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 speeding ticket pictures




Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: Tim A. Dowd <bodo@lmsc.lockheed.com>
Subject: Speeding Ticket Revisited
Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 13:31:34 GMT

I have, as requested, corresponded with the Campbell Police Department in an attempt to confirm the T status of my claim that the "speeder gets photo-radar ticket, speeder sends back picture of money, cops send picture of handcuffs, speeder pays" story actually happened.

I just mailed the letter last Saturday (July 9) and received a reply yesterday (July 12), a gratifyingly prompt response indeed. James A. Cost, the Campbell Chief of Police, sent me a note affirming that the incident took place along with two clippings from Herb Caen's column in the S.F. Chronicle (reprinted here without permission and under fair use blah blah blah).

The first column (undated, presumably before June 6, 1991) states: "Steve Barkley of Pebble Beach just got a $45 ticket and a photo of his car caught speeding . . . in Campbell. Not to be outdone, he sent the Campbell Police Dept. a photo of $45 but I don't think it'll work either."

The (apparently) later column (dated Wednesday June 21, 1991): "I ran an item a few days ago about [repeated description of Mr. Barkley's efforts]. Well, Campbell police chief James A. Cost was equal to the challenge. He mailed Barkley a photo of a set of handcuffs. Your move, Steve..."

Mr. Cost also included copies of a letter he sent to Herb Caen dated June 6, 1991 stating (in part): "...here's what we sent him" with an enclosure of the infamous handcuff picture. It looks like a photocopy of a drawing, or a photocopy of the cuffs themselves. It is possible to make out the manufacturer's name: The Peerless Handcuff Co. which appears to be located in Massachusetts (the city is unreadable). There is also a copy of Herb's reply (basically a thanks for the good stuff). But wait! In Mr. Cost's note to me, he included a thread tie-in (how about that): "I sent this story to Reader's Digest & they ignored it." And, as the final item, I now possess a Cop Card featuring James A. Cost (the 1994 version). Cop Cards are trading cards featuring police.

My final effort was to actually attempt to contact Mr. Steve Barkley. I got a phone number from information for a Steven Barkley in Pacific Grove (which is proximate to Pebble Beach) and gave him a ring. It was in fact the same Steve Barkley, and he also confirmed the story. He is in fact a stand-up comedian by profession (or is that a trade?) and claims to use the story in his act. Oh, he mentioned that he was the one who initially told Herb Caen.

So, what's the verdict? I do not have a copy of the actual ticket, or of the photo of money, but I do have two first-person affirmations. Given the people involved, my opinion is that it did happen, mostly intended to generate publicity.

Tim "Anyone nearby with decent scanner?" Dowd --
"As soon as those international cognoscenti who claim there isn't any fundamental difference stop chattering we can proceed." R. R. Bennett


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