Dear Editor,

I wish to voice some thoughts on a recent event involving our city’s police department. I am concerned primarily because I am proud of Bullard and wish to see its growth well-managed and its character retained.

I was recently returning home from one of our high school football games on a Friday night and failed to come to a complete stop at our downtown stop sign, albeit a close call.

The intersection and surrounding area were utterly quiet save for one nearby officer on patrol with lights off. The officer pulled me over and I was ticketed for “disregarding stop sign,” a $187 offense. After thanking me for my courtesy, the officer returned to his vehicle, made a U-turn to face the same intersection and extinguished all of his lights, presumably to await the next 1-mph/$187 offender.

I am aware that my action constitutes a violation by the letter of the law, but as a thinking person I have some concerns about this application of resources as it pertains to Bullard’s law enforcement. I think we can agree that my immeasurably slow roll through a stop sign at an empty intersection is no threat to public safety but rather constitutes a profitable “gotcha” for our city. A more appropriate response by the officer might have been a check for outstanding tickets, verification that I had not been consuming alcohol, and a polite warning about future travels along our downtown roadway. It’s likely that the next easy target was a visiting family in town for the football game who was similarly unimpressed with our city’s methods.

Despite this unfortunate experience, I will maintain perspective on the greater good for Bullard when next I am called upon to contribute or volunteer. It is my hope that our public servants exercise the same kind of perspective as they conduct themselves within their professions and, in doing so, represent this fine city. Sincerely,

Rob Funk