South Euclid Police Department

You will not often hear me raving about South Euclid. We are within shouting distance of paying the same taxes as suburbs that are famous for their taxes, like Shaker Heights, but without the uh… nice things you associate with Shaker. There’s a lot of blight, there are tons of empty and decaying houses, and we are never ranked very well among Cleveland suburbs regarding schools, property values, etc…
But, I will sing praises of the police department all day. These guys and gals are great.
Tonight, in preparation for this huge winter storm, I was moving cars around to shovel ice and snow, and I accidentally locked my only key in my running rental car (I was recently rear-​ended on 271 by an accident rubbernecker… fun!). Oops. Enterprise wanted $ 57 to send someone out. Perfectly reasonable I guess, but out of the question. I’ve seen police «break in» to a vehicle before as well as a tow truck operator, and I thought I might be able to do it. I had a few wood shims opening the door enough to get a coat hanger in, but it was too flimsy. I called the PD, and despite the awful weather, an officer was there in less than ten minutes and took care of things quickly. He was friendly, pleasant, and funny.
But while that was the impetus for this review, the real reason I love South Euclid cops is that they really do seem to be concerned with public safety over revenue generation. The Chief of Police himself told me that they do not write speeding tickets for less than 15 over in most areas, or 10 over in target enforcement areas. He said, «we’re not in the business of trying to bust people just to make money. It’s entirely possible you’re driving safely while going 47 in a 35 in no traffic. We use our judgment.»
I like that. I think that’s the way it shold be. In a metro area that is infamous for certain suburban forces that just loooooove to write tickets for bullcrap non-​events (I’ll refrain from naming examples in case they’re reading), it’s nice to know that there’s at least once suburb where, if you’re not driving like a jerk, you don’t have to stare at your speedometer every othe moment.