As anyone who has volunteered to do trail patrols and carries a radio will tell you, the forest/park LE has more than enough opportunities to flash their lights.
State Park Rangers don't get many opportunities to pull people over with the flashing lights for
traffic stops. There's only a few miles of state park roads in any of those campgrounds - DL Bliss, Emerald Bay or Sugar Pine Point and the speed limit is about 15 mph. Patrolling state HW 89 is getting into CHP territory, city cops and sheriff's respect that boundary. So no, state park Rangers don't get to hit the "rollers" very often for traffic stops. I'd bet it was a big thrill for this Robo-cop, even if it was just a seat belt violation on a quick shuttle ride.
Salty put it well - the Ranger's attitude comes through even in writing, and it doesn't seem to be about their safety. A reasonable judge can see through this a mile away, and can probably remember the days before seat belts. It will be interesting if Reno's friend pursues it in court, but these things usually aren't worth the effort.
