Published Sunday, August 03, 2008 6:05 AM
Officers contest red light tickets
By APRIL AVISON
Eagle Staff Writer
Two College Station police officers are contesting civil citations they received from the city's red light cameras.
They're among about 7,200 people who have received tickets since the cameras were activated six months ago.
The devices were installed in February at four College Station intersections. Red light runners are photographed at Texas Avenue at Walton Drive, Harvey Road at Munson Avenue, Harvey Road at George Bush Drive and Wellborn Road at George Bush Drive. The intersections were selected based on a high volume of crashes in those areas.
Those who receive the civil citations are assessed a $75 fine. The revenues initially were used to pay Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions for $19,000 in start-up costs to install the cameras. Another $103,000 has gone toward things like engineering studies and "police time and court time," said College Station Traffic Engineer Troy Rother.
That leaves the city with about $278,000 to split with the state. The city's revenues must go toward traffic safety programs and signal and intersection upgrades. The state funds are designated for trauma centers.
Revenues from the 7,200 citations are still rolling in, Rother said.
"Once you get your ticket, you've got 30 days to pay it," he said. "Not everyone has paid their ticket."
When a person crosses the "stop bar" in an intersection after a light has turned red, three photos are snapped. The images show the vehicle approaching the intersection, crossing the stop bar while the light is red and a close-up of the license plate.
The photos are sent digitally to the vendor in Arizona, which looks up the registered owner of the vehicle based on the license plate number. The information is then sent to the College Station Police Department.
"Each one is individually reviewed by a police officer, and they watch a video of it," Rother said.
Assistant Police Chief Larry Johnson told The Eagle in March that College Station officers spend about 15 hours a week reviewing citations to make sure they are issued fairly.
Once a citation is approved by a police officer, it goes back to the vendor and a ticket is mailed. Those who believe they've been ticketed unjustly can request a hearing. They would then go to municipal court and review a video of the incident with an officer, Rother said.
About 30 people have requested a hearing, and at least three citations have been dropped at that stage because of "extenuating circumstances," Rother said.
"If you're coming up to an intersection and an emergency vehicle is coming up behind you, and that's why you run the red light, the reviewing officer may not know that," Rother said. "The emergency vehicle may not appear on the video. You can tell them what the issue was, and they could get an additional 10 minutes of video from the vendor. If you prove you're right, it can be dropped."
If a hearing officer determines that a violation occurred and declines to drop the citation, a driver can appeal it and take the case before a judge. Three have gone to appeal, and none of those has been overturned.
Municipal Court Judge Ed Spillane was out of his office Friday and could not be reached for comment on the red light program.
City officials confirmed Friday that two police officers had received citations for running a red light while they were on duty. Both officers have requested hearings, which are pending. A red light citation would automatically be dismissed if an officer entered an intersection with lights and sirens activated, city officials have said.
"My personal philosophy is that any city employee who is performing their duties in violation of a red light camera would receive the same citation as any other citizen," said police Chief Michael Ikner. "I take it a step further. If one of our officers goes outside our guidelines, they will be given a citation and are subject to internal discipline as well. We need to operate our vehicles in a safe manner."
Ikner would not comment on the specifics of the citations involving the officers and declined to say whether any of them had been disciplined, saying that these were personnel matters.
"Police officers are given some latitude when responding to emergency calls, but again, we have policies," Ikner said. "If they are in violation, they are responsible for making proper disposition. A trained officer looks at any extenuating circumstances to determine whether a citation is needed. It's been very consistent."
A red-light camera advisory committee recently determined that it wanted American Traffic Solutions to survey 40 additional intersections to see whether cameras were warranted there. Most of the intersections are along Texas Avenue, Rother said.
"The first time we went through the surveys, we didn't do Texas Avenue because it was under construction and we couldn't get good data," he said. "That's historically where our major accident locations have been."
A camera will be set up at each of the designated intersections for up to 12 hours to gather data, Rother said.
Since the cameras were installed around the city in February, seven crashes have occurred at the monitored intersections. At least one may have been the result of someone running a red light, Rother said. Officers were unable to collect enough evidence to issue a citation in that crash, which occurred at the Harvey Road-Munson Avenue intersection.
Ikner, who recently moved to College Station from Arlington -- another city that uses red light cameras -- said it was too soon to tell whether the cameras were making the intersections safer.
"There are always unique circumstances that every community experiences," Ikner said, explaining that he'd like to review the program after it's been in place for a year. "It's very important that you have a broad snapshot.
"Our summer seasons in Arlington saw an influx of visitors," he said. "In the summertime here, most of the [Texas A&M University students] leave, but you see an increase in the fall and during football season. I think once you can get a full cycle, go through all the seasons and all the driving patterns, you can make some judgments."
• April Avison's e-mail address is april.avison@theeagle.com.
Comments
36 comment(s) found!
