For those who think law enforcement officials are not subject to traffic tickets, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones has a message: Think again.
On March 9, while Jones was driving an unmarked county vehicle on Interstate 80 about 3:30 p.m., a California Highway Patrol officer cited him for following too close.
Jones told The Bee on Saturday that the stop was uneventful, the officer was "perfect and professional" and that "he didn't offer to give me a break, and I didn't ask for one."
"The public has an unspoken perception that there's a secret society where cops don't get tickets, but that's untrue," Jones said.
The sheriff said he was on his way to pick up tickets for a department fundraiser in Old Sacramento when he was stopped. His wife was with him in the car. He was not in uniform but was wearing his badge and carrying his weapon.
Jones said the CHP officer saw his badge and his identification, and likely knew he was the Sacramento County sheriff, but that the subject was never discussed.
"I was cooperative like any one of the 3.7 million folks that get a ticket in California every year," he said.
It was his first ticket in 25 to 30 years, he said, and serves as a good reminder to be extra cautious. "We all get busy."
Jones said he was aware that rumors were circulating that he was going 96 mph when stopped. He emphasized that they were not true.
"I was not stopped for speeding," he said. The ticket indicated he was traveling 71 mph and the speed limit was 65 mph, he said.
Though he doesn't plan to fight the ticket, Jones did have a quibble. He said the statute on following too close that was used to pull him over is at the officer's "subjective judgment" and that he was not "tailgating in the traditional sense."
Call The Bee's Richard Chang, (916) 321-1018. Follow him on Twitter @RichardYChang.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Richard Chang
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.