Karen

Jim says:

That is just horrible to put her kids through that!  Like you said, they treat everyone like they have committed murder!

The cops CLAIMED that the reason they took me in was that they wanted to compare my receipt copies to theirs. Sounds like bullshit to me, but they were bigger than me and they had guns so what could I do?

At the time, I worked at the Pizza Hut on S. High St. and only went to the west side to visit my brother who worked at the Lincoln Village Pizza Hut or my sister who lived just past New Rome.

Anyway, it's a dump... I avoid it.

Take care,
squishee

Jim says:

Those freaks having guns is a personal fear of mine!  Yeah, they went to training but that just means they have a better chance of shooting me properly!  I wouldn't trust any of them with a butter knife, let alone a gun.  I wonder if they give them psychological evaluations before arming them?  I doubt it.

It was in the 80's when I was 19 and I was on the way home at 1am in the morning from a friend's house on Rome-Hilliard road, turning onto Broad street to go West.  You might know, that just barely nips through New Rome, and I am pulled over.  Now, it was 1 am and there was nobody else around, but me and the New Rome police officer.  He came up to my car (1970 VW beetle) and looked at my license and registration.  Everything was in order because I was a clean cut geek guy (still am).

The officer asks me did I know my license tag sticker was expired?  No I didn't.  In fact, it had been expired for about 1 hour, as it was 1am in the morning on that day.  So I say Doh! and tell the officer that I have it at home on the kitchen table and if he likes I would go get it, put it on, and come back to show him.  But no, he says if I had it with me, that would be one thing, but that's not good enough.

Then he asks me to come sit in his cruiser, which I do.  And he calls me in to see if I am a criminal or whatever.  He asks me you been drinkin tonight and i say no, i don't drink.  He gets the ok on me over the radio and fills out the ticket, asking me again you sure you aint been drinkin? and i say i don't drink. (which i still don't).

Then I'm free to go, and come back later and pay $40 to the clerk, which i did the next day, but after i put my license plate sticker on.  I always put my license plate sticker on now, and drive real careful through new rome.

Jim says:

There is just no sense in that!  Your average Officer uses judgment when giving a ticket.  A lot can come into play when issuing the ticket.  I have found for the most part if you are respectful, have a good record, and wasn't doing anything dangerous they will warn you and let you go.  Now, this is not always the case, but it does happen.  New Rome on the other hand never seems to let people go on anything.  I know there are some people who think you break the law and get caught you should pay the price!  That is not true at all.  The law are written to protect us (or so we are told) and using judgment is a right given to officers when they pull someone over.  New Rome doesn't use judgment.  It's always ticket ticket ticket.  Never a break.

Jim says:

Holy cow Tonnie!  I would never tell a Police I was armed with guns!  Especially New Rome Police.  Seems they would be the types to shoot and plant guns on you if they didn't find any.  26 in a 25 and he was going to keep your license?  Geeez!  Where do they get off thinking they can do that crap!  I think their training is watching every episode of  Keystone Cops.

Jim says:

You were a great Police Officer and I salute you!  Just as there are bad, there are good cops.  Problem with New Rome is, this is not the case.  They are all bad!  If a good cop got hired, he would leave quick to get on a real force!  I have a lot of respect for good cops.  You have to have a certain attitude when you on the job and a lot of people interpret this as being a bad cop, but it's not.  If you have a BAD attitude, then your a bad cop.  To be a good cop you have to have a good attitude and still be able to show authority and control any situation.  Then again, you could mail me back and say insane and completely wrong.  heh heh  Thanks for the letter!

Jim says:

They told me that too.  "Well I'm sure you did something illegal before and didn't get caught"  Oh thanks a lot.  Heck, let's just ticket random people all over the country on that philosophy!  And you are far from the only one who has got pulled over for NOTHING.  They do it all the time from the letters I have got.  You have many people behind you on this.  New Rome is just all wrong!

Jim says:

I would hope that number goes up to thousands!  The state should section off Broad St to take the detour around New Rome.  Then they would go out of business real quick.  I know it's not realistic, but it's funny to think about.

Jim says:

I'm sure they are nervous!  I knew that the business owners had to not like the police.  I'm sure the police could care less if there was no residents or businesses as long as they could harass the motorists who pass through.

squishee
 

Jim says:

Isn't that typical.  You pay your fine and they still come after you.  I'm sure your money and their receipt copies got lost in the shuffle of someone stealing the money.

I read the article in the paper about New Rome and have been reading them all. Aside from it being a discrase to Columbus, New Rome is out of control.

I was pulled over for alleged expired tags. I explained to the officer that they were not expired and for him to check his computer. After checking he came back and asked me to step out of my car where he sumarily placed me under arrst. When asking what the charge was I was told for driving under expired tags. After getting back to the "station" (if anyone would call a trailer a station that is) the officer told me that my tags were not expired but since there was no tag they were illegal.

