Story Archive

Bum Lives Matter

It’s not like police were being underhanded. Sure, the undercover officer was dressed up as a homeless man, carrying a sign as if he was looking for a handout. But he was really looking for something else as he stood on a busy intersection in Bethesda, Md. His sign read, “I am not homeless. I am a Montgomery County police officer looking for cell phone texting violations.” — drivers texting from behind the wheel. When he spotted a violation, he called it in on his radio for marked cruisers to pull people over. In just two hours, the team handed out 56 citations and gave 22 warnings. “Not too many deny it” when pulled over, says Sgt. Phillip Chapin. “They know they’re doing it. And some people say ‘thank you’.” (RC/WTOP Washington D.C.) ...And far too many others say something-else-you.