Florida Police Pose as Giant Bunnies to Catch Illegal Drivers

Florida Police Pose as Giant Bunnies to Catch Illegal Drivers

now.msn.com

West Palm Beach, Florida, police are going undercover as giant Easter bunnies. As morning commuter traffic slowed to a crawl earlier this week, motorists saw a bunny with a sign reading "Have a safe, hoppy holiday. Buckle up!"

And through the large, netted eyes of the bunny costume's large head, the cop was watching them right back, making note of who had a seatbelt on and who didn't, so nearby officers could ticket them as part of the state's "Click it or ticket!" campaign.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, ain't this special!

Many might think this to be cute but what I see is yet another money grab for the police. Dressing up as the Easter Bunny to hand out those tickets that just keep emptying out our wallets is just wrong on so many levels IMO.

A happy time for many. A holiday. The kiddles all excited to hunt for those brightly colored eggs and candy and yes...to maybe see an Easter Bunny or 2. Only to have one roll up on the car and hand them a ticket...

Just gotta keep taking that cash from the citizens for every single breath they take and every step they take. And by golly, they'll dress up in Bunny costumes to make sure they get that cash.

Next...Santa and his reindeer chasing you down on the highway for a busted tail light.

I liked this comment from another poster on blacklistednews:

www.blacklistednews.com...

"Seat belts indeed reduce physical injuries and save lives. However, freaking Florida Gestapo could not care less about lives and well being of their residents. All the freaks are care about is to writing tickets and generating revenues for their counties, cities and state governments. Florida drivers should give fingers to their freaking Gestapo-bunnies."

"Gestapo-bunnies."

And another comment worthy of note:

A giant easter bunny hmmm all the kids in the back seat will whip their seatbelts off to look at it. THATS ENTRAPMENT (its a fkn rabbit trap lol) We bin trapping and eating rabbits for generations, now they get their revenge, lmao

HAPPY EASTER!!!

now.msn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Its illegal to dress up like a cop; now that cops are dressing like the easter bunny does that mean I could get ticketed for impersonating an officer if i dress like the easter bunny?

reply to post by jude11

Is it illegal to drive past very slowly and ask "What's up Doc?"

This is a common tactic here in Florida. They dress as homeless people. They dress in costumes. Whatever it takes to raise money for the cities. It has little to do with actual law enforcement or public safety imo.

Can't even trust the damn Easter Bunny now......

I agree, the lengths that police departments are going, to pad their ticket counts, is getting ridiculous.

What next....one dressed as Jesus at church parking lot exits.....

Des

Honestly I kind of find this hilarious. I might have a different opinion if I was duped by one of these 'fuzz' balls.

just...wow.

I get public safety and whatever, but this is like an espionage practice on normal citizens.
I know it sounds stupid, but people would have a natural trust with that stupid bunny lol, over a cop, they are manipulating peoples trust in everyday things.
who is to know who is a cop or not? is that what they are trying to implant in our minds?

Originally posted by yourmaker
just...wow.

I get public safety and whatever, but this is like an espionage practice on normal citizens.
I know it sounds stupid, but people would have a natural trust with that stupid bunny lol, over a cop, they are manipulating peoples trust in everyday things.
who is to know who is a cop or not? is that what they are trying to implant in our minds?

When dad gets out of the car and starts yelling at the bunny and gets taken down by a bunch of his bunny buddies, the kids will never trust those furry freaks again...

Funny but true.

Peace

reply to post by jude11

In NY state the troopers are often seen hiding behind toll booths and poking their heads around the corner to see if your registration or inspection stickers are valid. They actually get out of their car and stand behind the toll booth, the first time I saw it I was shocked, now I just laugh at them. Do they not realize how ridiculous that looks?
Then we have the local police who patrol the parking lots of supermarkets scanning cars while people are grocery shopping. That law breaking single parent will not make that mistake again since next weeks grocery money is now going to the town clerk.
Is that what all that time at the academy was for?

reply to post by Trublbrwing


The problem with that logic is what is the point of having laws if they are not enforced? I hated wearing a seat belt for the first few years the law went into effect but there is no denying that little strap can save your life in an accident.

What about cars that cannot pass inspection? Just let them pollute and drive with bad brakes etc.?

Originally posted by Foxy1
Its illegal to dress up like a cop; now that cops are dressing like the easter bunny does that mean I could get ticketed for impersonating an officer if i dress like the easter bunny?

Its not illegal to dress up as a cop. Its illegal to identify yourself as one.

After reading the article I had a flash back to my child hood and the bugs bunny cartoons where they argued back and forth between duck and wabbit season....

I cant say im all that supporting of using a child hood staple - The Easter Bunny - to nail people on the I-95. If we are going to do that then we might as well issue our swat teams uniforms of the Justice League, complete with capes.

Honestly that isn't anything new in Fla, because I have seen them dress up as utility workers with a dummy in the truck(no not another officer ) and one up a power pole shooting radar. The bad thing is you don't even know your getting clocked with radar until it's too late.

Dressing up as a bunny is a new tactic, but actually is funny when you think about it,but what's next Santa Claus. The things they do to collect money.

On behalf of good, honest and hard working Bunnys everywhere, I want to state without reservation that these Cops do this without the endorsement of the Easter Bunny Local or any other Rabbit related organization. I believe I heard some of the top Rabbit's are looking at their legal options for this horrible infringement on image and reputation.

LOL, This is an easy ticket to get out of. Both Officers will have to be present to rule a conviction. If only the ticketed office shows to court, any testimony he/she makes on behalf of the “officer bunny” is hearsay and void form court records.

If both show up....unlikely, then your screwed.

Yep, sounds like something Florida would do. I once saw an undercover dressed up as a clown handing out 'legalize it' petitions and then using the personal info(i.e. name, address, ect.) as a reason to watch someone. This happened on St. Petersburg beach near where the Sunday drum circle is held.

I am not ashamed to be a Florida native but I am ashamed of my state's policies and our governor Rick Scott.

The local PD has done that here where i live in the last couple years. They do it for crosswalk violations. The main thoroughfare has a couple crosswalks that don't have any traffic lights. People just fly thru them when pedestrians are crossing in the crosswalk. People zipped on thru when the giant Easter Bunny was in the crosswalk trying to cross too.

BUSTED!

That is "Stupid".
Whoever thought up this lame brain scheme needs to change professions.
I hear the "Grinch" needs an assistant.

I don't wear a seat belt when I'm driving because it's dangerous. The damn thing locks up when I'm trying to crane my neck around to see past my blind spots if I also happen to be accelerating or breaking at the same time (even if just a little bit). Last time I explained this to a cop he said he wouldn't give me a ticket for it. But he did. It cost me a hundred bucks and I'm already using a credit card to simply eat.

They say it's for safety. I say it's bloody extortion.

I don't see the big deal. Law enforcement comes up with a unique way to enforce.

There's a lot of idiots out there behind the wheel, and people die every day from "accidents", by all means if the officers want to disguise themselves as a bunny, mail box, or whatever other clever contraption I say be my guest and get them off the freakin' road and/or enforce seatbelt laws.

Obey the law and you've got nothing to worry about, right?

eta: For whatever reason I don't feel comfortable driving without a seatbelt. Watching a few highway rollover videos must have had something to do with that, maybe.