Police Checks

* Re Costa Mesa “Unit to Make Safety Checks,” Nov. 5:

By what constitutional authority do city police interfere with citizen travel to check on documentation forced upon us by the state?

Driver’s licenses and car insurance are required by state law, not city law. This is a usurpation of authority by the city and a visible sign of a growing police state.

Remember when peaceful motorists were stopped only for “sobriety” checks, occasions when we might pose a danger to ourselves and others?

Well, now we are stopped merely to satisfy the government’s curiosity about whether we are carrying the approved paperwork.

And so we see on the streets of Costa Mesa how a police state gets built.

Just one little step at a time.

DON HULL

Costa Mesa