To Serve and Protect

Dear Editor,

"To Serve and Protect" was – at one time- an extremely high standard the City Council proudly required from the Glasgow City Police. Unfortunately, this is not the impression I got from the March 4 City Council meeting

I wanted Ordinance 18-81 – pertaining to overtime parking – to be amended, so I attended the meeting to find out what steps a citizen could take to amend a city ordinance....for instance, gather signatures and present a petition, etc.

Here is the issue. One or more of the Council's city police officers spent several days writing oodles of tickets (ours were very unprofessionally filled out) to Glasgow citizens requiring them to appear within 5 days – to pay a $15 fine and move their overtime parked vehicle or get another ticket in 5 days and if not moved 5 days after that, the vehicle could be towed. One of the excuses given by the City Council for issuing these tickets NOW was to keep streets plowed for emergency vehicles, school buses and snow removal. (When was the last time your street was plowed?) This is the most snow, in a February, we have had in at least 50 years and the temperature has been extremely bitter. Wouldn't it have been a great service and a way to protect the health of the citizens of Glasgow to, at the very least, give them just a warning --- or better yet, be really protective and wait until the nasty cold snap broke.

It was also pointed out, at that meeting that the Glasgow crime rate has climbed, partly due to the meth problem. Maybe the council's police officers could have spent more time focusing on that problem, to fill the police department's coffers, instead of spending so much time on the taxpayers snow-covered cars or, does the meth problem only surface in the summer?

My father was a police officer in Fort Peck, back in the day. He was an Andy Griffith, HE absoutely would not have endangered or caused undo hardship for people, especially during this kind of weather for parking violations in front of citizens' own homes, no matter what his supervisors said. He was a wise and principled public servant who truly cared about and respected his fellow citizens.

It seemed to me like the City Council was more concerned about beautification and curb appeal than the health and safety of citizens. The City Council seemed, to me, to take great pleasure in the fact that these tickets were solving the problem of beautify their city. To me, they seemed to be saying, "warnings don't work to spiff up this city or bring in revenue so...unprofessionally prepared tickets together with this nasty cold weather and record breaking snow have finally put those lazy lawbreakers on the move!"

I do not believe this City Council could even grasp that point I tried to make, that a blanket enforcement of this ordinance, at this time, (why February instead of May) could be seen as totally inconsiderate, uncaring and disrespectful from public servants toward many Glasgow citizens. Right now, this may seem like a little problem int his city. However, if we let these little thing slide, could the Council's Glasgow Police Department end up with problems like the Sheriff's Department just experienced?

Sincerely

Mona Turner

Glasgow, Mont.