A Florida state trooper is facing felony charges for allegedly writing hundreds of bogus citations to boost his ticket output, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

Trooper Paul Lawrence, 38, based in Miami-Dade County, was arrested yesterday and charged with 22 counts of official misconduct, a felony. Since November, 203 traffic citations he issued have been dismissed, and prosecutors believe there are even more.

Lawrence wrote 397 tickets in November, and 82 had no signatures from the drivers. Most motorists told prosecutors they weren't on the road at the time they were cited.

A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman said the department does not use quotas, so Lawrence had no incentive.

Said Capt. Mark Welch, writing tickets is "just our job. It's what we're supposed to go out and do.''

(Posted by Michael Winter)