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Policy

Big Friender

Radley Balko | 11.24.2009 4:07 PM

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For your "shouldn't the police have something better to do?" files:

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student Adam Bauer has nearly 400 friends on Facebook. He got an offer for a new one about a month ago. "She was a good-looking girl. I usually don't accept friends I don't know, but I randomly accepted this one for some reason," the 19-year-old said.

He thinks that led to his invitation to come down to the La Crosse police station, where an officer laid out photos from Facebook of Bauer holding a beer — and then ticketed him for underage drinking.

The police report said Bauer admitted drinking, which he denies. But he did plead no contest in municipal court Wednesday and will pay a $227 fine.

He was among at least eight people who said Wednesday they had been cited for underage drinking based on photos on social networking sites.

Thanks to Thom Roethke for the link.

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NEXT: The Broken Window: A Parable No More

Radley Balko is a journalist at The Washington Post.

PolicyScience & TechnologyNanny StateAlcoholInternet
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