What the Heck? Fire Chief Shot by Police Officer in Court!

There's just no way to read this article and not laugh. It reads like the prospectus for a comedy.

I mean, really? They just shot him?

Police often camped out in the department's two cruisers along the highway that runs through town, waiting for drivers who failed to slow down when they reached the 45 mph zone ringing Jericho. Residents say the ticketing got out of hand.

"When I first moved out here, they wrote me a ticket for going 58 mph in my driveway," 75-year-old retiree Albert Beebe said.

The frequent ticketing apparently led to the vandalization of the cruisers, and the department took to parking the cars overnight at the sheriff's department eight miles away.

It was anger over traffic tickets that brought Payne to city hall last week, said his lawyer, Randy Fishman. After Payne failed to get a traffic ticket dismissed on Aug. 27, police gave Payne or his son another ticket that day. Payne, 39, returned to court to vent his anger to Judge Tonya Alexander, Fishman said.

It's unclear exactly what happened next, but Martin said an argument between Payne and the seven police officers who attended the hearing apparently escalated to a scuffle, ending when an officer shot Payne from behind.

So the police chief disbanded the force. The judge resigned. The fire chief is out of commission. City Hall has been shuttered since the shooting and the mayor isn't answering any questions.

I'm stupefied. Struck dumb. I just don't know what to say.

...

I hope these people don't vote.

Via Doubleplusundead.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 09:55 PM

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