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What a surprise.
Waldo has been speed trap all my life, all locals know this.
"Where's Waldo?"
Waldo...flea market, tattoo shop, gun shop, cops, and whores.
Wow, someone after thirty years has discovered Northeast Florida’s biggest open secret. Before you clowns go back to sleep, Lawtey and Stark operate the same way.
Fire the chief.Prosecute if laws broken.
Reduce the police by one position ,that is elevate the best officer to chief.
Evaluate the need for police and number of officers.
Institute cost controls like rescheduling remaining officers so no overtime,no SWAT training ,etc.
Audit each officer’s ticket to check if tickets were valid.
The goal is to keep from punishing officers who spoke up about bad policing.
People complain about speed tickets yet I see the majority of drivers exceeding the limits everywhere I drive .And I see many crashes with fatalities because of excess speed.
Not one word on as to whether or not they were ARRESTED for Conspiracy to commit GRAND LARCENY, or Conspiracy to Deprive Citizens of their Rights under “color of law”? Or Grand Theft, not to mention using a Firearm during the commission of a FELONY, All 5 and their superiors belong in PRISON for LIFE for THIS ADMISSION OF GUILT.
I have driven thru there a few times. It helps knowing it is a speed trap in advance but I will say, folks follow the damn speed limit there. Fer sure. I suppose it is a tip for wary motorists who don’t know. When you see folks doing EXACTLY the limit you are in a speed trap.
12 tickets in 12 hours? Sounds like the cops just don’t want to do anything (except maybe shooting a dog or two).
I grew up in Gainesville and Waldo has always been a speed trap. If it wasn’t, the traffic on US 301 and Waldo Rd would fly through at 65+. I hate to slow down to the speed limit too, but I do respect the town’s level of commitment after 40 years of complaining by tourists.
“Officer Brandon Roberts told council members on Tuesday night they were required by Chief Mike Szabo to write 12 speeding tickets per 12-hour shift ... half the city’s $1 million budget comes from an item listed as “police revenue.””
Gosh, do you think what Roberts told the council was a big surprise to them?
My guess is that one or more of these officers have another beef with the chief. Either they did not get the raises (what they thought their cut should be) or some other issue so they threw him under the bus. Up until that time they were perfectly happy to go along with the plan.
Where’s Waldo?
As I read all the posts I see the normal “bad cop” comments, but no one seems to wonder about the mayor’s role. The cops are wrong for not speaking up sooner, but to whom? With speeding tickets providing half the city’s budget how is it possible that the mayor, city manager and town council didn’t already know and encourage this? The place is a cesspool and the cops are just the part you can see.
Szabo was suspended on Aug 12. He was replaced by one Corporal Smith, who was named interim chief. Cpl Smith has already been suspended for misuse of city property. The county is taking over the operation of the police dept., we’ll see how long they last before the city fathers regain control They are not going to loose that much money without a fight.
Speed trap. The ‘classic’ speed trap was when the speed limit dropped with no warning (no “reduce speed ahead” sign), or the new speed limit sign was too small or hidden from view. And the cops were ready to pounce as soon as you crossed into the reduced zone.
So, what *is* the speed limit in Waldo? No, I’m not defending them, and yes, I do have a fast car.