I came upon Tristan Pipo‘s blog, a Kitsap County man, who just happened to have an entry this week about the experience of jury duty here.
Tristan didn’t make the cut to actually get on a jury — not an uncommon result — but he did write some interesting paragraphs about hanging out at the Kitsap County courthouse in Port Orchard.
That includes the rant posted below. If you go to his site and blog, please be advised there is some questionable language.
I received some tips today that a bunch of cops were on the side of Highway 3 with a “suspect vehicle.”
After talking with Lt. Clint Casebolt of the Washington State Patrol, I found out why. Turns out a trooper had stopped on the side of the road at about 11 a.m. today with a car that had broken down.
The car was stolen. The driver had run out of gas. And two people were taken to jail.
Blogger’s Note: This is a new installment here at the Forum that lets you ask the questions of a police officer in our area. Our first columnist is Steve Sutherland, a veteran officer with the Bainbridge Island Police Department. Feel free to write in your own questions or responses below.
The Question: I read in the paper all the time that a person arrested for drunk driving is later released with a citation. Why aren’t these people taken to jail?
The Answer: Driving under the influence of alcohol and or drugs is a serious offense and we frequently read in the papers the carnage caused by these drivers.
State legislatures throughout the United States have come to the same conclusion and that’s why we’ve seen an increase in stiffer penalties for someone convicted of driving under the influence.
I saw this bumper sticker this morning, not far from our office. I just thought some of our readers would find it interesting.
Why would this show up on the crime and justice blog? Good question. When I saw this sticker, I thought of rural Seabeck — and how wonderfully rustic a place it must be to live in.
Unfortunately, because of its long, dirt driveways covered with trees, there have been some high-profile crime incidents out there.
After last Saturday’s story ran about the state’s so-called top “DUI bars,” I got a call from Romeo Bar and Grill owner Jack Johnson.
I had hoped to talk with Johnson prior to the initial story running, which spoke of state liquor board statistics and named his bar as the top ranked in the state for DUI arrests after offenders drank there.
Johnson’s comments inspired the Kitsap Sun to write a follow-up story April 3.
UPDATE: And now, I’d like to add the opinion of Mary Golay, the 18-year manager of The 19th Hole, another bar in the allegedly-titled “Barmuda.”
The Crime and Justice Forum was dominated in March by the news of the arrest of the Naval Base Kitsap’s highest enlisted man, Edward E. Scott. But there was all sorts of news, which you can find by clicking the link below.
The discussions on this blog were as fruitful and confrontational as they’ve ever been. For those of you who have followed these discussions, do you have any parting comments? Any lessons learned?
Feedback can only make this blog better.
While many of our fellow news outlets published the name of a teacher who was the apparent victim of a purposefully-placed allergic reaction, we (being the Kitsap Sun) chose not to.
Why?
