Operation ELF:
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Santa may reward the nice, but, Thursday, one of his elves was punishing the naughty. The elf happened to be an Orange County sheriff's deputy and he gave a little extra sting to some speeding tickets.
Richard Lockman stands 5-foot-6. He's dressed in green and red. He's wearing tights. And he even has pointy shoes
"I'm Santa's helper today, helping to save lives so we can help these people enjoy their Christmas
With a sign that said, "Help An Elf - Slow Down," Lockman clocked the speed, while an army of 20 little
The Orange County Sheriff's Office got a complaint call that it wasn't right to use Santa to stop speeders. But Lockman was no Santa, just
"It's absolutely terrible. Why would they do that? It's not what Christmas is about in any way," said ticketed driver Tiffany Coy.
Like so many who were stopped, Coy thought the elf was more like a
"Yes, I saw the elf. I think that's quite entrapment, but what are you gonna do,
The Orange County Sheriff's Office wrote 53 tickets in 45 minutes and wound up writing a total of about 180 in the nearly three-hour detail. Two people were also arrested, one for marijuana and another for illegal firearms.
When all was said and done, Tardo, the Evil Flocking Elf, had relieved holiday shoppers of just over $50.000 in a little less than three hours. Do we not think a grown man dressed like an elf, standing by the side of a busy six-lane street, is WAY more dangerous than speeding drivers?
I see a 10-car pile-up in Tardo’s future. Have yourself a merry little Christmas...
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11 comments:
Ah, maybe it was bizarre, but, in truth, the folks he ticketed were breaking the law, were they not? How to avoid tickets is simple. Go the speed limit. And yes, slowing down speeders does save lives, as does getting drunk drivers off the road. Alcohol and speed are the main causes of fatalities. I'm definitely not in agreement with you on this one. Those folks ticketed will definitely remember the ticket, how they got it, where they got it. And maybe they will slow down. And maybe one of them that might have been killed speeding this holiday will live instead - or someone they would have killed speeding will not die. The elf thing is no worse than a sting.
Lol Aw gee, Mom, you never let me have any fun! Ok, you’re right, speeding is against the law. I don’t go more than five miles over the limit anymore, but I used to be quite the speed demon. It’s not like I enjoyed speeding, I just liked getting where I was going in a timely fashion. And yes, I’ve had many speeding tickets, one for aggravated speeding (speeding with an attitude) but was lucky enough never to have had an accident.
And I don’t really care if they’re dressing up tiny cops as elves to catch speeders, although I don’t really get the reason behind it. I’m mean really, he had radar, which busts you before you can even slow down, so what was the purpose of the elf getup?
And I still think a grown man dressed as an elf on the side of the road is extremely distracting and therefore just as dangerous as speeding. And it really does suck as far as the kids go. And speed traps suck. And getting a $280 fine two weeks before Christmas sucks.
And what really sucks is that this wouldn’t be a problem if people didn’t speed.
*sigh*
Takes all the fun out of calling him Tardo the evil flocking elf!
Gotta take you on here, Cait. The radar is a money cow, nothing to do with safety. Accidents aren't caused by driving 45 in a 40. They're caused by stupid behaviour. Who decided 40 M.P.H. was the exact right speed to travel that exact spot? A guy wearing two sizes too small blue pants, white socks, and a pocket protector from a cublicle in Tulsa, that's who. Making the roads safer and preventing accidents requires smart, specially trained cops traveling with and observing the action, and yanking the anti-social a..holes off the road. It doesn't take much talent, or intelligence to leer through a peephole and push a button when two lines intersect on a screen. Seals on beachballs catching tossed sardines do it all the time.
So the volunteer hospital orderly lady driving home at a safe, reasonable, natural 45 m.p.h. gets a ticket. But the crack-smacked waste product, smackin the monkey while smackin his momma, driving 39, gets a smile and a pass.
Like the war on crime, the war on drugs, and the war on terr-ah..........the war on speeders....it's a scam.
Merry Christmas y'all!
"A guy wearing two sizes too small blue pants, white socks, and a pocket protector from a cublicle in Tulsa..."
Heeey, I know that guy...
Shooter, most fatalities are caused by accidents at speeds of 30 MPH or less. Most are within a 25 mile radius of your home. You're not going to believe it, but for cops, it really isn't about bringing in revenue. It's about getting people to slow down and pay attention. Most of the time, ours only shoot radar when there's been a complaint from citizens about people speeding through their neighborhood. Most cops won't even stop you if you're doing less the 5 MPH over the speed limit. I guarantee, those people ticketed will slow down the next time they go by where they got the ticket.
I agree, Moo, the elf costume was over the top. And probably distracting to motorists. As to getting a ticket right before Christmas, well, that's the time of year there are more accidents.
I occasionally get a ticket. I've deserved them all. I take defensive driving and slow my ass down.
Some people age gracefully. I aim for them when I'm driving.
Most are within a 25 mile radius of your home.
Umm, that should read, "Most are within a 25 mile radius of the victim's home." I'm not trying to imply that most accidents occur near the readers' homes.
"I'm not trying to imply that most accidents occur near the readers' homes..."
lol rats, I thought maybe Shooter was dressing up like an elf...
You got me confused, cait. There are people complaining of "speeding under 30 m.p.h." in their neighborhood? My God, girl, where do these people live. Baghdad? Over a manhole on Main and Market? And you've got cops ticketing people "speeding" under 30 m.p.h?
But seriously, and this is backed up by reams of research and university/police studies, "speed" is way down the list as a cause of accidents. The problem is the word "speed." When you use that word it comjures up the image of wild, reckless, highly excessive speed. Of course that's dangerous. But most accidents are cause by "anti social driving habits." That means not cooperating with the flow of driving that's taking place. Changes in speed, erratic lane changes, unexpected maneuvers, etc, etc, etc. 80 m.p.h. on a wide open, lightly traveled super highway, in a new vehicle, driven by an experienced operator is far less dangerous than a nut case driving 35. The actual speed has nothing to do with it. Yet radar doesn't make that distinction.
And Smarty-Moo-Pants, the first costume Shooter wore was as a turkey in a Thanksiving Day production at p.s.188 in Brooklyn, and the last was (courtesy of our uncle sam) bell bottoms, pullover with a dopey rear flap flying from his neck, and a popey kerchief with no discernible purpose. There are few things I would kill for. Trying to get me into an elf suit would be one.
You are absolutely no fun at Halloween, are you...
The only time our officers would ticket for under 30 MPH would be if someone was speeding in a 20 MPH school zone.
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