I recently received a letter from the Snohomish County Auditor’s office informing me I was being fined $300 for a “false alarm” from my home security system. This was a second offense. While I do not dispute the first incident, in which my motion detector inexplicably set off the alarm, I do protest their opinion that the second alarm, caused by a door being opened by intruders, was a false alarm. These would-be burglars were scared off by my alarm and/or by my dogs inside the house. Just because the sheriff’s deputies were unable to apprehend a perpetrator, apparently they need to save face by accusing me of a crime.
I explained the situation in a letter to the auditor. Their response was that I had not supplied any physical evidence of an attempted break-in and would have to pay a $100 filing fee to appeal the decision.
Gee whiz! Bob Terwilliger and his cronies have now decided that they can rewrite the Constitution! I am being accused of an offense, and rather than the county having to prove my guilt, they’ve decided to make me prove my innocence. I must not have been paying attention that day in school when I was taught that the burden of proof is on the prosecution.
My income in the past several years hasn’t even come close to keeping up with the cost of living. I’ll attempt to pay this fine, but it’s going to be a little at a time.
And I am a voter. I will remember this money grab the next time any county politicians are up for election and I will actively campaign to “throw the bums out!” I hope the rest of our citizens will join me.
Loren Cole
Snohomish
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