RW>Now there were probably a couple of dozen of public
  >drunk (illegal) people disturbing the peace (illegal)
  >there but no one was arrested, no one was even
  >questioned.  Was this good law enforcement?
  >Technically it wasn't because a LEO was 'over looking'
  >a crime, but using common sense it was.  Peace was
  >restored and everyone was happy.  The drunks got to
  >have their food, I kept the place in one piece, the
  >company made money and the cop didn't have to taken off
  >the streets for ever how long it would have taken to do
  >everything that has to be done after an arrest.
RW>Now if the town had passed a ZT law they would have HAD
  >to arrest them or face disciplinary action.
You are making Tom's and Charles' point Rich.
In the situation you were involved, common sense and good law
enforcement was working.  No requirement for ZT.
Now let's think for a moment... what if your situation happened EVERY
night.  And night after night, the walk through temporarily solved the
problem, but then the rowdies went right back to it when the cops left.
Lets imagine that local citizens were complaining to the city commission
on a regular basis that drunks from your place were disturbing their
life.
You can bet that a ZT policy will be adopted and the cops WILL arrest
each and every one of the "good guys" that show up with beer in hand.
Once the situation is back under control, ZT will be relaxed.
ZT is usually implemented NOT as a blanket policy, but selectively...
either by location or by type of offense.  Most ZT policies that I've
seen in action involved drunk driving on special occasions.... say New
Year's Eve.  That was the case here... the city commission decided that
they didn't want anyone killed here on New Year's Eve, so they
implemented a ZT policy on driving and drinking... caught over the
limit, open bottle in the car, minor in possession, ect., it was a trip
to jail, booked and charged.
While I agree 100% with your sentiments on school policies, I think you
are taking the ZT policy in law enforcement to the extreme.  It is
intended to be a remedy for a special problem, usually enforced
selectively, and it works.
---
 * QMPro 1.02 42-7029 * **CAUTION** Treat all taglines as if they're loaded.
--- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 
1:135/5.0)
---------------