Our View

Our View

No wrongdoing by trooper in ticketing of Jericho cop

Remember about a year ago when an Arkansas State trooper issued a warming ticket to a “Keystone” Jericho cop for not wearing a seat belt and the mediocre so-called police chief of this tiny incorporated area of about 200 inhabitants demanding a full blown investigation as well as criminal charges be filed against this veteran state police officer?

Well, the drama over this trumped up and ridiculous episode has happily come to the conclusion of ASP investigators that Cpl. Mickey Strayhorn did absolutely nothing wrong to justify disciplinary action, nor will there be any consideration whatsoever of filing criminal charges against him.

Roy Hill, who calls himself police chief of this podunk town, just north of Marion on Highway 77, ridiculously accused Cpl. Strayhorn of stopping one of his so-called police officers for speeding and failure to wear a seat belt. Hill said at the time that Strayhorn wrote the ticket as retaliation over a speeding ticket his son received two weeks earlier as he was passing through Jericho.

Hill has held a grudge since the incident and even went so far as to blow the entire situation out of proportion by convincing a Memphis television station to air his accusations.

Hill was hoping that charges of “abuse of power and authority” would be filed against Strayhorn and accused this veteran trooper of “making a direct point to come to Jericho to do what he did.”

According to Hill’s complaint, this two-bit town’s police department cited Strayhorn’s son for speeding in February 2016 and again in March. The first ticket was dismissed through a “courtesy request” from the Crittenden County sheriff’s office. The second was not.

Strayhorn reportedly pulled over Manuel Borjorn, who works under Hill on the afternoon of May 5 of last year and wrote him a warning citation for driving more than 15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. He also wrong Borjorn a citation for failure to wear a seat belt.

Here’s the problem we have with these podunk town police, such as those in Sunset, Earle, and particularly Parkin, as well as the scores of other tiny hamlets scattered throughout Arkansas. They are usually located on state highways, which are excellent “fishing holes” for these badged wonders to prey upon motorists passing through. Scores of “speeding” citations are issued on a regular basis by these less-than-professional cops for what many believe is simply to generate revenue for their financially struggling town budgets.

Out-of-town victims simply avoid the hassle of appearing in court to contest the trumped up charges and simply pay the fines and these “speed trap” communities are well aware of how to play this game.

Situations like this give “real” law enforcement a bad name and the only justice in all this is that the reputation of a well-respected law enforcement officers for the state of Arkansas wasn’t tarnished by the shenanigans of this tiny town cop.