If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck. ~ Unknown quote
Some things just strike us as odd.
One of these is the way that Alexandria approaches outfitting its code enforcement officer.
We came across an article that appeared in the Alexandria Recorder back on October 29, 2009 that helps explain what we’re talking about.
We know of no other city that outfits their Code Enforcement Officer eerily like a police officer. Alexandria outfits him in police style dress which includes the police logo on the shirt, badge, collapsible baton and police radio. The vehicle is a police cruiser complete with red and blue lights, police computer and police radio. The city allows him to keep the cruiser at his home and cruise around the city at will.
The Code Enforcement Officer is also a member of Alexandria’s Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) and this car can be seen running around “on patrol” in Alexandria almost every day.
As justification for the ambiguity the city says that they have citizens comment on how reassuring it is to have a “police” cruiser up and down their streets several times a day and the city also claims that his appearance gives him an air of authority.
We think that police work is serious business and this explanation is lame at best.
Everything about this appearance is so close to being a sworn police officer look that many people think he is a police officer.
In the article Mayor McGinley says that “it certainly gets their attention” when people see Hipple drive up in a police car “but he is not a policeman and doesn’t pretend to be” but others say he doesn’t discourage you from believing he is if you happen to think he is.
Of course this silliness has to be condoned by the mayor for it to occur and now that McGinley’s term of office ends December 31 we wonder if the newly elected mayor Bill Rachford will condone the continuation of this charade.
