Louisiana: Federally Funded Speed Trap Busted for Corruption
Waterproof, Louisiana mayor and police chief arrested for corruption. The pair received federal grants to create speed traps.
Higginbotham, left, accepts USDA checkThe mayor and police chief of a federally funded Louisiana speed trap town were arrested Wednesday on felony corruption charges. A Tensas Parish Grand Jury indicted Waterproof Mayor Bobby Higginbotham for felony theft, malfeasance in office, payroll fraud and using public funds for personal use. Waterproof Police Chief Miles Jenkins faces three felony counts for receiving bonuses for meeting traffic ticket quotas and altering traffic citations. The activities of both officials were fueled by federal taxpayer dollars.
In 2007, Higginbotham received $37,500 from the US Department of Agriculture Rural Development's Community Facilities Program for the purchase of two police cars fully equipped with the latest speed detection equipment. Higginbotham ordered Miles to use these vehicles to prey on State Highway 65 travelers as the speed limit dropped without warning to 45 MPH within the town limits.
"They have the nicest police cars in Louisiana," one commenter on the National Motorists Association Speed Trap Exchange website observed. "However they are the most unprofessionally dressed cops I've ever seen."
Even before the arrival of the new cruisers, Waterproof earned 37 percent of its budget from speeding tickets, according to a 2007 report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. Higginbotham and Jenkins are out on bond awaiting trial. Louisiana State Police officials say the investigation into their activities is ongoing.
But quotas don't exist! Ask any LEO! 
I grew up in a town about an hour north of Waterproof, also on Highway 65. For a small rural highway, it gets quite a bit of traffic. If you're heading south from Arkansas or Missouri, toward New Orleans or Baton Rouge, 65 is often your best bet.
there is a town like that around here... Port Republic. The Garden State Parkway runs RIGHT through it.. but there are no exits or on ramps.. yet the state cruisers (they do not have local cops there) seem to congregate there and pull over a LOT of people.
Xceler8x wrote:
But quotas don't exist! Ask any LEO!
There are no quotas, they can write as many as they want. I'm missing something. The feds gave them speed trap equipment, then arrested them for running a speed trap. What did they think was going to happen? Does anyone in Washington have a TV?
Then again why would you get police cars from the USDA? Scales and cattle prods maybe but I don't see how inspecting meat and farms requires radar guns.
Wally wrote:
Then again why would you get police cars from the USDA? Scales and cattle prods maybe but I don't see how inspecting meat and farms requires radar guns.
It's Louisiana. NORTH Louisiana.
The USDA was importing foreign doctors on H-2B visas, putting US doctors out of work. So, why not give Loosiana RADAR guns and nice new cars too? Hey, it helps Detroit, right? Free cars for everyone.
Scene at the USDA: Room full of desks. One bureaucrat is sitting as his desk, crying. His desk neighbor comes up to him and says "What's the matter?" The crying bureaucrat replies "My farmer died."
S2
New Reader
2/23/09 7:20 p.m.
Dr. Hess wrote:
...Scene at the USDA: Room full of desks. One bureaucrat is sitting as his desk, crying. His desk neighbor comes up to him and says "What's the matter?" The crying bureaucrat replies "My farmer died."
Hess, that brought tears to my eyes. And it's probably true....
Xceler8x wrote:
But quotas don't exist! Ask any LEO!
It's because they don't consider "as much as berkeleying possible" to be a quantifiable quota
