Policing’s a tough job. Long shifts, high stress, and a need to blow off steam. So a few officers in Zachary, Louisiana made a bingo game out of traffic stops. The game board’s gone viral on social media and the Police Chief insists no one broke the law. But by turning tickets into game tokens, it trivializes the human side of traffic enforcement. Policing is about creating safer driving habits, not getting the high score.

Traffic bingo was real—just not official

It started with a photo of a bingo card. Each square showed a different citation—“Careless Operation,” “No passing zone,” “Expired MVI sticker.” Officers filled in ticket numbers like scorekeepers at a county fair.

Zachary Police Chief Darryl Lawrence confirmed the traffic bingo game existed. “Two years ago, some officers created a Bingo game as a competition between shifts,” he wrote. He added, “The officers did not receive any incentives or awards for this game.” That’s an important stipulation, because an incentivized quota system is illegal in Louisiana.

Lawrence stressed it wasn’t official. “This game was not created or approved by the Administration of The Zachary Police Department.” Once he learned of it, he “immediately informed all Supervisors and officers that this kind of activity could threaten our relationship with Zachary Residents and the Public.”

Former councilman: “We can’t play with people’s lives”

Former Zachary Councilman Lael Montgomery posted the original photo to Facebook. He didn’t find it funny.

“When you do this, you’re developing a system where I get rewarded for giving people tickets, and that is illegal by law,” Montgomery said. He cited Louisiana law, which bans departments from evaluating or rewarding officers based on the number of traffic citations.

That debate might come down to whether “rewarded” must mean a cash bonus, or whether bragging rights and a shift victory counts.

Montgomery also pointed out the real-world cost of traffic bingo: “Do you have $200 to just give away? Just think about a senior citizen. Think about a kid who’s trying to get a CDL license. You know, that goes on their record. Man, we can’t play with people’s lives.”

So far, there’s no sign any tickets were improperly issued. But the traffic bingo story has already hit a nerve. Policing is about public trust—and that’s not something you want to gamble with.

Nobody’s saying cops can’t blow off steam. But turning enforcement into entertainment sends the wrong message. This isn’t about wins. It’s about protecting the public, and treating people like people—not spaces on a bingo board. You can see more coverage of this story in the video below: