The KCMO Police Department ran three (3) separate DUI checklanes in one single night last week on July 2, 2009, at three separate locations. These three checklanes yielded a whopping total of three (3) DUI arrests. Now, each one of these checklanes was staffed by a minimum of 10 police officers, and often more like 30. So, on July 2, we had somewhere between 30 and 90 police officers manning 3 separate roadblocks, stopping law-abiding citizens in three different locations around the city, all to arrest 3 people. Holy smokes! Every one of those officers was being paid overtime. The police chief likes to say that the money for these checklanes is provided by the federal government as if there is no taxpayer money used to pay for all of the overtime and equipment for these debacles. However, in addition to municipal taxes paid to the city, I pay federal taxes, too, so it doesn’t make me feel much better that it was just my federal taxes wasted on this. You cannot tell me that 30 to 90 police officers could not be put to better use than to round up 3 alleged drunk drivers (remember: they are presumed innocent and some or all may acquitted of the DUI accusation). Blocking 3 separate locations, with 30-90 officers, squandering all of the citizenry’s money, and then providing almost no benefit to the community seems un-American on weekend that our country celebrates the Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of the King of England.