The people of Mason ought be wondering what kind of circus their police and municipal court are running.

According to recent news stories, the Mason Municipal Court noted a decline in traffic tickets being written after police officers complained that Municipal Judge George Parker didn't treat them respectfully.

On Wednesday, Mason Police Chief Ron Ferrell objected to the judge ordering Mason officers to transport a felony suspect from the Warren County Jail in Lebanon to the court. The suspect in question was a county prisoner and therefore should have been transported by the sheriff's department, the chief said.

Using a Mason officer to make the run from Mason to the jail and back would lessen police protection on the city streets, the chief explained. Not only wouldn't the chief do it, he apparently ordered his officers not to do it either.

When Ferrell refused to transport the prisoner again on Thursday, an outraged Judge Parker ordered his bailiff to go arrest the chief. As Ferrell was led before the judge, about 20 Mason officers and city workers sat in the courtroom. It didn't seem to jeopardize Mason public safety to pull that many cops off the streets in a show of support for the chief.

This is ridiculous. Apparently Mason city officials are supporting the chief. But what kind of message does it send to the public when a policy dispute is allowed to escalate into this kind of law enforcement power play? The crooks in Mason must be laughing themselves silly at this spectacle.

Mason is not some backwater Mayberry. It's a growing, sophisticated city. Its citizens deserve professional services, not feuding small-town egos. Somebody please remind these folks that the police and courts are supposed to work together.

The chief is free on his own recognizance pending a May 29 hearing on a contempt charge. Surely there must be some officials in Mason with cooler heads who can help get this matter resolved out of court.