Rock Hill Cop Who Wrote 150,000 Tickets Is Retiring

Some call him the scourge of Manchester Road. A veteran traffic cop is retiring after nearly 40 years on the force. He's known as "Ziggy" the cop and chances are if you've pushed the pedal to the metal in Rock Hill he's caught you.

From Stan Musial to his own wife and even a few of my colleagues, if you are speeding on this one mile stretch of Manchester in Rock Hill, as Ziggy says "Your mine.". But come October 20th the 67-year-old will start a new chapter in his life. He's ready and waiting on Manchester road clocking drivers and stopping speeders.

Lt. Ron Zeigler said, "I range to 15 to 20 per day. When I first came here 52 tickets in 4 hours was not unheard of."

But next Tuesday, Lt. Ron Zeigler will turn in the ticket book and race into retirement.


"One life is ending and another one is starting," said Zeigler.

He's been a traffic cop for nearly 40 years. Usually drivers see him on his motorcycle, except when the roads are slick.

"There is no other job that I know of where I can ride a motorcycle and get paid," said Zeigler.

All the while raking in the dough for a city with a population less than 5,000.

Mayor Julie Morgan said, "Over the years he produced generous amount of revenue for the city."

But for Zeigler, his mission is to save lives.

"I've clocked a car at 118 mph," said Zeigler.

In 1972 he saw a child killed in a speeding car. If there was anything I could do to slow cars down to prevent that from happening again I would do so," said Zeigler.

He's written more than 150,000 tickets in his career. On Wednesday, Marie Edward's got her second. "I am so upset. It's just aggravating. I wasn't going that fast," said Edwards.

Jim Vaugh got two in the same day, but is sad to see him go. "Its been a pleasure knowing him for 25 years," said Vaughn.

Lt. Zeigler feels the same. "I am going to miss a lot of the people that I've met and been friends with over the years," said Zeigler.

When Lt. Zeigler started in Rock Hill the city had 650 traffic accidents a year and five fatalities. Today there are a little over a 100 accidents a year and Zeigler says he can't remember the last time someone was killed in Rock Hill. The Rock Hill police department says new officers will be enforcing the 30 m.p.h. speed limit on Manchester just like "Ziggy".