Morrison Police Generate Revenue at a Record Pace

Complaining is all we can do- because unless you live within the City of Morrison, the judge and the police chief will pay no attention to you.

Know why?

Because only the people who live in Morrison get to vote for the Mayor, Judge and Police chief.

The vast majority of it's revenue collection scheme victims live in Jeffco county- in places like Evergreen, Conifer or Park county in Bailey. The others live away too- and are just travelling through and get caught up in the traps.

The people who actually live in Morrison don't use 285 to go up into the hills- so it's a perfect set of people to prey on. They look for us everyday- waiting for one of us to step out of line.

Perhaps we should work on getting that "flagpole" annexation reversed- and returned to the County where it belongs and where the actual voting population maintains more of an interest - than just revenue collection.

So you break the law, and you get caught. Of course you blame the cops. Bear, aren't you one of the posters who complain about liberals sense of entitlement? I think PrintSmith is too. Yet both of you feel entitled to break the law and not be punished for it. You are willing to endanger others so you can get down the hill a few minutes faster? I hope they catch you every time, maybe when you collect enough points to lose your license you will feel a little less entitled.

The town elects the mayor and the board of trustees - they in turn supervise the chief of the police department for the town. The police department of Morrison, like every other police department found anywhere, is a para-military organization controlled and supervised by the civilian authority. It is not the police department that is responsible for the policy, they simply follow the orders that the civilian authority issues to them. Thus it is the town of Morrison with which I have an issue, not the police department that follows their orders. I have nothing but respect for the police officers themselves - they are hired to do a job, informed of the manner in which the job is to be done and retained or released according to how well they follow the orders they are given. An officer in Morrison whose ticket totals are significantly lower than the others will be let go for not doing their job. It is the town itself that has decided on a zero tolerance policy, not the police department of the town. That is why I will not patronize the town in any fashion. When the town demonstrates that it has changed its policies I will revisit my earlier decision - but not before then. I see no reason to not help their policy of making Morrison a place to be avoided succeed.

Given the policy of the town of Morrison, I would not locate my business in the town because the policy of that town discourages people from patronizing the businesses in the town. If I decided to locate my business in that town I would do so with the full understanding that it was the official policy of the town to discourage customers for my business and that if I disagreed with the policy I should probably not have a business there because the policy was not likely to change anytime soon and the policy would drive potential customers to businesses other than mine that were not located in that town. The businesses could, if they wished, pressure the mayor and trustees to adopt a more friendly stance and if that fails advocate for the election of other officials who were willing to do so. They have not chosen to act in this manner and the policy which discourages customers remains in place 2 decades removed from the time I was cited for speeding. That's the policy they want and I see no reason why I should not help them make it a successful policy by being discouraged from patronizing their establishments.

I'll not spend a single shiny Roosevelt fiat dime in Morrison until such time as the current policies of the town are abandoned and reasonable ones instituted. It is not the police department I hold accountable for the policy, it is the residents of the town, the owners of businesses in the town and the elected officials of the town that properly should be held accountable for the policy and that is precisely what I am doing by assisting them in making their town a place to be avoided rather than visited.

archer- you obiviously havn't read my posts at all.

Perhaps you just saw it was me posting and just had to show you're ignorance. It's not about safety- it's about revenue collection by an authority that has no legitmate claim to that section of road.

If they did - then why is it that the only function that Morrison Police do is write tickets? Why don't they plow the road? Why don't they respond to accidents with their fire dept? Why don't they spend some money to improve the road or maintain it?

Our county and state taxes do all that- all Morrison PD does is collect revenue. Do you have any real comments to add or did you just post post to be annoying?

I have never recieved a ticket on that part of 285- so why do you think I am entitled? Why are you assuming that I break the law?

Talk about entitlement!

Bear....is speeding through that portion of Morrison breaking the law or not? I read your post and know exactly what it says. No matter how you try to rationalize it...you want to be able to break the law and not be punished for it. The fact that the town of Morrison is taking advantage of you not being smart enough to drive the speed limit doesn't change the facts...it just makes the town look pretty smart and you not so much.

And PS- I do hold the officers accountable along with the city management and the citizens who continue to support these policies. This little fiefdom has been engauged in this activity since the 70's.

