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Fake News

“File this one under the ‘Are you kidding me?’ category,” said Oakland, Maine, police department Sgt. Tracey Frost. The officer was in his marked police cruiser when he made eye contact with a high school student behind the wheel of a “souped up” pickup truck. As the boy was looking at the officer, he “burned out” — spun his wheels. Frost pulled the boy over and asked him, “Really? Have you lost your mind?!” The boy pulled up an article on his smartphone to show Frost an article that said the Maine Supreme Court had ruled that burning rubber is “now protected free speech,” and he was just exercising his rights. The officer pointed out the article was on “New Maine News” — a satirical website — and there was no such court ruling. Frost “chewed him out a little bit, because that’s what a good police officer does,” but “I figured the amount of kids who are going to pick on him at the high school about it was either equal or worse to giving him a summons,” and let him go. (RC/Boston Globe) ...And that’s how we know Oakland schools don’t teach critical thinking.
Original Publication Date: 15 April 2018
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 24.

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