CCSD Police use drunk Pinocchio and Peter Cottontail to spread message about dangerous driving
By Joe Vigil
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — On Wednesday morning CCSD Police Department held a school zone speed enforcement operation outside Lummis Elementary, Becker Middle School and Shenker Academy.
“There’s a lot of schools in this tiny area and we’re just trying to get drivers to slow down and look for kids. Try to be a little more patient and drive as if every kid in the school zone is their own child,” said CCSD Police Traffic Unit Sergeant Michael Campbell.
CCSD police say they cite many parents when they do operations in school zones. In just an hour on Wednesday police say they made 36 traffic stops with 42 violations. From six am to 12 p.m. police stopped a total of 72 cars and issued 84 violations, mostly for speed.
The measure is just one-way police try to get the message out about dangerous driving. Another way is a little more creative. The department hopes a drunk Pinocchio and sloshed Peter Cottontail will help get the word out on social media, specifically on the department’s Facebook page.
“If it’s not something different, you’re going to keep scrolling on by. So, we’ve always tried to make it funny with a side of education,” said Campbell.
Campbell uses the characters to mimic real drivers and the dangerous things they do on the road. For instance, one Facebook post shows Peter Cottontail holding what looks like a wine bottle and glass.
“During one of the stops, Highway Patrol found themselves a little dust bunny. The driver, now known as Peter-Cotton-Drunk, apparently had too much carrot juice before hitting the bunny trail around an elementary school. This liquored up Lagomorph was radared at 61 mph in a 35,” reads the Facebook post.
It goes on to say the driver blew at .345, more than four times the legal alcohol limit to drive.
“Don’t be like this Booze-Lipped-Bunny and drive sober, especially around our schools,” reads the post.
Campbell believes similar posts have helped build a social media audience to spread the message. He says the department had around 5000 followers on its Facebook page a couple of years ago, but now has 25,000. However, he says the campaign isn’t about how many followers CCSD Police can get on Facebook. He says it’s about awareness and keeping people safe on the road.
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