Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/08/837.asp
12/14/2005
Minneapolis Man Receives Second Bogus Camera Ticket
Minneapolis, Minnesota Police admit they rush to issue red light tickets without adequate review.
The red light camera system in Minneapolis, Minnesota has now experienced its fourth major "isolated incident" where innocent drivers have received red light camera tickets since July. Local resident Don Zimmerman doesn't believe the incidents are isolated, because he just received a second ticket, even though he never ran the light he was accused of running.
"There's a glitch in the system," Zimmerman said in his interview with KARE television. "The first thing they need to do is admit there's a problem. Isolated cases? This is the second time I've gotten a photo enforcement ticket. This is the second time that it has been incorrect."
"This man stopped but unfortunately his picture was taken along with the true violator," explained Police Lieutenant Greg Reinhardt. "Due to human error we issued the ticket to the wrong person. Realize that we process hundreds if not thousands of these within a week and sometimes due to the sheer volume I think that we rush to judgment."
KARE has documented the first two errors and KSTP the third:- In August, Steve Spriggs was ticketed when he stopped, but another SUV ran the light. Minneapolis Police Lieutenant Greg Reinhardt said, "Here's a case where technology worked, in fact really well."
- Days later, Don Zimmerman was ticketed even though he was never in an intersection on red. It was a "close call" and a "technical violation" according to Reinhardt.
- At the end of August, Mike Gehling was ticketed for running a red light in a car he had sold six months earlier.
Source: More problems with camera cop system (KARE-TV (MN), 12/14/2005)
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