I consider the Morrison Police to be two bit facsimiles of real law enforcement- these cop wannbies also buy into the policies of the town and are the front line agents for the bad policies. If they were real cops they would be more interested in doing what real cops do- solve crimes and in general act for the public interest- you know- protect and serve, not write traffic tickets to commuters with the majority of their time.

In order to justify their salaries- this is what they do (in addition to eating jelly doughnuts). It's like the lazy government employee who wastes a lifetime in some worthless agency trying to justify their existance by generating unneeded regulations and restrictions- they are willing participants in the corruption.

So yea- they didn't earn any respect and they arn't going to get any- from me anyway.

P.S. I dont have any respect for parking meter cops either- if you can call them cops- they are really just revenue collectors.

archer wrote: So you break the law, and you get caught. Of course you blame the cops. Bear, aren't you one of the posters who complain about liberals sense of entitlement? I think PrintSmith is too. Yet both of you feel entitled to break the law and not be punished for it. You are willing to endanger others so you can get down the hill a few minutes faster? I hope they catch you every time, maybe when you collect enough points to lose your license you will feel a little less entitled.

Not surprisingly, your understanding of the situation regarding me is flawed. When I was cited for my infraction of the law 20+ years ago I was past the last sign that said 25 mph and able to read the one that established the allowable speed to be 35 mph. Now, the letter of the law says that the 35 mph speed limit begins at the placement of the sign, that is true. And, according to the letter of the law, I was indeed in violation of both signs because my speed was determined to be 36 mph. Accordingly I accepted the citation, presented myself at the time and place required by it for adjudication of the matter, paid all required fines for violating the law, accepted the points levied against my license and paid the increased cost of having someone insure me when I was operating a motor vehicle on the public roads.

I do not, as you claim, blame the cops. They follow the orders of the civilian authority which they are held accountable to and it is this civilian authority that I hold accountable for the decision to make Morrison a place to be avoided rather than patronized and I am simply helping them make that policy successful by refusing to patronize the town. That, to me, is working with the town of Morrison to help them achieve their desired end and not a seeking of an entitlement at the expense, real or perceived, of others.

They often set traps on Hwy 74 near the entrance to Red Rocks all the time. I have also seen a few on Hwy 8 between 285 and Morrison. If you drive these roads enough, it just becomes second nature to be aware of them. It doesn't matter if you live in Morrison or anywhere else and use those roads. You have 2 choices:
1. Obey the law and go the posted speed limit.
2. Disregard the law and take your chances.

PrintSmith wrote: It is the town itself that has decided on a zero tolerance policy,

Zero tolerance?
From the linked article:

The vast majority of citations in January 2012, 492 in total, were issued to drivers traveling 15 to 19 mph over the speed limit, a $135 penalty.

15-19 mph OVER the limit is NOT a safety issue? :bash

94 citations of $195 were issued to drivers who were traveling 20-24 miles per hour over the limit and 14 citations of $265 went to drivers traveling 25 or more miles per hour over the limit.

So out of 647 traffic citations in January, 600 were for going at least 15 mph over the posted limit. I am not sure what the other 47 citations were for but if anyone got tickets for 10 to 14 over the limit, that is deserved too & I'd think they prolly will remember that next time they zip through or around Morrison.

So perhaps photo-fish and archer can elaborate on how much safer you both feel now that Morrison has collected all that money.

Like I said- I am not talking about the speeders here- maybe they do need a ticket- but I don't think it makes us any safer and I don't think the city should be making 285 traffic tickets their biggest source of revenue when that money most likely belongs to Jeffco.

The biggest business in Morrison- is traffic tickets. They give nothing back in return.

archer wrote: the town of Morrison is taking advantage of you not being smart enough to drive the speed limit

If the cop tags you going 36 in a 25 mph zone but doesn't stop you until you get into a 35 mph zone it does not negate the fact that you were speeding at some point.

That is like seeing a cop ahead and breaking 20 mph less before you pass his position. You may have been going the speed limit when you passed him, but at one point you were breaking the law. I have sped past State cops and had them follow me almost 2 miles before pulling me over (with a warning of course )