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License and registration please
City police conduct series of checkpoints
Police set up six different public safety checkpoints during daylight hours Tuesday and Wednesday. They issued approximately 40 tickets and made one arrest. The checkpoints were set up to "make sure everyone was in compliance," O'Donald said. Police were looking at driver's licenses and license plates as well as registration paperwork. "Plus, it was an opportunity to slow traffic down in certain parts of the city," O'Donald said. Tuesday's checkpoints were set up on Camellia Circle, Hetty Hill, College Drive and Rutledge Street. Wednesday's checkpoints were set up on O'Neal Street and South Limestone Street, directly across from Thomson Park. O'Donald said police had been watching several of those areas for speeders in recent weeks with radar. Many members of the department participated in the checkpoints, from patrol officers and narcotics officers to city detectives. O'Donald worked the checkpoints, too, chasing after one driver who tried to avoid going through a checkpoint Wednesday afternoon. Police wrote about 20 tickets Tuesday and about 18 tickets Wednesday, O'Donald said. Offenses ranged from driving under suspension and having an invalid license to child restraint violations. Several drivers did not have children riding in safety seats, or did not have them properly belted. One man, 24-year-old Griffin Ried Whiten, of Walnut Hill Farm, was cited for a seventh offense driving under suspension at the O'Neal Street safety checkpoint, according to a police report. Despite the slight traffic delays the checkpoints caused, O'Donald said he heard few gripes from motorists. Most were appreciative, he said. "They thanked us for being there. Somebody even brought us bottled water." They were checking license and registrations and license plate decals as well as looking for seatbelt and child safety seat violations. Officers issued some 20 tickets Tuesday and 18 more Wednesday. |
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