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During the term of the previous Columbus administration, a
heated controversy arose surrounding an alleged traffic ticket quota ( 2 traffic
tickets per day, per officer ) in the Columbus police department. According to
(then) mayor George Wade, he was out of town when a news story (by reporter Greg
Mayer) detailing the department's citation program was published in the
Commercial Dispatch. Mayor Wade stated that he was never consulted on the
subject of a ticket quota in the city, and he felt if there was such a quota in
place, he should have had a say in the matter.
Evidently, from the tone of the council meeting where the video files here
were shot, the questions asked and comments made, the various council members
had been contacted by upset and angry constituents, and were in search of some
serious answers.
Basically, the only answer forthcoming from the police chief, and
assistant chief, was that the "quota" mentioned in the newspaper was
actually a "goal".
Please be aware that these clips, although small in viewing size, may take some time to download over a dialup modem connection. The size of each file is shown on each link. To save these files to your hard drive (where they will play much quicker), simply click your right mouse button over each link, and select "save target as..." When the download is complete, double click on the file to play the video. The files are "mpg" files, and should play with the Microsoft Media Player that comes with Microsoft Windows.
This clip shows police chief Billy Pickens trying to explain the difference between a "quota" of 2 tickets a day per officer, and a "goal" of 2 tickets a day per officer [or approx. 18,000 tickets per year]. Clip1 (2.54 meg).
This clip shows the exchange between councilman Howard Williams and chief Pickens, wherein Mr. Williams makes his humorous analogy between the police department quota/goal and a dentist pulling teeth. Clip 2 (1.84 meg).
Here you will see assistant chief Johnson's brief and curt address to the council on the quota matter. Clip3 (1.62 meg).
This clip shows an exchange between Commercial Dispatch Reporter Greg Mayer and chief Billy Pickens in the hallway outside the city hall courtroom/council chambers after the meeting. Clip 4 (2.04 meg).
If you are interested in the workings of your city, from the city council
to the Light & Water department to the city school board, there will be
something of interest for everyone as we go along, so stay tuned.
I welcome your comments and suggestions, and you can email TheLoneGunman by
clicking here. TheLoneGunman reserves
the right to publish any threatening email received.