November 5, 2024
A county sheriff's office in Florida used an infamous Christmas character to enforce traffic laws the weekend before the holiday.


A county sheriff’s office in Florida used an infamous Christmas character to enforce traffic laws the weekend before the holiday.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Colonel Lou Caputo wore a Grinch costume as he monitored traffic on Friday. Those who were minimally speeding were given a choice between a citation or an onion, a reference to the 2000 movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas, where actor Jim Carrey, playing the Grinch, bites into a raw onion during a scene.

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Keys Grinch Cop
In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, a motorist examines the option of receiving an onion instead of a traffic citation from Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Colonel Lou Caputo, right, costumed as the Grinch, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in Key Largo, Fla. In a holiday tradition, begun by Caputo more than 20 years ago, drivers lightly speeding or talking on a cellular phone in a school zone on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway can choose to receive an onion rather than a $300 citation from the Grinch. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)
Andy Newman/AP
Keys Grinch Cop
In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Colonel Lou Caputo, right, costumed as the Grinch, leans on the shoulder of Sergeant James Hager, left, as Hager uses a laser measurement device to check speeds of motorists traveling on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway through the Key Largo Elementary school zone Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in Key Largo, Fla. “Grinch” Caputo gives drivers speeding only minimally through the area the choice between receiving an onion or a traffic citation, in a holiday tradition that reminds motorists to obey speed limits and to stay off cellphones in school zones. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)
Andy Newman/AP


Caputo told Reuters that the onion was the most popular choice among the drivers on the segment of the Florida Keys Overseas Highway that includes the Key Largo Elementary School zone.

“If they choose the citation, we’ll probably have to take them out and do a sobriety test on them,” Caputo told the outlet.

The highway has a speed limit of 50 miles per hour on the 100-mile road. All of the Florida Keys island chains are connected by this highway, which is the furthest south in the U.S.

Keys Grinch Cop
In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Colonel Lou Caputo, right, costumed as the Grinch, leans on the shoulder of Sergeant James Hager, left, as Hager uses a laser measurement device to check speeds of motorists traveling on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway through the Key Largo Elementary school zone Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in Key Largo, Fla. “Grinch” Caputo gives drivers speeding only minimally through the area the choice between receiving an onion or a traffic citation, in a holiday tradition that reminds motorists to obey speed limits and to stay off cellphones in school zones. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)
Andy Newman/AP


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Drivers were reminded by “Officer Grinch” to slow down and stay off of their cellphones while driving.

Florida saw over 400,000 traffic accidents in 2021, which was the most recent data released by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

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