The American Freedom Network

Welcome to Sherwood!

The Sheriff of Nottingham would appear to have nothing on the municipal government of Dearborn Heights, Michigan.  There, the police have doubled the number of tickers written over the previous year’s total.  Unless one assumes that asphalt  lawlessness is on the rise, or that traffic flow doubled in an area just outside Detroit that’s losing population, one might do well to shave with Occam’s Razor, and conclude that the police are writing more tickets per motorist.  Now the City is being sued over allegations that not only are the police under a ticket-writing quota system that amounts to “an unconstitutional commercial enterprise,” but that one over-agressive officer even followed a man into his home, gun drawn, to issue a citation for not coming to a full halt at a stop sign.  Like the Sheriff of Nottingham’s victims, these unfortunate motorists get a haircut in court, but then their insurance rates rise.  This is another example of a revenue-starved local government using the police as milkmen for the cash cows behind the wheel.

To avoid becoming one of the victims of this type of scam, a citizen need not go to the lengths of Robin Hood.  One ought to be active in local politics, and even if 99% of the tickets are given to non -residents, one should let city council know that this is unacceptable, and that if they won’t stop it, their replacements will.  One can, as a non-resident, let businesses in the city in question know that you’ll no longer shop there, and why.  (The local chamber of commerce might be worth contacting, too, especially if you have organized with other victims beforehand, as there is weight in numbers.)  At the more extreme end, those who can afford to do so might consider seeking legal advice about a lawsuit.  Even in defeat, the damage done to a city like Dearborn Heights by a suit like this could make their victory a Pyrrhic one.  Therein may the surest path to lasting justice.