I have jogged between the pyramids at Giza in Egypt; along the shores of the Panama Canal; with military escort through killing fields in Uganda, East Africa; on the beach in Guam; in blizzards in Boston and Central Park; across the Golden Gate Bridge; up mountains in the Rockies and even up and down stairways in hotels when I was traveling and it was impossible, for whatever reason, to run outside.
    For over 30 years I have run approximately 30 miles a week. There is only one place in the world where I have run and had police come from behind in a squad car with a bullhorn to menacingly tell me, “Get on the sidewalk.”
    That place is the town in which I live, Ocean Ridge.
    I don’t know if there is a special law in Ocean Ridge (and only Ocean Ridge) that requires runners to run on sidewalks at all times, which our local police feel compelled to sternly enforce. But I seriously doubt it.
    Lest you think I’m a regular police basher, l will tell you that I am an adviser to some of the largest police forces in the country and regularly work with law enforcement on financial crime matters. I like cops and respect the work they do.
Good cops, in my experience, respect the citizenry they have a sworn duty to protect.  
    I have heard from outsiders that the police in Ocean Ridge have a reputation for being discourteous to people who travel through our community. I don’t know if that is true, but I do believe our police could learn to be friendlier to town residents, in particular.
    Smile more, guys, and ask yourselves (when you’re warning a resident about parking on the street in front of his own house): Do I really need to be mean about this?
    I don’t think you do.

Edward Siedle
Ocean Ridge

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