"Pacing" correction
I've gotten a few e-mails today correcting my definition of "pacing," the method by which Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small was pulled for allegedly speeding on Feb. 6.
Here's how I defined the term in my articles Friday and Saturday: "Pacing is a common practice in which an officer drives beside the suspected speeder and tries to determine his or her speed."
And here's what one retired officer said: "Actually, 'pacing' a speeder is usually done from 'behind' or 'in front of' the violator rather than 'beside' as stated in your articles. The officer simply keeps the distance between the two vehicles constant and reads the speed from his speedometer. The violator is usually not stupid enough to ignore a marked police vehicle beside his/her own."
Sorry about the error, folks. I'll stick a correction in the newspaper tomorrow, and I'll get it right in future stories. If there are future stories!