Posted by:
On:
Sunday, September 14, 2008 4:36 PM
Comment Title: Out-of-Towner
7,200 red light camera tickets in 6 months at 4 locations? Kinda speaks for itself, doesn't it. The city preys on A&M students and parents and has found a way to avoid all the protections the Texas courts (and the jury system) afords. One gets a bureacrat (a police officer) determining whether it's a valid violation and then goes to a civil hearing (maybe by a municipal court judge, but even that is not clear on the City's website). I know college-aged young people often ruffle the feathers of the local, older residents. But most of the locals have jobs because of the university. Without A&M, CS would be a wide place in the road (if that). A little more appreciation and a little less fleecing by the city officials seems a reasonable request.
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Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 2:17 PM
Comment Title: Know what you ae talking about before posting!
For those posting on here with little or no knowledge of the law or the actual incident here, let me fill you in. The law (and I urge you to look this up) exempts peace officers from certain traffic laws when responding to emergencies. It prescribes that the officer should (at their discretion) use lights and or sirens in accordance with their agency's procedures. Look into and find out if the policy of CSPD allows for officers to respond without lights and sirens. I think all of you will be surprised to find that it does, or at least it did, until the policy was changed after this incident. You people posting these negative comments are probably just grinding some axe that you have becuase you got arrested or got a ticket. You should research and know what you are talking about before holding someone's feet to the fire.
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Posted by:
David On:
Friday, August 08, 2008 4:44 AM
Comment Title: DRIVING RECORD
If you pay the fine, does the 'running a stop light' violation appear on your driving record...
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Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 10:47 PM
Comment Title: SILLY PIG
PAY YOUR FINE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. MAYBE YOU WILL THINK TWICE ABOUT RUNNING THAT LIGHT NEXT TIME. QUIT WASTING TAXPAYER MONEY!
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Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 10:53 AM
Comment Title:
American Traffic Solutions is a profiting whore and the cities are stupid enough to fall for it as the whore laughs its way to the bank
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, August 04, 2008 11:32 PM
Comment Title:
Your all right, an officer going to a emergency call in the middle of the night with no traffic whatsoever should stop and sit at the light as the only car in the intersection while you are on the phone screaming wanting to know why the officer is not there yet. And while your at it, why dont you call 911 for loud party and barking dog complaints, you'll get a faster response.... Its gonna be funny when you guys call for help and UPD/CSPD/BPD tells you it will be a bit because of all the new red light cameras...then youll be right back on here complaining about it taking too long.
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Posted by:
Kyles On:
Monday, August 04, 2008 9:34 PM
Comment Title:
Sounds like the new chief is in the pocket of the city manager and council, looks like they got what they wanted when the ran the old chief out of town
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, August 04, 2008 6:18 PM
Comment Title:
As a long-time resident of College Station, it is obvious to me that CSPD is primarily a revenue generating agency. Police officers have grown spoiled by the widespread "professional courtesy" that occurs among cops at traffic stops, but these automatons can't make exceptions for brother officers. Bottom line: their robotic minions have turned on them, and now they are quite indignant about no longer being exempt. Pay up, lawbreakers!
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, August 04, 2008 12:40 PM
Comment Title:
keep us posted. I might need their excuse some day!
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, August 04, 2008 11:35 AM
Comment Title:
Did you read the part about how much money red light cameras generate.. now that's a crime!
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Posted by:
rhondawhitehall@yahoo.com On:
Monday, August 04, 2008 8:53 AM
Comment Title: red light tickets
what if you loan your car to someone else and you get the ticket ???
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, August 04, 2008 12:38 AM
Comment Title:
First, it's CSPD officers who don't think their daughters need to get tickets, now the officers don't want to get them themselves.
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, August 04, 2008 12:16 AM
Comment Title:
No lights, no sirens, no slack. Its the law.
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Posted by:
I. P. Freely On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:37 PM
Comment Title:
CS please install restroom cams at Central & Veterans park to catch the people who keep peeing on the seat and floor. You may think this is a trivial issue but just wait until you accidentally sit in some pee. And those of you who don't pee on the seat have nothing to worry about.
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Posted by:
Call me crazy... On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:04 PM
Comment Title: You're not above the law!
Just like the rest of us, you are a citizen of this city/county and are expected to obey the laws too. I don't have a rack of flashing lights to flip on whenever I don't feel like waiting at a light or staying within the speed limits on the bypass, so you got one on me.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 10:24 PM
Comment Title: pay it
you were caught,pay like everybody else
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 8:18 PM
Comment Title: loan your car out?
What if its your mechanic? Why should we trust a company that gets money every supposed infraction? They have ample reason to generate fake incidents.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 8:01 PM
Comment Title:
Why even loan your car out to anyone else? If they have a wreck it's your insurance that will pay...
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 7:14 PM
Comment Title: You bet we forgot this one
Just wondering if one of the cops wouldn't be the same cop who got his daughter off for running a pedestrian crossing on Rock Prairie?
