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April 19th, 2024

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But It's About 'Safety,' Not 'Money'; American scenes

News of the Weird by Chuck Shepherd

By News of the Weird by Chuck Shepherd

Published November 10, 2014

  But It's About 'Safety,' Not 'Money'; American scenes

On the same day in September, Washington, D.C., and New York City made traffic-camera announcements, with Washington declaring a revenue crisis and New York revealing that just one speed camera in Brooklyn had earned the city $77,550 in a single day. The District of Columbia had projected $93 million in annual camera income, but estimated it would collect only $26 million, while New York City, which has many fewer cameras, was marveling at the 1,551 tickets the Brooklyn camera zapped on July 7. [Washington Post, 9-29-2014]

(1) Staci Anne Spence, 42, was hauled to jail for assault in Sandpoint, Idaho, in September, but when the squad car arrived at the station, officers learned that during the ride, she had completely gnawed through the back seat foam padding and seat cover. (2) A 38-year-old man was taken, unconscious, to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, in August. After allegedly choking his mother-in-law and refusing to cooperate with police, who used a stun gun and chemical spray on him to no effect, he dramatically KO'd himself with an empty beer bottle.

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