::: bisonium.com :::

[ via Leftlane News ]

In the category of idiotic beyond belief, the Seattle po po has surpassed how low a cop can stoop to get a ticket...

State trooper poses as panhandler to ticket drivers

Seattle police were busy serving and protecting this weekend by posing as the homeless in an effort to catch motorists not wearing their seat-belts. On Saturday, a trooper stood on a street corner in Spanaway, Pierce County, and helped bust 30 people for not wearing their seat belts. The trooper, wearing plain clothes and a cardboard sign around his neck that read “Happy Holidays Buckle Up,” was able to keep a close eye on passing traffic. Some motorists, seeing a man on the roadside wearing a sign, offered him money, apparently figuring he was a panhandler, the State Patrol said. The trooper refused the money and issued tickets to drivers who hadn’t buckled up. John Strait, a law professor at Seattle University, said while he didn’t think the tactic was a violation of privacy rights, but he aptly pointed out that the operation “sounds tacky.” “I’m not sure it’s great public policy,” he said. [Via The Newspaper]