We’re hoping everyone — the police, the defendant, the public at large — picked up on the key point in Thursday’s Municipal Court proceedings.

Judge John Boeh, in fact, was paying attention when defendant Marcell “Big Daddy” Jackson argued the St. Joseph Police Department appears to be targeting him and his neighborhood. As reported, the police issued eight citations for walking in a city street in the year prior to Sept. 15. All eight were in Midtown.

Judge Boeh’s response: “The city needs to evaluate whether they are fairly applying this in the rest of the city. If it’s a violation in Midtown, it should be a violation everywhere else.”

He’s right. The suggestion the stay-out-of-the-street ordinance is unevenly enforced is a big part of why this case captured the public’s attention. In every section of the community, at varying times of the day, people can be found walking in the street.

Some walk near the curb; some choose the street because there are no sidewalks. We presume in every instance, the person involved is prepared to offer an explanation. Many will make sense, a few will not.

Should Mr. Jackson be treated any differently? No. Was he? It’s possible, but this case had specifics many others do not. Mr. Jackson was walking in the middle of street. A sidewalk apparently was available on at least one side of the street. When stopped, he argued with the police officer. Given those additional facts, his explanation that he feared for his safety did not do enough to sway the judge.

As for the focus on Midtown, we know the concept of “community policing” calls for regular interactions with residents to keep officers well informed of activities in the community. If certain kinds of street crimes are more prevalent in an area, more interactions may be in order — though not necessarily more tickets.

The message to the public: Sidewalks exist to promote public safety, particularly where motor vehicles might be present. Walk in the street and you risk injury, and also a ticket.

The message to the police: Appear to single out Midtown and never get around to ticketing someone in another neighborhood, and you risk a breach of trust with the entire community, not just Midtown.