officials said they appreciate anyone's efforts to help stranded motorists but Jones was ticketed for creating a hazard. They said troopers warned him twice to move before being ticketed. Jones said trooper cars with emergency lights flashing pulled up 200 feet behind his vehicle on the shoulder of the road but never got out or talked with him before approaching him to write a ticket.
Several people suggested troopers ticketed Jones because troopers have some association with wrecker services. A Highway Patrol spokesman said the only connection troopers have with wrecker services is putting them on a list to be called when a wrecker is needed.
"We have what we call a daily rotation," Lt. Brandon Kopepasah said. "That way it's fair for everybody."
Duckworth said someone from his wrecker service told Jones if he brings his ticket by the service "we would be happy to pay his ticket."
Like all wrecker services, Duckworth said, his profits from pulling vehicles out of snowdrifts, even if all wreckers are backed up with one to three hours of work on such days. He said "that's not the point. Our company is standing behind the idea that he did stop to lend a hand. That was the right thing to do."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.