by TChris

Zero tolerance policies are great for public employees, who can follow them while doing zero thinking. Highland Park, Texas has zero tolerance of people who don't pay their traffic tickets -- they all get arrested, no matter how silly the arrest might be.

When [the police] found that 97-year-old Harriette "Dolly" Kelton had an outstanding warrant for failing to pay a traffic ticket, they handcuffed her, put her in the squad car and hauled her to jail.

Dolly's son notes that his mother is a tad forgetful, an understandable infirmity in a person who has nearly reached the century mark. A reasonable officer would have reminded Dolly that she needed to pay the ticket. Instead, the police wasted time and resources taking her into custody and processing her into the jail. The cost in manpower undoubtedly exceeded the amount of the unpaid fine, making this a poor investment for taxpayers, apart from creating a public perception that the Highland Park police are too dim-witted to exercise discretion or common sense.