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 6:57 PM
Comment Title: Ha
Oh boohoo, some cops finally get nailed by the system. It's a great setup till one of your own get busted huh?
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 4:32 PM
Comment Title: Can't Fight City Hall
For those of you who say that "if you aren't doing anything wrong, you don't have to worry"... WRONG! http://www.nbc10.com/news/15296359/detail.html?dl=mainclick "But according to the people who sent a red-light camera ticket last July, Verissimo did do something wrong. He got hit with a $100 fine. "As soon as you cross that red-light, you have to pay the ticket. I understand that," Verissimo said. But he said he was just showing respect to the dead. "We were in a funeral procession. There are exceptions to the rules," he said. He's right. And it's more than just an exception -- it's the law, Hairston reported. Pennsylvania law clearly states drivers in funeral processions may proceed past a red light signal or a stop sign. And not only that, a police officer waived him through the red light. The officer is actually on the red-light camera ticket. Also visible is the police SUV."
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Posted by:
Cecelia On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 3:57 PM
Comment Title:
This doesn't make sense to me. The article says that 3 pictures are snapped of the car, but then it says that a video is reviewed. Which is it? Snap shots or video. It really doesn't matter to me since I no longer drive anywhere, but I hate this Big Brother atmosphere.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 2:38 PM
Comment Title: Sorry, guys
but I think that you should pay up. Driving a marked cruiser does not put you above the law. Even if you were ready to give chase, you should have those lights on. You endagered citizens by entering the intersection after the light turned red just as much as any non-official person would.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 2:21 PM
Comment Title:
To PROOF I'm not sure but I think the answers to a couple of your questions are these (not saying I necessarily agree): The ticket is sent to the owner of the car who is supposed to pay it no matter who the driver was. The state expects you to check your mail at whatever address/P.O. box is connected with your license plate.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 2:13 PM
Comment Title: good
it's about time those law breaking cops get theirs
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 2:11 PM
Comment Title: proof on the wrong guy is right
what if someone else is using your vehicle. you get the ticket and the person that committed the offence get off free. this is something you "thank god for the red light camera" idiots need to think about. wait until one of you get a ticket sent to you because one of your friends or kids you let borrow the car runs a light and see how happy you are about those lights then.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:49 AM
Comment Title: Grump
Pay up. Just because you're a cop doesn't mean you get to weasle your way out of a traffic violation.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:41 AM
Comment Title:
for those who think the camera are a bad thing, if you don't run red lights then you have ZERO to worry about. If people would simply obey the law and stop at red lights then we would not need the cameras.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:39 AM
Comment Title: Got me, C/S paid
I made a right hand turn at Harvey/GB, and no, I didn't come to a complete stop. If a human officer where there, I'd not have gotten a ticket. Machines, however, issue citations with robotic impassion. I paid my $75.00... but; I travel to CS twice per week for business. I no longer lodge in CS hotels. I no longer buy gas in CS. I no longer eat in CS. As a matter of fact, I no longer do ANYTHING in CS that isn't directly related to work, and by my estimates, since the date of my infraction, I've pulled $5000 of my money out of CS businesses. There's no changing this, now, either, and I'm certain Navasota welcomes the extra income.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:33 AM
Comment Title: PROOF on the wrong guy?
What happens if I (1)loan my car to someone that runs the light (2)doesn't know or tell me about it (3)ticket is sent my physical address (no mail received there- have no mail box- use PO Box) (4)I don't know anything about it (5)time passes/ticket not paid? (6)charge me with contempt of court/failure to pay ticket,etc. (7)what about the out of state visitor? Is the city going to chase the Dad from Indiana down for a ticket where his son/daughter was driving? How will it be proven who the driver is? (8)How accurate are these cameras if the circumstances of one accident already can't be determined?
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:16 AM
Comment Title: Regarding comment on real crime
When people say go after real crime one thing comes to mind....you must have never had a friend or family member killed by some driver running a red light.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:15 AM
Comment Title: Secret
I'm glad the CSPD doesn't know about the drivers going 75 on the HWY 6 access roads between Rock Prairie and Fitch. It makes the trip to and from work a lot faster.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 11:05 AM
Comment Title: red light tickets
go get them BIG BROTHER.
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Posted by:
Fred On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 10:52 AM
Comment Title: Red Light Tickets
This is good. They need to obay the laws just like everyone else. Make an example out of them.
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Posted by:
On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 10:50 AM
Comment Title:
Lighten up CSPD, go after real crime!
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Posted by:
Goose On:
Sunday, August 03, 2008 10:36 AM
Comment Title: What's good
for the goose is good for the gander. I have seen many CSPD and BDP officers violate the very traffic laws they are happy for which to issue citations to citizens. They are also heavy footed on the gas pedal for no apparent reason.
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