Editor,

Having seen much discussion about passing fake $20 being a crime, apparently in George Floyd’s instance punishable by death, I thought I would tell you about my experience.

A couple of months ago we were passed a fake $20 at a yard sale. I took it to the Oak Harbor Police Department and they verified it was indeed a fake and, much to my surprise, were not the least bit interested in the details of where it came from.

In fact, it was given back to me and I was told that, if they had someone on video passing it, they still could do nothing about it as there was no way to prove the passer knew it was fake.

When I expressed surprise that they weren’t going to keep it, the officer just shrugged said I could look up the address and send it to the Secret Service if I wanted, but they really didn’t follow up on $20s anyway, even though I understand they are widely counterfeited.

So, I have it on pretty good authority that this is not a crime, and certainly not an act that would trigger the response Mr. Floyd got. As a matter of fact, I felt there was a suggestion that if I wanted to, I could just go out and put it back in circulation and nothing would happen to me.

Of course, I am an elderly white woman, so there’s that.

I don’t need $20 that bad, however, though some people do. I guess maybe George did if indeed he even knew it was fake.

Pat Wallace

Oak Harbor