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Ohio man irked by traffic ticket doubles fine, writes checks to village and police officer

SHREVE, Ohio — An Ohio man ticketed for rolling through a stop sign was angry about the citation. But instead of fighting the fine, he decided to double it.

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Dan McGrew, 81, of North Canton, decided on his own brand of poetic justice after he was ticketed Sept. 7, paying his $101 fine and mailing a check in the same amount to Chris Colyer, the officer who wrote the citation, the Ashland Times-Gazette reported.

McGrew said he figured the police officer “must need the money more than I do. So I just decided to double the fine,” the newspaper reported.

"I did that just to show my frustration," McGrew told the Times-Gazette. "I thought, 'This would make me feel better, to double my fine.'"

McGrew said he and his wife were driving through Shreve when he was pulled over. He wrote a letter to several city officials to express his dismay, the newspaper reported.

“In my humble opinion, it was a marginal rolling stop, reasonable, and a safe right turn with no living person or moving vehicle in sight,” McGrew wrote in a letter to several village officials dated Sept. 10. “Obviously, Officer Colyer saw it differently.”

Shreve police did not return messages seeking comment.

Shreve Mayor Yvonne Hendershott, who received one of McGrew's letters, said she did not know about the second check. She said village officials have not deposited the check to the officer, and it would be returned to McGrew.

​​​​"We wouldn't keep it," Hendershott told the Times-Gazette. "That wouldn't be right."

McGrew told the newspaper it didn't matter what the village does with his check, but that he was pleased to make his point in a unique way.

"What it does, it throws a puzzle to them," McGrew told the Times-Gazette.  "I think it's a clever thing to do. I'm not trying to buy anyone off. I'm just that unhappy with an occurrence."