State Trooper's Drooper Targeted

Officer Ron Dicus of the Sylvania Township police in Ohio was suspended for three days without pay for disobeying orders to trim his moustache. The moustache, described as the “George Custer type”, was in violation of a new department policy that says moustaches should be neatly trimmed and should not extend past the crease of the mouth.

Officer Dicus said he used to wear his moustache long on the sides, but he trimmed it after an initial warning. “Because it involved insubordination,” said Trustee Pam Hanley, after an hour-long executive session, “this is the way it had to be handled.”

The punishment for Officer Dicus, a nine-year veteran of the police force who has never been reprimanded, ranges from public reprimand to termination. “I don’t think justice was done,” he said. “I think it’s a big waste of taxpayer money. I should have never gotten to this point in the first place.” Officer Dicus said he believes the chief’s policy is in violation of his union’s contract, which permits officers to wear moustaches, without specifying length or style. He believes he was unfairly targeted because he is president of the patrolman’s union. “I’ve had this moustache since I was 18,” he said. “All of a sudden it’s an issue.”

This the third occasion this year of employees having their moustaches curtailed: Victor Joynath De of Indian Airlines continues to fight for his right to bear a handlebar while operating as an air steward, while a victory was claimed by Flt Lt Chris Ball of the RAF against an attempted reduction of the length of his lip smasher. What with smoking being banned everywhere except pavements, and a ban on trilbies in some pubs, it looks as though being a Chap will soon become a criminal activity!