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Chief Chris Wallace said the department "pretty much has a zero-tolerance policy" for Dart Wars. Boone said his officers have been told since the beginning that they have discretion to file charges against Dart Wars players if they think the incident warrants it. They also are cautioned never to let their guard down on any run. So, they are justified in pulling their pistols.

"Don't think for a minute we aren't concerned about this," [ Chief Kirk Nordbloom] said. "But, our stance is, if you abide by the law, you won't have a problem with it. Play your game. But, if you break the law, you pay the price."

He's talked to police in both communities about calling a halt to Dart Wars. Officers suggested that Montgomery and Blue Ash could pass resolutions to outlaw the game, he said. So far, nothing has been done.

And no one questions how dangerous to society at large it is to have have chiefs of police who confuse their own orders based on their own tastes with the law. Remember several years ago some municipality that wouldn't hire any cops of above "average" intelligence for fear they would move on to some other job? I wonder if that is what has been going on here.

Remember several years ago some municipality that wouldn't hire any cops of above "average" intelligence for fear they would move on to some other job?

New London, CT, among others.

U.S. Justice Department Wants "Dumbed Down" Cops
(06/13/97)
"The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has been pressuring police forces across the country to abandon "cognitive" entrance exams [exams based upon mental ability, reasoning skills, and intelligence], which test for basic reading, writing, memory and reasoning skills.
"The Department argues that such tests are illegal because they exclude too many minorities from police ranks. Cognitive test supporters say the tests are needed to assure that officers have the mental skills to make quick decisions about everything from the constitutional rights of suspects to the use of deadly force.
"As of 1993, some 83 percent of large city and county police forces used cognitive tests in hiring -- but that may be about to change. After years of pressure from the Justice Department, Nassau County, N.Y., agreed to replace its cognitive-based entrance exam with one that was based on personality -- in which applicants had to score only as well as the bottom 1 (one) percent of current police officers on a reading exam.

Note the date.