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04-12-2007, 03:35 PM
Red-light fines to go to police, firefighters
Dallas: They'll pay if caught on cameras; some exemptions apply
08:24 AM CDT on Thursday, April 12, 2007
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
teiserer@dallasnews.com
Dallas police and firefighters will soon have to pay up if they run afoul of the city's red-light cameras.
Starting Sunday, any Dallas police officer in a marked squad car who is captured on the city's cameras running a red light will have to pay the $75 fine if the incident doesn't comply with state law.
Firefighters who run red lights will have to pay if they're not on an emergency run.
Many police officers are angry about the proposed policy. The prevailing belief among officers has been that they can run red lights as they see fit.
"I know that a lot of the officers are not real happy about it," said Senior Cpl. James Bristo, second vice president of the Dallas Fraternal Order of Police. "Nobody out here is just running red lights left and right."
He said many police officers view the new policy as yet another thing they have to worry about.
Under the state transportation code, officers driving a vehicle equipped with lights and sirens can run a red light when responding to an emergency call, pursuing an actual or suspected violator of the law, responding to a fire alarm, conducting a police escort, and directing or diverting traffic for public safety purposes.
"Our policy is pretty clear that they have to drive within the traffic laws" except under those circumstances, said Police Chief David Kunkle, who is meeting with police association officials Thursday to outline the new policy.
Since last year, 39 cameras have been placed at intersections, city officials said. Sixty cameras are scheduled to be up and running by May 22.
Since mid-January, the cameras have recorded at least 355 emergency vehicles running red lights. Not all of those vehicles belonged to the city of Dallas. Notice is sent to the departments so they can determine whether the driver of the emergency vehicle had a legal reason to run the light.
So far, the Dallas Police Department has received notice of 103 marked vehicles and six unmarked vehicles running red lights, said Lt. Sally Lannom, who helped draft the new policy.
Eleven investigations of marked vehicles have been completed, and the officers were determined to be exempt from the fine because they complied with state law, Lt. Lannom said. "They were responding to an emergency call," she said.
Out of the six unmarked vehicles, three officers were found to have run red lights without proper cause, Lt. Lannom said. They will have to pay the fines, she said.
Cpl. Bristo said officers are worried that the policy won't have enough leeway and won't take into account extenuating circumstances.
"I think what they're worrying about is what if it's 2 o'clock in the morning, you're headed to a call but it's not an emergency call," Cpl. Bristo said. "If I roll right through that light, I might save myself a minute or two. With some calls, that minute or two can make a lot of difference."
Not running red lights when it appears safe to do so would affect a perennial area of concern for officers and Dallas residents: They want police to be at the scene of a crime, even a crime that is not life-threatening, as quickly as possible.
One example illustrates the type of situation that concerns police commanders.
Cameras recorded an officer on routine patrol not only running a red light, but also turning left from the center lane rather than from the turn lane. "He is being counseled in an effort to correct his driving," Lt. Lannom said. "We're looking at correcting the driving habits of officers."
For the fire department, it's much more cut-and-dried, said Lt. Joel Lavender, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman.
"We don't really have a lot of business running lights, period," Lt. Lavender said. "If you mess up and you're not on an emergency run, you get a ticket. They're subject to the same penalty, in addition to being punished by the fire department."
Dallas: They'll pay if caught on cameras; some exemptions apply
08:24 AM CDT on Thursday, April 12, 2007
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
teiserer@dallasnews.com
Dallas police and firefighters will soon have to pay up if they run afoul of the city's red-light cameras.
Starting Sunday, any Dallas police officer in a marked squad car who is captured on the city's cameras running a red light will have to pay the $75 fine if the incident doesn't comply with state law.
Firefighters who run red lights will have to pay if they're not on an emergency run.
Many police officers are angry about the proposed policy. The prevailing belief among officers has been that they can run red lights as they see fit.
"I know that a lot of the officers are not real happy about it," said Senior Cpl. James Bristo, second vice president of the Dallas Fraternal Order of Police. "Nobody out here is just running red lights left and right."
He said many police officers view the new policy as yet another thing they have to worry about.
Under the state transportation code, officers driving a vehicle equipped with lights and sirens can run a red light when responding to an emergency call, pursuing an actual or suspected violator of the law, responding to a fire alarm, conducting a police escort, and directing or diverting traffic for public safety purposes.
"Our policy is pretty clear that they have to drive within the traffic laws" except under those circumstances, said Police Chief David Kunkle, who is meeting with police association officials Thursday to outline the new policy.
Since last year, 39 cameras have been placed at intersections, city officials said. Sixty cameras are scheduled to be up and running by May 22.
Since mid-January, the cameras have recorded at least 355 emergency vehicles running red lights. Not all of those vehicles belonged to the city of Dallas. Notice is sent to the departments so they can determine whether the driver of the emergency vehicle had a legal reason to run the light.
So far, the Dallas Police Department has received notice of 103 marked vehicles and six unmarked vehicles running red lights, said Lt. Sally Lannom, who helped draft the new policy.
Eleven investigations of marked vehicles have been completed, and the officers were determined to be exempt from the fine because they complied with state law, Lt. Lannom said. "They were responding to an emergency call," she said.
Out of the six unmarked vehicles, three officers were found to have run red lights without proper cause, Lt. Lannom said. They will have to pay the fines, she said.
Cpl. Bristo said officers are worried that the policy won't have enough leeway and won't take into account extenuating circumstances.
"I think what they're worrying about is what if it's 2 o'clock in the morning, you're headed to a call but it's not an emergency call," Cpl. Bristo said. "If I roll right through that light, I might save myself a minute or two. With some calls, that minute or two can make a lot of difference."
Not running red lights when it appears safe to do so would affect a perennial area of concern for officers and Dallas residents: They want police to be at the scene of a crime, even a crime that is not life-threatening, as quickly as possible.
One example illustrates the type of situation that concerns police commanders.
Cameras recorded an officer on routine patrol not only running a red light, but also turning left from the center lane rather than from the turn lane. "He is being counseled in an effort to correct his driving," Lt. Lannom said. "We're looking at correcting the driving habits of officers."
For the fire department, it's much more cut-and-dried, said Lt. Joel Lavender, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman.
"We don't really have a lot of business running lights, period," Lt. Lavender said. "If you mess up and you're not on an emergency run, you get a ticket. They're subject to the same penalty, in addition to being punished by the fire department."