The DeKalb County police chief warns of punishment if this happens, but organizers said officers should still pull people over, but only give warnings.
“We literally have officers that can’t make ends meet,” said Jeff Wiggs, president of The DeKalb Fraternal Order of Police
Wiggs doesn’t endorse the ticket strike, but understands the frustrations behind it.
“From what officers I’ve heard from so far they are very disgruntled,” Wiggs said.
A blog has been set up called “DeKalb Officers Speak” and calls for an all-out ticket strike by DeKalb police officers. Most of the postings are anonymous.
One officer wrote, I’m in and so is most of the people on my watch! Another post in the thread read, It is time to make a stand.
Organizers of the strike want officers to give only warnings, not tickets. That way the county doesn’t get any of the money from a citation.
They have made their voices heard, not only on behalf of themselves, but their making themselves heard on behalf of all employees, DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis said last August, after a 2010 ticket slowdown called for by this same blog.
Officers wrote 33 percent fewer tickets, costing the county $5 million. Channel 2s Tony Thomas asked police Chief William OBrien about the latest effort. He sent Thomas a statement saying:
It is my belief that statements expressed on an unofficial law enforcement blog are those of a small group of individuals that do not represent the views or actions of the majority of the dedicated and hard working men and women of our department.”
“Furthermore, the department does not support nor will it condone any of our officers neglecting to perform their duties. Any officer identified that has or encourages engaging in such actions will face disciplinary action.
“A lot of these officers, this is the way they look at it, this is the only way we can get our statement across,” Wiggs said.