I was given a fine (yet to be paid to this date) and sent on my merry way after posting 500$ bail. I went to court and the court said that I had to pay the fine or lose my license. I have not paid the fine and am suing New Rome to this day. I had to recently pay the fine as my job requires a valid drivers license but am still suing New Rome for reimbursment. The case is pending and not going anywhere.

Thanks!
Louis
 

Jim says:

That is the same thing they are trying to do to me.  Thank goodness I don't need a license to do my job and my wife drives me wherever I want to go.  What kind of mentality would cause someone to find out they are wrong and yet still expect you to pay a fine?!  Good luck and keep us posted!

Here comes the disgrace to all other police, with lights blazing.  I thought, he can't be pulling me over for running a red light, it was yellow when I was in the intersection.  The cop says "do you know why I pulled you over," now in New Rome it could be anything like we don't like blue cars, But I said "I hope it wasn't for running a red light because it was yellow."
He says "you didn't make it to the other side of the intersection before it turned red."  After looking dumbfounded I said "there is no law stating you have to get to the other side before it turns red," I was guessing.  He said, "We have an ordinance in New Rome that make running a yellow light a violation."

I paid the fine and awaited a time I could get even, here is our chance, The day they abolish that little piece of si*! town, I will organize a parade.

kevin

Jim says:

This type of story is what really makes me mad at New Rome and any other little police force that abuses the people.  This horrible abuse of power!  We can't fight it at all!  They make up their own little rules and laws that usually are against the law, but not being lawyers we just don't fight it and we just pay the fine.  This isn't saying your wrong for paying the fine.  It's drilled into our heads that the police are good and if they stop us we must be doing wrong.  We just need better protection from them and their "laws."

Enjoyed looking at your website this morning.  I was a stung for $103 as I left Doctors West Hospital after a long shift in October of 2001.  I had been warned by friends of the New Rome police, but never really gave it much thought.  I was doing 41 in their famous 35 zone.  I fully admit the speed, however, the $103 was excessive to say the least.  I now take the interstate to get to my apartment on Rome-Hilliard road in Hilliard.  It is unfortunate that I have to drive extra miles everyday to avoid going through that 1000 foot stretch of corruption.  I do not trust them and they will never get the opportunity to get me again. These speed traps for minor violations are completely ridiculous and it gives my great pleasure to read about the town on the front pages of newspapers across the state.  New Rome and its police department needs to go.  If their is anything I can do to help your cause, please let me know.

Jason
Medical Student
Doctors West

Jim says:

Jason,

Thanks for sharing.  I think $103 is very excessive too.  Heck, to get a ticket there you speedometer only has to be off a few MPH and if their radar gun is a few off boom.  You get a nice $103 ticket.  If I had known the speed limit was 35, this page wouldn't exist.  I would have paid the fine and complained about the speedtrap and went on about my life.    It's that they admitted they were wrong and still expect me to pay the fine.

I can relate to your plight. First some background.

I was pulled over by part-time new rome officer a while ago for having license plates from my old car on my new car. Now keep in mind I had just bought this car and traded in the old one and the car dealership transferred the plates from the old car to the new car. I had bought this car on a Thursday and made the mistake of driving through new rome on that Saturday.
I had the paperwork from the dealership showing the date of purchase and the trade-in and the bastards in new rome still wrote me a ticket. Well, I went to the BMV a asked about the situation and was informed that I had not broken any laws and the kind lady at the BMV even gave me a copy of the revised code that stated I was in the right. So I had to take a day off of
work and go to mayor's court. When I get there I met three other people who had the same ticket and the same letter from the BMV. One by one we go before the mayor present our evidence and they throw the case out. They knew they had written a bogus ticket yet they did it any way. Makes you wonder how many people just paid the fine because they could take the time off of work.

Since this has happened I have moved to Little Farms in Prairie Township (2 blocks from new rome. When I am bored I listen to the new rome police on my scanner. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that new rome police just set on broad st all day and run plates on cars as they go by. You do not have to be breaking the law for them to run your plate. I have heard them pull people over because the person that the car is legally registered to does not have a license, even though someone else who does have a valid license is the one driving. I have heard them pull people over and then try and find a reason to give them a ticket. And as you already know from my own experience I have seen and heard them write tickets for something that isn't even illegal.

The biggest problem I have with new rome is that it creates a lot on needless traffic into my neighborhood because people are trying to avoid new rome. Not that I blame them, I avoid new rome also. All I ask is that if you are driving through my neighborhood to avoid new rome remember that the speed limit is 25mph for the safety of our kids not to make money. And
please don't run the 4way stops, I see a lot of that also.

