Several weeks ago I tried to start a new thread I could post to regularly. That one didn't work because I couldn't figure out how to insert pictures. I have come up with a new topic, for which I will just use quotation marks for the quoted test. I plan to post and comment on a funny, strange, or unusual story in the news. Join in if you would like.
"NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED
John Davis, who lives in Elyria, Ohio, recently exited a freeway offramp when he saw a man in a wheelchair holding a sign with a religious sentiment and also a request for help.
Having a brother who is paralyzed, Davis sympathized with the man's plight, reached into his wallet and grabbed a couple of bucks to give to the man. But when he stretched his
arm out of his window, one of the dollars fell to the ground, requiring the man to bend over and pick it up.
A few minutes later, Davis was driving and a Cleveland cop pulled him over, and what happened next shocked him.
“He proceeds to tell me he’s pulling me over for littering,” Davis told Fox8.com.
To the police officer, the dropped dollar bill violated Section No: 613.06 of Cleveland’s Municipal Codes, which is littering from a motor vehicle.
His offense was listed as, “Throw paper out window,” and in parenthesis, “money to panhandler.”
As a result, Davis faces a $500 fine for one dropped dollar bill, according to World Net Daily.
Police officials refused to comment on the ticket, but one newspaper points out that Davis may have been cited incorrectly. Another city ordinance states it is illegal to “transfer currency… to any person standing on a street or highway” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Davis said he admires the Cleveland police, and isn’t trying to start trouble, but doesn't want to pay for simply trying to help out someone less fortunate.
“I don’t mean any disrespect toward the police department at all we need ‘em but I just wish I didn’t have to pay this ticket,” Davis told Fox8.com."
COMMENTARY: Now I admire law officers, as a whole. They put their lives on the line just as much as members of the military. But it seems to me the training system could somehow convey to the officers that compassion could be used in certain cases. Does the "letter of the law" include citing those giving money to help the less fortunate? I believe the police officer could have issued a warning to both parties. I don't know what their law in Ohio is about panhandling, but it seems if one should be issued a ticket, the other one should, too. I did hear on a TV news show that some citizens were collecting money to pay Mr. Davis's fine. At least it shows there are a lot more generous people out there.