Loving those red light cameras
Lewis DiuguidYou’ve got to love those red light cameras now.
Kansas City area residents had cursed the devices for nailing folks turning right on red lights without coming to a complete stop or for getting caught running traffic signals. But red light cameras showed their worth by nabbing a Kansas City fraud detective while he was on a family vacation in Florida, driving a Police Department-issued undercover car.
The Kansas City Star reports today that the 28-year veteran of the force was caught on camera on March 13. The ticket and photo of the offense went to the registered owner of the leased car, which was the Kansas City Police Department, showing not only the undercover vevhicle but the trailer the cop was pulling with it from Kansas City.
Busted! The undercover officer conveniently retired after being caught.
An often used “curtesy” among law enforcement officers nationwide when stopping fellow cops for traffic offenses is to give the offender with a badge a pass.
Thank goodness for the unblinking honesty of red light cameras.
Phil Cardarella
9 months agoYeah. I sure feel great knowing that an experienced detective has been forced to quit because he cheated and took the “company” car to Disneyworld.
Cops are expensive to train. And, 28 years of experience can’t be bought. There is no reason to think this guy was doing anything more than using a car as if it was his own — technically wrong, but hardly evil. As a practical matter, this silly red-light camera probably cost the citizens of KC a bunch.
By the way? Time was that no Star reporter could get a ticket in KC — even drunk as a fool. When the head of the Editorial Board was stopped? He was driven home, as a “curtesy.”
Brian Berry
9 months agoSafe to say, Diuguid doesn’t like cops.