Okay... Before everyone starts screaming "Racist Dallas Cops!" and "Racist Backward Texans!" as you yankees are want to do at the merest screw-up of one of my fellow Texans, let's get one thing straight:

Pursuant to Federal Law, you must be able to "... read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language..." in order to drive a vehicle in the United States ......................... of the commercial variety, that is.................. you know, big trucks and stuff like that. See, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminsration Rules and Regulations Sec. 391.11(b)(2).

So, over the past few years, some confused Dallas coppers have reportedly handed out  39 tickets to drivers of everyday passenger vehicles for not speaking the English language sufficiently during traffic stops. Why?

Because they hate Hispanics?

Because they want to punish illegal immigrants?

No.

Blame the drop down menu.

You see, there are these drop-down menus of various offenses on patrol car computer screens used to complete the department's electronically printed tickets. The offense of "Not speaking English" appears along with all the other state offenses like "45 in a 30 zone", etc., without indicating that the offense relates to commercial vehicles only. The strange thing is that the department does not even enforce said federal regulations. So my question is, "Where did they get the software?" Perhaps it's time for an upgrade. Is this some sinister Silicon Valley plot to get back at Texas for taking away so many of its jobs?

Still, some people are howling for blood.

"It sounds like a policy. Discrimination on the basis of language ability, and that's targeting Latinos, and so that sounds pretty serious to me," George Martinez of the SMU School of Law told the Dallas Morning News.

"The issue has nothing to do with whether people should learn English or not. I believe they should. It's about not following the law and issuing citations against a law that doesn't exist, against a fairly voiceless and helpless population," stated Domingo Garcia, the attorney for one of those ticketed for the offense.

Yes, it's much ado about a drop-down menu. Still, it's sad that some DPD officers, and their supervisors who must approve all tickets, did not catch the error. Back to class officers!!!

The debacle has been quite an embarrassment for a city and state where where more than 40% of its residents are of Hispanic heritage. Ooops. The fine levied against those passenger vehicle drivers who could not speak English was a hefty $204. According to DPD Chief, David Kunkle, the department is currently tracking down those who paid the fine so a refund can be made.

Those crying "racism" and "racial profiling" have obviously never worked in a big bureaucracy like the Police Department of a large city. This is not a case of institutionalized racism. It's something rampant in a lot of large government entities: institutional incompetence. Good one, Big D!

Read the DMN story.