• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Cops Nab Speeders With Pickup, Baby Seat

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 February 2006, 18:00 CST

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. - Even Ponch and Jon from "CHiPs" might be a bit envious of the newest weapon in the never-ending battle to nab speeders.

Police in Mount Pleasant aren't using a Camaro or a Mustang but an ordinary unmarked six-cylinder pickup truck - one with a baby seat at that.

Officer Mathew Pagliarini doesn't know of any other officers who drive unmarked pickups.

Police seized the truck in a drug raid and outfitted it with tinted windows and hidden blue lights. They want to limit descriptions of the make and model so as not to alert motorists.

For many drivers, the first alert is when they see the blue lights flash.

The truck can surprise law enforcement officers as well.

As the unmarked pickup recently sat beside Interstate 526 waiting for speeders, a Transportation Department roadside assistance vehicle pulled alongside to offer help.

"Hey man, you're blowing my cover," Pagliarini said.

Later, as he wrote a ticket for a car clocked at 83 mph, a Charleston County sheriff's deputy stopped to make sure Pagliarini was an officer.

"You never know," the deputy said. "You get some freaks driving around with blue lights. Last night, two guys posing as police officers robbed some folks in North Charleston."

Later, Pagliarini stopped a driver doing 90 mph who said he was late for work.

"I'll be driving slower now for sure," said the driver, who was looking inside the truck that Pagliarini sometimes uses to chauffeur his 1-year-old son when off duty.

"You even got a baby seat in there? Oh, man, I don't believe it," the driver said.

---

Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.charleston.net

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

More News in this Category