When I was in college, I knew this girl who took great pride in the fact that, in four years of school -- three spent in an off-campus apartment -- she never once paid for a roll of toilet paper. She and her roommate would just routinely take a roll from whatever restaurant, bar or classroom building they happened to be in. She carried a really big purse.
Anyway, she wouldn't have lasted a day over at the Dallas police department.
Last week, they fired a 15-year veteran detective for stealing some rolls of toilet paper and some paper towels. The detective denies that she ever stole anything.
The value of the purportedly purloined paper goods? $8.40.
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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