Page 430 - NIXBOOK

In the mid 90’s the state lawmakers finally got around to actually make it a crime for kids under 18 to smoke. It had been illegal
for years but there were no procedures to enforce it. When it became a class III civil infraction for minors to be in possession of
tobacco, I started issuing a lot of tickets to the kids I caught smoking. I spent a lot of time walking trails through the woods
around the school, stalking groups of kids and catching them with cigarettes in hand. One time I caught a group of about 20
kids all hiding and smoking; before I could react one of them bolted off into down a trail. Instant conundrum: Do I stay with
the 19, or go after the one running, who must certainly have drugs in his pockets? I went after the one running. Of course the
other 19 immediately scattered the second I turned away from them. By the time I caught the one kid, he had thrown his stash.
Or he was the designated decoy. It was an instant no-win situation for me. Oh look I made the front page of the local paper for
my efforts:

After several years I tapered off the tickets and settled for just threatening the kids with tickets, but I always made them destroy
their cigarettes and lighters and sometimes I’d make them call their parents (when cell phones started becoming the thing) and
explain why they were going to be late for their next class. I know there were a lot of students who hated me for it but for years
afterward I’d have an occasional former student approach me and admit that getting busted and issued a $105 dollar ticket was
the final incentive they needed to quit smoking. I have no idea how many kids quit smoking because of me but considering I
caught literally hundreds over the years, I think it would be safe to say I saved at least a couple dozen. I never felt bad at all
about my methods, even though a lot of fellow officers thought it was a silly thing to focus on at that time. I still don’t regret
yelling at and chasing kids and destroying their cigarettes. I took very few photos back then, the best I can do for this page is
me and a random stray dog I picked up on campus:

I can also claim direct responsibility for convincing a few land owners to trim trees and bushes where the kids would hang out
near the school; a lot of hiding spaces were opened up on city parkland, nearby apartment complexes, churches, and on the back
of school properties. That actually curtailed quite a bit of the hiding-in-the-woods-smoking activity, and to this day the cleared
areas are still clear and visible.

For several years I also participated in a special mentor program to groups of high school kids; one of my groups had the high
school principal’s teenage son. Leftover from my DARE classes I had some “drunk goggles” that when worn, seriously impaired
one’s vision and balance: