A New Hamburg man was fined $1,000 for defects in his vehicle – moments after he had dropped off food donations collected in the community’s Santa Claus Parade.
Mark Hoffman has been using his truck to collect and deliver donations from the parade for 15 years.
He says his normal routine is to move his truck along the parade route, then wait at the fairgrounds until the crowds disperse and traffic clears up before moving on to the food bank.
This year, he noticed that two police officers seemed to be hanging back at the fairgrounds with him. They followed him to the food bank, then asked him for his licence and registration, which he handed over.
Hoffman says the officers told him that after he was done unloading the truck, he should pull it into a nearby gas station. Once there, they performed a full inspection of the truck – and issued him six tickets.
He has taken to calling the officer who ticketed him “Officer Grinch” – saying he knows that the officer had a job to do, but can’t comprehend why he was singled out in that moment.
“I didn’t understand at all what his mindset was … and I don’t think I ever will,” Hoffman says.
“He definitely has to be out there to keep our roads safe, but this was a Santa Claus parade.”
Waterloo Regional Police say their officers constantly watch for road safety issues, and don’t make exceptions based on where a vehicle is or what it may be carrying.
“(Our officers) took the appropriate action to educate that individual – not only through fines, but also through a number of warnings,” Insp. Mike Haffner said in an interview.
Hoffman says he plans to return to the New Hamburg Santa Claus Parade with his truck next year.
With reporting by Tina Yazdani
