[Also sent along by C.M. and M.S. Let's parse this article: DC city police
are only permitted to run red lights when responding to "Code One" robbery,
violent crime, etc. calls. They do this with their sirens and lights on.
The cameras are set up to detect flashing red lights atop a car and not
send a ticket, and tickets are manually inspected by police before they're
issued. Further, undercover cops are exempt from tickets. So the logical
conclusion, most likely, is that Washington's finest habitually run red
lights and speed illegally, in non-emergency situations. --Declan]
---
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 10:18:07 -0500
To: declan_at_well.com
From: Jonathan Gewirtz <nqn_at_ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: Will DC Traffic Cameras Ticket Cops?
Declan,
A few months ago I asked what would happen when DC police vehicles were
caught by speed- or red-light enforcement cameras. It appears that this
question is now being answered:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20011129-13345237.htm
---
Cops get speeding tickets from cameras [blackline-small.gif]
By Brian DeBose
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Some D.C. police officers say they are slowing their response to
emergencies because photo-radar cameras are ticketing them for
speeding on Code One calls, and they are being forced to pay the
fines.
At least three D.C. police officers told The Washington Times
they were caught by the cameras and ticketed while on official police
business. They said they and other officers have been forced to pay
the fines, and are now on edge about speeding to a crime scene and
running red lights in emergencies. Like area motorists, they have
little chance of getting a reprieve from the D.C. Bureau of Traffic
Adjudication without evidence to present in their defense.
"Officers are getting crazy tickets, in their cars on duty from
the speed and red-light cameras," said Sgt. Gerald G. Neill Jr.,
chairman of the Metropolitan Police Department's union labor
committee. "A lot of them have actually had to pay the fines," he
said.
Some officers have paid so many tickets that they are no longer
speeding or running red lights to get to their dispatched calls even
in emergency situations, Sgt. Neill said.
"The threat of the flash is in their heads, but more so the $100
to $200 fines," Sgt. Neill said.
One detective, with 12 years on the force and currently working
in the Fifth District, said he was flashed by the cameras once for
speeding and once for running a red light all on dispatched calls. Two
other officers said they also have received tickets while on emergency
calls.
"I got two speeding tickets and one red-light ticket," said a
detective who did not wish to be named. But he said he didn't remember
to fill out a 775 form a log sheet used to keep track of officers
using police vehicles. Without the form to back up his statement in
traffic adjudication, he was forced to pay the fines.
[...]
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