Deputy Dresses as Elf to catch Speeders

**OfficerResource.com** · 12-14-06, 06:56 AM

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- In Orange County, the problem isn't dashing through the snow. It's cars darting down the street at high speeds.

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PHOTOS: Images Of ELF operation
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So the Orange County Sheriff's Office is doing something about it, launching Operation ELF: Enforcing Limits and Fining speeders.

Here's how it works: a sheriff's deputy dressed as an elf clocks cars using a radar gun then dispatches a motorcycle deputy to pull them over and issue the driver a ticket.

More than 150 tickets were written in just over two hours Thursday.

Some people said using a holiday icon to enforce the law didn't seem right.

"That's specifically why we didn't use Santa Claus," Ken Wyne of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said. "We didn't choose a nativity scene. We chose an elf. An elf is known for their impish behavior. If you're going to speed in Orange County, you never know who's going to be on the street corner."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said they will continue to use similar decoys throughout the holiday season.

Watch Local 6 News for more information on this story.

**Pedro56** · 12-14-06, 08:42 AM

Are they that hard up for some movers?

**Star Man** · 12-14-06, 01:59 PM

Some city guys here dress up in road crew garb and stand in a construction zone. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

**OfficerResource.com** · 12-14-06, 02:02 PM

In ohio they would call that poaching

**Ducky** · 12-14-06, 07:57 PM

The sign on the bag reads "Help an Elf - Slow Down"

I don't see how it's different from an officer sitting in a 'hidden' area while running radar. And the public's solution is the same as always - do the speed limit (or at least something resembling it) and you won't get popped. Simple enough to me.