With any luck at all the new Mayor will do away with new rome and we can all reclaim Broad St.

Thanks and Good Luck,

William
 

Jim says:

That's a great story William.  Anything that shows that the system can be beat is a great story!  So many people jsut pay the fine because they are afraid to fight for what is right.

Not only the fine, but the damage to my truck and it was only out one day the next day my new sticker came in the mail.

Now it appears that they had no right to have a trial accept a plea or interfere with my 1st amendment right to travel, or deny my 7th amend right  to a trial by jury, nor deceive me by means of wire fraud, mail fraud, and extortion.

newrome sucks.

Michelle the Pissed Off

Many years ago while working for an outdoor sign company, I was contacted by a gentleman who owned a small store in
New Rome and needed to erect a new sign for his business.  This job was expected be quite simple - erect a new sign on the
existing pole located on his property near the street.   After measuring his store frontage and checking the city ordinances to
determine the proper sized sign allowed for his business, we prepared a drawing and I went to the New Rome city building
to submit an application for a sign permit.  After submitting our design to the city, our application was denied because the sign
was located too close to the street (remember - we were going to erect the sign on an existing pole which should have
already been grand fathered within the code).  I was told that we would have to file for a variance which would involve going
to a variance committee meeting (and also involve an additional filing fee).

At this point I should explain that the business owner had been working with another sign company before mine and had been
unsuccessful getting a permit.  He was worried because he only had ~30 days to erect his sign or be faced with fines from the
city for operating a business within proper identification.

When the time came to attend the variance meeting (conveniently scheduled at 7:00 pm) I drove out to New Rome, after a
long day at the office, to attend the meeting.  I remember the sinking feeling in my stomach as I stood up to face the 6 or so
members of the variance board.  Most of the members were older and all had a bad attitude.  After being dressed down by
the zoning board for designing a sign that didn't conform to code my request for a variance was summarily denied (ironic
when you see some of the "gems" other store owners have hanging out in front of their businesses).  I was then reminded that
the business owner was scheduled to receive a substantial fine because he was operating a business without proper signage
for his business.  I felt crushed.

By now the business owner was worried and quite upset with me.  The following week I made yet another visit to New
Rome and remarkably found a young lady at the city building who was sympathetic to our situation and agreed to try and
"push things through".  After about a week (and within days of the business owner receiving his fine) I called back to New
Rome and was informed that a permit would be granted for our sign.  What a relief.

After all was said and done, the business owner and I speculated that the root of our problems with New Rome were due to
the fact that he lived outside of New Rome and was an "outsider".  We'll never know for sure why so many obstacles were
encountered..

I spent about 10 years working in the sign business and this project was without a doubt the most difficult one I ever
endured.  Needless to say, I stay as fay away from New Rome as possible.

Anonymous

I was driving on Broad in the 45 mph zone and then my voicemail rang.  I looked down to hit the button to get it to stop ringing and then when I looked up I just passed the 35 mph sign. I slammed on my brakes because I know better than to speed through there, but it was too late. They  pulled me over and gave me a speeding ticket. They told me that I had to call  in and find out how much it was because they don't tell people face to face.  I was thinking about fighting it and in the process I kept forgetting to call to find out how much it  was. The ticket was due on a Friday and I completely forgot again to call so I didn't pay it on time. I was going  to go down there on lunch on Monday to take care of it, but I didn't get  the chance. Then Monday morning, the receptionist buzzes me and says that I have a couple of visitors. I come out to the lobby and there stands a  New
Rome cop and a Hilliard cop with my picture blown up real big and a warrant because my ticket was 3 days late. They wouldn't let me just give them a check...they took me to New Rome in the back of the police car and handcuffed me once they put me in the car. I was so terrified and  upset. It was the most horrible experience ever. Then when we got to the station they made me keep them on until I got into the police station. The cop tried to make me feel better by telling me that they pick up people  like me 3 or 4 times a day. So I paid my $103 ticket AND $50 for the warrant and then they tell me that I have to find my own ride back to work. My friend Lisa from work picked me up and I thought the nightmare was  over.

Well a few weeks ago, I get a letter that says my license has been suspended. I called New Rome and they said, "Oops, we
accidentally canceled your license." It took 5 days and about 100 phone calls to get the BMV to release the suspension. It was so horrible.

Needless to say,
I'll never pay a ticket late again...

The NRPD is one of the few agencies that has the will or time to go arrest people over unpaid traffic tickets.

My story begins on a nice sunny Memorial Day.  I had left my parent’s RV at Alton Camp Grounds minutes earlier and was on my way to Dublin.  I believed the speed limit to be 45 MPH and could find no sign that said otherwise from the last speed limit sign.  I, of course, was going under 45 because I had heard people talk about how much of a speed trap New Rome is and I didn't want to take any chances.

