Searching for drunks triggers a backlash:
Orange traffic cones. Police officers with flashlights. Tow trucks idling.
The sight of a sobriety checkpoint is supposed to be — well — sobering.
But frequent roadblocks on a short stretch of Natural Bridge Road and at least one of its major cross streets this summer have triggered complaints that police are more interested in writing tickets than catching drunks in that part of north St. Louis County. During one Pine Lawn checkpoint in August, for instance, officers wrote 133 tickets — none for drunken driving.
Coming soon: Armed home inspections looking for building violations. In the interest of public safety!
