[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: declanat_private From: Jonathan Gewirtz <nqnat_private> 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. [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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