Tijuana Police

I am still chuckling over the statement of the Tijuana police chief in The Times (“Tijuana Gets Ready for Holiday Influx,” June 30). According to the chief, “There are no cashiers on the streets of Tijuana.” Give me a break! The chief should cross the border with this gringa in a new GM car with American license plates.

A frequent visitor to Tijuana, I have received two fines this year, one possibly justified, the other not. Both times I was advised by the officers that it would cost me twice as much to pay the fines at the police station as it would to pay them on the spot. The amount of both mordidas was the same: $25.

What a shame that otherwise pleasant visits to a lovely country have to be marred by the stark realization that law enforcement officers find it necessary to supplement their meager incomes by “hitting on” the well-meaning visitors/guests in their country.

On election day in Mexico, when all liquor stores and bars were closed, two friends and I saw a police car slow down as it rounded the corner of Constitucion and 6th. We assumed the officers were going to detain a man for drinking from a bottle, but instead the driver motioned for the bottle, took a quick swig, passed the bottle back and continued on his way. Obviously, the cashiers of Tijuana do not deal only in cash mordidas.

It would appear that this visitor spends more time on the streets of Tijuana than does its police chief.

LOREEN S. CLOW

San Marcos