Blue light special
I’ve never met Dennis Kocken. Wouldn’t know him if he walked up and rang my doorbell.
Wouldn’t recognize if I passed him on the street or sat next to him in church. He’s not on my speed dial. He’s never been on my Christmas card list. He didn’t sign my high school annual.
But I’m granting him a “True Gris” award for honesty in law enforcement, even though he lives in a town 839 miles away.
Kocken is the sheriff in Brown County, Wisconsin, which happens to be home of the Green Bay Packers but has nothing to do with his story.
In case you missed it, Kocken wrote himself a ticket a few weeks ago for an unsafe lane change. He rear-ended a suspected speeder who had slowed to turn.
He issued himself a ticket, which carries at $160.80 fine, because he believes it was the “right thing to do.’’
"As sheriff, I'm held to the highest standard in law enforcement,’’ he said. “ How can I hold officers accountable if I don't hold myself accountable?" "I'm satisfied I'm doing the right thing."
I hope other public defenders are listening. Unless you’re chasing a drug-dealing, gun-toting criminal or in hot pursuit of a wild pack of terrorists headed down I-75, you’re supposed to obey the traffic laws just like everybody else.
If not, pull yourself over and give yourself a blue-light special.
You have the right to remain silent.
Wouldn’t recognize if I passed him on the street or sat next to him in church. He’s not on my speed dial. He’s never been on my Christmas card list. He didn’t sign my high school annual.
But I’m granting him a “True Gris” award for honesty in law enforcement, even though he lives in a town 839 miles away.
Kocken is the sheriff in Brown County, Wisconsin, which happens to be home of the Green Bay Packers but has nothing to do with his story.
In case you missed it, Kocken wrote himself a ticket a few weeks ago for an unsafe lane change. He rear-ended a suspected speeder who had slowed to turn.
He issued himself a ticket, which carries at $160.80 fine, because he believes it was the “right thing to do.’’
"As sheriff, I'm held to the highest standard in law enforcement,’’ he said. “ How can I hold officers accountable if I don't hold myself accountable?" "I'm satisfied I'm doing the right thing."
I hope other public defenders are listening. Unless you’re chasing a drug-dealing, gun-toting criminal or in hot pursuit of a wild pack of terrorists headed down I-75, you’re supposed to obey the traffic laws just like everybody else.
If not, pull yourself over and give yourself a blue-light special.
You have the right to remain silent.
posted by Ed Grisamore at 5:36 AM
3 Comments:
I volunteer my services in sending a hard copy of this post to every law enforcement agency in the United States, particularly the Georgia State Patrol.
Funny (or not so much), I was driving down Forsyth Road a couple of days ago and I saw one of our wonderful Macon Police driving about 30 MPH while swerving in his lane. Once I drove past him, I saw that he had a phone talking in one hand and smoking a cig in the other while driving with his KNEES! I wanted to pull him over myself, I guess I should have written down his tag or something. Oh well, another one got away.
The ones in Houston County yesterday need to write themselves a ticket for running a red light, failure to yeild, etc.
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