Story Archive

A Different Kind of Corrections

Vermont State Police Sgt. Michael Roy noticed something odd on a decal on his police car: One of the spots on the cow in the state seal had taken on the shape of Sus scrofa domesticus. That’s a pig, as in the derogatory term for a cop. Investigation found that it had been that way for several years; a prison inmate-artist had changed the insignia on the prison-made decals. Authorities say they will hunt down all the altered decals. “It’s going to be ‘Where’s Porky?’ instead of ‘Where’s Waldo?’” said an ex-cop turned state legislator; they guess there may be about 60 in circulation. Replacing them will cost taxpayers $13 per decal. What, if anything, it costs the offender may depend on whether he’s still inside and thus subject to prison discipline. “I don’t know if there is a criminal charge,” said the state corrections commissioner, but investigators say it will take “weeks” to sort it all out. (AC/Burlington Free Press) ...I can’t wait till someone gets a good look at the prison guards’ shoulder patches.