No sooner than I had pulled up to the light marking the end of New Rome, a police cruiser came zooming up behind me with lights and sirens blasting.  I thought he wanted to go around me so I pulled over as far as I could, but then I heard him say to pull into the B.P. station parking lot, I was shocked.  What the Hell had I done?

The less than personable police officer informed me that I was speeding,.  I was going 42 in a 35 zone.  I was dumbfounded.
After getting my ticket and already thinking of fighting it I drove back around and looked for a 35 MPH sign.  I didn't see it.
So I did it again to be sure and there it was.  Positioned less than 5 feet from the bottom of the ground and a good 11 feet from the side of the street curb.  I knew, as I am sure anyone in his or her right mind would, there was something wrong here.  I was bound and determined to prove it.

I spent many days emailing the Ohio Department Of Transportation, Federal Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and lawyers, looking for information and stories about New Rome.  I took pictures of the signs with my wife standing next to them and I found many stories about their "Speed Trap" and was getting a few answers from the emails.  When I finally heard back from ODOT it was from a sign engineer and he told me the size of the sign was ok and there were no laws regarding the position, though he thought it was a bit low.  I knew this had to be wrong!  It wasn't accident that signs all over the Nation were positioned otherwise.

The court date came and I had what evidence I could find in the Ohio Revised Code, but nothing about positioning of the sign.  The Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (OMUTCD) is not published online, for some reason, and the ORC only says very general things such as "You can't enforce a sign if it's not visible to a reasonable observant person" and so forth.  No hardcore facts, but I was ready to fight.

I arrived at court.  What a joke!  The court resides in a trailer and most of the accused not only did not have insurance, but they did not have a valid drivers license either!  I was the only one there fighting a speeding ticket.  I was the LAST case to be heard and after sitting there for three and a half hours I was not too energetic.  The Magistrate all but said what I had wasn't enough evidence because I didn't have anything saying how tall the sign should be.  Being the nice guy that he is (yeah right), he said if I just plead guilty he would reduce it to a non-moving violation, though the fine ended up being the same.  Feeling beaten down I agreed.  But an appeal was burning in my mind even as he talked to the arresting officer about how ODOT had put the sign there so it had to be right.  I just smiled and nodded.

The next day I got an email from the Federal Highway Administration giving me my much needed proof.  The Federal Manual states, "Where parking or pedestrian movements occur, the clearance to the bottom of the sign shall be at least 7 ft."  I was excited!  I also got hold of the right people at ODOT and they said the same thing!  I got copies of all this and was ready again.  I gave them my appeal the next day.  The officer who took it had NO idea what to do with the appeal, but said he would give it to someone.  Nine days went by and I called because I had not received anything.  The Clerk said she hadn't processed it yet, but to come in that night and she would.  I went in and the appeal process was rolling.

I got a paper in the mail about my appeal being handled at the County Court.  I was excited!  A real court!  I had read stories in the dispatch about people going to the County Traffic court and if they had evidence, they were let off.  How could I lose?!

Little did I know, this was an APPEALS court.  When I got there I got that sinking feeling.  The New Rome Lawyer/Magistrate was there and was talking to the judge about my case.  This is allowed?!?!  I had never been in a court like this and felt very scared and intimidated.  The lawyer came to me and asked what new evidence I had.  With a nervous hand I gave him the copies of the manuals.  He looked over them and just sort of shook his head.  He said he would show them to the judge and said you had to have these things certified and mocked that this wasn't something you should do without a real lawyer and that people have the wrong idea of court.  Soon, I was believing it.  He took it to the judge and had a good laugh with him.  He came back and told me that the judge said the Federal manual didn't apply because they were federal laws and that since the ODOT manual wasn't certified it wasn't admissible.  I was crushed.   Being my best friend he said he would write  up a paper to withdraw my appeal and the original charge would stick.  I just stared blankly and nodded.  I felt sick to my stomach.  He wrote up the withdraw and told me how he appreciated being educated on correct sign height.  I told him I would still try to get ODOT to make them correct it.  He said it would be corrected by the end of the day and to feel free to check it.  Again I felt ill.  He was admitting they were wrong and yet I would still have to pay the fine.

After I left the Court Offices I was filled with hatred.  Hatred of our legal system, hatred of the laws supposedly “protecting” us.  As I walked past the New Rome police car I felt an urge to smash its windows and kick it.  Of course I didn't, but that was what I wanted to do.

I started calling lawyers at this point and a couple said since I withdrew my appeal there was nothing I could do.  I am a stubborn man and I was not going to give them my money.  I would rather go to jail.  I finally talked to a lawyer who is familiar with fighting New Rome.  He is great, very laid back and easy to talk to.  At this point I am just waiting to see what happens.
I will update this as it develops.