Dear Editor,
I just came back from the weekend in Killington. It could’ve been perfect skiing vacation; however it was ruined by the Killington traffic police.
On Saturday we were leaving the parking lot, and I was driving in a long line of cars on the Killington Road going down toward Route 4. About a half mile down the road, a police car inserted itself between my car and the car behind me and turned the sirens on. I pulled my car over and inquired to the police officer why I had such a privilege to be stopped of all the cars traveling on the road. He told me that I was traveling at 49 miles an hour in the 35 miles speeding zone.
I was incredulous. Not only I was I not driving that fast, but also every car was traveling with me at the same speed. Was I singled out because of my New York license plate? I managed to hold such questions to myself. My 7-year-old daughter had started to cry, so I decided that it was pointless to argue with this guy. I just told him that he managed to ruin a perfect skiing day.
After he departed to his car with my driving license and registration, my daughter continued crying, so my wife left her seat and went back to comfort her. What happened after it was just unbelievable. A second officer jumped out of the police car and rush toward my wife yelling at her “Get back to your car! Immediately get back to your car!” It almost looked like he was going to pull the gun on her!
I guess that because there is no crime in Vermont, it has become a sport for the local police to hunt the unsuspected tourists who drive five hours from New York to spend the weekend skiing?
I took the name of the police officer who gave me the ticket, Jonathan Hall. I am writing this letter because Vermonters needs to know who its heroes and protectors really are.
Because of this experience, my daughter is saying that she hates Killington and would never come back, but we still love skiing, so I hope I’ll be able to convince her otherwise.
Leo Khmelniker, New York, N.Y.
