Our View

Our View

Jericho PD/ State Police dustup exposes ‘highway robbery’

Many of us who drive have had the experience, or know someone who has, of so-called speed traps and those tiny towns between the big cities that hire some has-been, washed-up or totally unqualified so-called cop to deliberately target and harass unsuspecting traveling motorists.

The scheme is to set up along a state highway that passes through the usually run-down town and stop travelers for such claims as speeding.

Citations are issued and, in most cases, go uncontested with the incoming revenue being dumped into the ailing town’s budget.

This is a common and well-known practice that we know goes on right here in these parts of Arkansas.

The small town of Parkin was notorious for such unscrupulous behavior, until its mayor recently abolished the so-called police department. And, then we have the dying town of Earle where travelers on U.S.

Highway 64 are regularly victimized by this unregulated form of highway robbery.

We often wonder what “real” police officers would do if, by chance, they experienced this uncalled for harassment. Well, we’d like to shake the hand and pat Arkansas State Trooper Mickey Strayhorn on the back for what he did after experiencing what the general public goes through on a regular basis.

A Memphis television station reported the other day where Trooper Strayhorn pulled over and ticketed a Jericho cop in his marked police car for failure to wear a seatbelt and speeding.

The story goes that Jericho, an incorporated area of just 184 people, has a police chief by the name of Roy Hill. Hill says the situation dates back to February, which a 19-year-old was stopped and issued a citation for, you guessed it, speeding. This 19-year-old just happened to be the son of Trooper Strayhorn.

Four weeks later, Strayhorn’s son was again stopped in Jericho, and once again issued a speeding ticket.

The Jericho so-called cop accused the teen of driving 57 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone. Now then, the questions comes up as to the radar equipment this cop uses, has it been officially calibrated and is the officer certified to use it?

Nevertheless, the second questionable ticket was issued. Well, it seems Trooper Strayhorn was patrolling the Jericho area the other day and happened to notice this Jericho cop driving around in a beat-up old police car with no seat belt on and was speeding.

So it seems Trooper Strayhorn did what he would have done to any other motorist in violation, and he pulled the Jericho cop over and issued a warning ticket for both offenses.

Now, we’re told, this so-called police chief of a incorporated area of just 184 inhabitants, wants justice. Hill says he is writing a formal complaint to the State of Arkansas.

To that we simply say, turnabout is fair play, Chief.

Good for you, Trooper Strayhorn, for exposing a serious problem this state has had for years, and the voices of the countless victims have fallen upon deaf ears.

This keystone cop situation that exists in small towns throughout the state is nothing more than a serious form of public harassment that shouldn’t be tolerated.

We encourage anyone who happens upon Trooper Strayhorn to tell him he did more to expose this wrong than he can imagine. Maybe we should all send our comments to the Arkansas State Police Headquarters in Little Rock expressing our support for Trooper Strayhorn. The address is 1 State Police Plaza, Little Rock, AR, 72209. The phone number is (501) 5650339. Let’s show our support for Trooper Strayhorn!