Thanks for the sympathy, officer

Thanks for the sympathy, officer

While Dunkin Donuts handed out free doughnuts for Tax Day, Arlington Heights police spent Tax Week nabbing overzealous drivers along Palatine Road.

Let me tell you there is nothing that brings a community and their fellow police officers together more than a speed trap.

Yes, I got caught. Not because I was in a mad dash to sit in 5 o'clock bumper to bumper traffic but because I was being inattentive by throwing a piece of trash in my garbage bag.

I immediately apologized, gave the officer my driver's license and told him I had plenty of medical bills to pay. Just two days earlier I had paid $9,000 in taxes to the IRS and a week earlier had received a $6,300 medical bill. I'm not the only one struggling financially these days. All one has to do is pick up a newspaper to learn about our economy and that people are financially stressed.

By the time my officer returned to hand me my ticket I had lost all dignity bawling my eyes out. He could hear it in my tone and see tears streaming down my face. According to him all I had to choose was "A, B or C and I could take an online driving course." He quickly scurried off to chat up his co-worker, laughing away. No time to ask "Are you OK?"

My officer didn't have enough time to fill out the city on the ticket and added only one initial for his name, but everything else is neatly completed.

So in March you caught 200 speeders and in April it skyrocketed to over 1,000. Congratulations on exceeding your quota in a few days.

I was wrong to unintentionally speed. But the interaction begs the question, are the Arlington Heights police really that out of touch with their community? Just a piece of advice before you issue your next ticket: respect your fellow taxpayers, reach out to them when they are bawling - it will make a difference and try to be sensitive.

Maggie Murphy

Naperville