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UNDER THE RADAR GUN - Small Towns Want Equal Rights |
| (04/25/2006) |
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A radar gun reading that says a driver is speeding would seem to be pretty clear, but its gotten pretty foggy in recent weeks. The radar gun problem has long been controversial in Grantsville, further complicated by the town of 550 not having a municipal judge. For the time being, the town is without a police officer, but Mayor Wilbert Kerby says he will be advertising for one or two officers. The radar gun controversy most recently has erupted in Clendenin, where citizens are threatening lawsuits over the town's practice of using the readings as primary evidence for speeding tickets. Lawmakers in Charleston are saying they need to take another look at legislation restricting small-town police departments from using radar units as the main evidence against speeders. State law says class four municipalities, towns with fewer than 2,000 citizens, cannot use radar as primary evidence in court. But the small towns still can use the readings as supporting evidence to corroborate an officer's testimony. Confusion in the code's wording sparked problems in Clendenin, whose mayor Bob Ore has been dismissing speeding tickets based on radar. Kanawha Circuit Judge James Stucky ruled last week that the statute does allow class four municipal police to use the units. Mayor Ore said he would no longer automatically dismiss speeding citations, a practice that has created public backlash. Clendenin's local newspaper has expressed concern that Clendenin is getting the identity of a speed trap. Clendenin police officer Michael Dibbs said police must visually observe a car speeding before checking the radar to confirm the vehicle's speed. Dibbs claims an experienced officer can accurately estimate how fast a vehicle is traveling without radar. The state Senate tried to amend the radar law last legislative session. The bill was rejected in the House over concerns about small towns using traffic citations to generate revenue. Several larger West Virginia towns like Summersville generates a million dollars with traffic citations, without impunity. Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper said there was a lawsuit with a twist in Clendenin two years ago, when former Clendenin Municipal Judge Jack Boone ordered an elderly woman to pay her speeding citation with home-cooked pies donated to the town's retirement center.
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