We all know about holiday traditions – leaving milk and cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, spinning a dreidel during Hanukkah and… traffic stops with the Grinch.
Well, maybe most of us don’t know that last one. Yet for people in Monroe County, Fla., the traffic stop Grinch is a common annual sight around the holidays. This year, he’s offering onions to speeding motorists.
“We’re down here in Marathon Florida, in the school zone, with the Grinch,” said Dep. Andrew Leird in a video posted Tuesday. In the background, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Col. Lou Caputo can be seen in the background donning the famous Dr. Seuss holiday character’s costume.
According to the Associated Press, Caputo – a 37-year veteran of the force – came up with the idea for the Grinch outings 20 years ago. When he spots drivers going 5 mph or less above a school zone’s speed limit, he allows them to choose between traffic citations and an onion. Those who speed more than 5 mph past the limit don’t get an onion option.
“It’s about education, awareness that our school zones are still operating even though it’s the holiday season,” Caputo said, according to the AP. “We want people to slow down.”
Motorists are eager to take the onion, said Caputo.
“It catches them off guard,” he explained. The colonel has even had speeders eat the onion right in front of him.
During the holiday season, Caputo shows up around the Florida Keys as the Grinch. A post from the Florida Keys & Key West Facebook page shows Lou Caputo, costumed as the Grinch, checking the speed of motorists traveling through a school zone on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway Tuesday in Marathon, located in the Middle Keys.
A video posted by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office also shows Caputo singing “Feliz Navidad” at the Joy Center.
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