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Published: Jan 20, 2007
But the ticketing last month of the wife of a
On a LEOAFFAIRS.com message board, which offers space for comments on law enforcement issues, nearly 20 people, all anonymous, gave their opinions.
Under the heading, "Unbelievable," most of the responses appeared to be from deputies within the agency, and a majority expressed outrage that a deputy would issue a traffic ticket to a fellow law enforcement officer's relative.
"You two little drones make me sick," said one writer, who sparked the debate by calling the motorcycle deputies a variety of derogatory names.
Another wrote: "It is totally despicable that you would write the wife of one of your own a traffic ticket. I have been on this job for 18 years and pulled over plenty of law enforcement … and NEVER GIVEN A TICKET."
All traffic tickets are discretionary, meaning that deputies are not bound
to write tickets to everyone who is pulled over, said sheriff's Cpl. Billy
Hughes, who supervises the traffic enforcement unit in the District 3 office,
which covers northwest
"We cut slack to anyone, any citizen, who has a good excuse," he said. "And we don't have a policy that says we don't write tickets to deputies or their wives or girlfriends. We use good discretion."
The incident involving the detective's wife was a solid ticket, Hughes said, and the motorcycle deputies involved, Linda Ruggiero and John Iorio, have the full support of their supervisors, Hughes said.
"The case is closed," he said.
Ruggiero clocked the woman speeding in a residential zone, going 18 mph over the limit. In the rear seat was a child, about 10 years old, not wearing a seat belt.
By giving citations for both violations, the deputies may have broken an unwritten code to give leeway to fellow officers and their families. Many adhere to that code. Sometimes, law enforcement relatives pulled over don't mention their affiliations. Sometimes, deputies say, they mention it too late.
There is a policy at the sheriff's office that once a ticket is written, it cannot be voided.
Hubert Williams, president of The Police Foundation, a Washington-based research and policy group, said he understands the unwritten code.
"Police officers rely on each other for protection, for safety and security," he said. "Camaraderie is not unique to police, but it is a bit more intense there because what's at stake is an officer's life."
But that doesn't mean they get a pass when they break the law.
"Police officers are obligated to enforce the laws of the state and ordinances of the municipalities," Williams said. "If we want our police officers to be professional, we want them to be objective and we want to teach them that they are required to enforce laws of state objectively, regardless of the person they pull over.
"The law is what we have to hang our hats on, otherwise we have a system that is prone to corruption and open to abuse."
The names of the woman who was ticketed and her detective husband are not being published because he works undercover.
As of this week, the ticket had not been paid and was pending at the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court's Office.
Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 865-1504 or kmorelli@tampa trib.com.