County sanctioned extortion
County sponsored extortion
I took my family down for a four-day vacation in Seaside Oregon. I looked the best pathway there up on mapquest and found a nice map and directions. Surprise!! It will take more than three hours but not the four I had expected, saving 45 minutes is priceless with a four month old and a four year old to keep entertained. We packed our clothes and supplies for the trip down and got ready.
As we followed the path down, we found ourselves going through quaint boroughs and cute little hamlets and we started to really enjoy the ride. Next the ominous foreshadowing of my future began, as I saw car after car on the side of the road, policemen next to them, writing up tickets for the poor motorists. I marked it down as the drivers not being attentive or having a lead foot.
Then I entered the town of South Bend, Pacific County. Its web page tries to get you to think of them as a small town that would love you to stop by but 1the reality is very different from the lies.
I have my cruise control set to 59 miles an hour, and was happily cruising along for miles. I checked my speed quite often to make sure that I didn’t let cruise turn off and to make sure it wasn’t starting to creep higher. As I went in to the elbow of a downhill stretch a police man came over the top of the hill and I paid little heed except to casually check my speed again (I was at 60). The policeman drove towards me for 5 – 7 seconds, slowed turned on his lights, and continues slowing till I passed him when he whipped a 180 degree turn and jumped in behind me.
I pulled off thinking he had gotten a call about an emergency but, no, he pulled in behind me. My wife and I were perplexed to say the least. He told me I was clocked going 68.
Not possible,
He explained that I “looked fast” to him and he used the exact phrase “looked fast” in our conversation 4 times. It made me curious so I said (politely) “I am not trying to be difficult, but I just cant see how I could be going that fast. May I see the RADAR gun?” He said he had just cleared it, now I smelled bull!
I am pissed that I have a 100$ fine, I am pissed that I have a ruined driving record and I am most pissed that this bloody cop lied to my family and me. I (as a good Dad) should teach my son to trust the police, right?
So how do I explain that he 1. Lied about using his radar gun and “getting me at 68 mph”, he 2. Is involved in county sponsored extortion used to fill the local counties coffers with poor shmucks cash as they pass through back ass Washington headed to a real vacation spot? And 3. That stealing is wrong and lying is wrong even though the police an county government do it?