Does anyone else feel that the Federal Way Police Department has an agenda to derive revenue from local drivers more excessively than other communities?

I recently received a citation from a video camera (which is creepy to me) for turning right on red without making a complete stop. I was given the chance to pay the fine, request a contested hearing or request a mitagation hearing. Because I felt there were mitigating circumstances, I requested a mitigation hearing. I received a letter from the court setting June 4 as my court date. It gave the options of appearing in person or by mail. I had a conflict that day, so I used their form to respond by mail, typed a statement and sent it in.

Now this week, I got a notice that I had failed to appear for a contested hearing and now owed not only my original fine, but also late fees of $25 additional. I am a single parent on disability and this is a real burden, but I’ll find a way. I called the court and was told that they had received my form, but I had forgotten to check a box. Great.

Last year, while driving from a complete crosswalk stop up a steep hill in a very heavy rainstorm, I was pulled over by a motorcycle officer and told I was clocked at 37 mph in a 25 mph zone. I have since tested it repeatedly, and the fastest I can get my 14-year-old car with 122,000 miles on it in dry weather is 23 mph when I reach the place he clocked me. I contested this and mentioned both that fact and that radar guns are not accurate in rain, which I had researched. But I was found guilty and paid that fine, too. This is an arterial where the speed limit, in very confusing fashion, changes from 35 to 25, and I see motorcycle officers sitting at the top of the hill every day, often having pulled over drivers. I hadn’t had a speeding ticket in 20 years before that.

Yet when I called (three times) regarding being confronted by unleashed and aggressive dogs on the BPA trail, I am told there’s nothing they can do about it and I should call animal control, even though this is illegal. There are many young families with babies and toddlers that use this trail, and a tragedy is bound to happen.

I have a great deal of respect for police officers and the dangers they face every day in protecting us, but I am feeling right now that their priority in this community is generating income rather than protecting citizens. At least in my case.

Thomas Nicol, Federal Way