The article below was sent to me by Rick Leach - one of the officers quoted in the article. Here is what he said about how the article turned out:.
"Here is the original article. It started out as a nice PR fill piece for the paper, until this idiot decided he would come back and run over our officer. Even had reporter puting WI Walks in the first article. New reporter and both Chief and I asked that he not use "sting" and this is what we got. Won't be giving him to many quotes." Rick http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/jun03/150547.asp Sting targets danger to pedestrians Ticketed motorist threatened officer with semi, police say By MIKE JOHNSON [EMAIL PROTECTED] Last Updated: June 24, 2003 Cedarburg - At the ready with a plainclothes officer walking downtown streets, Cedarburg planned a special "enforcement activity" Tuesday to send a message to motorists about the rights of pedestrians. [27238] Cedarburg Photo/Journal Sentinel As part of a campaign to get motorists to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, Cedarburg police are running "Operation Safe Crossing." But one of those motorists, angry about the $131 ticket he got for failing to stop for Officer Brian J. Emmrich as he stepped into a crosswalk, had his own message for police: He'd be back with his 18-wheeler to run Emmrich down. And 20 minutes later, the same man was headed north toward downtown Cedarburg in his 18-wheeler. He was arrested by Cedarburg officers before he could reach Emmrich's post. "For the most part, most people stop for you," Emmrich said. But he added, "being threatened for something like a traffic ticket - to have some guy come back and hit you with an 18-wheeler, that's unusual." "We've never had anyone threatened before," said Sgt. Rick Leach, who was in charge of the sting, "Operation Safe Crossing." With Strawberry Festival coming up this weekend, the Fourth of July on the horizon and children already out of school, Leach said, he wanted to build awareness that motorists are supposed to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. "We want to build awareness to prevent injuries," he said. That was the idea from about 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday when Emmrich, decked out in a red T-shirt, blue shorts, a Polaris racing ball cap and sunglasses, began crossing the street at Washington Ave. and Turner St. Just after 3 p.m., a man zipped by Emmrich in a green Metro, failing to yield as the officer walked in the crosswalk. The Metro driver got a $131 municipal ticket. Upset, he threatened to return with his semi and kill Emmrich. He got as far as Washington and Western avenues in downtown, a few blocks south of Emmrich, where police stopped him in his semi, Police Chief Tom Frank said. Two police cars - one marked, the other unmarked - stopped the semi. There were no roadblocks, and officers did not draw their weapons, Frank said. Police will seek charges of disorderly conduct against the man, Frank said. "We're running this enforcement activity for the third time. We did two last year, and we didn't have any incidents like this. This is very unusual," he said. Motorists had plenty of warning that police were downtown. At the southern and northern entrances to the historic area were yellow highway signs that said: "Warning. Police issuing citations ahead." And about 140 feet in both directions from Washington and Turner - where Emmrich crossed Washington dozens of times - were signs on orange plastic posts in the middle of the street, warning motorists that state law requires them to stop when pedestrians are in crosswalks. Emmrich held a police radio in his hand and made no attempt to hide it. Nonetheless, some motorists failed to yield. One pickup truck came within inches of hitting Emmrich. "That shows that it's not a safe environment" for pedestrians, Leach said. Officers in four cars were waiting to pull over motorists who failed to stop. Four people got citations, and four others got warnings. Another 12 vehicles could have been stopped for failing to yield, but all of the officers were tied up, Leach said. Tuesday's exercise is the latest phase of a continuing pedestrian safety campaign that began in November 1999 after two women were killed on Washington Ave. after attending Mass at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church. Leach said he had been hoping for 100% compliance from motorists. "It looks like we will have to do more enforcement and more education," he said. >From the June 25, 2003 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
