DID THE WRECK REALLY NEED THAT MANY COPS? That was the takeaway question for Linda Rodgers after passing by a fatal crash Oct. 14.
She emails that "what caught our attention" about the two-vehicle wreck at University and Silver was "we counted 17 police cars and police motorcycles, with one policeman directing traffic northbound on University and one police car blocking traffic on Central."
And so she asks "why so many officers? It certainly seemed to us that the number of officers present was above and beyond what was needed. ... (We) believe that the ambulance had already left the scene as there was no one in the crashed vehicle."
Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Trish Hoffman got the answers from Lt. Paul Hansen of APD's Traffic Division/DWI Section.
Hansen says "there are numerous officers required to properly handle a fatal traffic crash in order to produce a complete, thorough and comprehensive investigation. We have what is called a Fatal Call-out Team: These are specially trained Traffic officers who have the knowledge, training and experience in conducting fatal crash investigations. These teams are comprised of approximately seven officers/supervisors."
That includes a "supervisor who handles the crash scene, the case agent who is responsible to accumulate all reports generated and complete the final reports (and) obtain search/ arrest warrants amongst other duties, up to three reconstruction officers who help work out how the crash occurred and take measurements and diagram the scene, and two DWI officers if needed: one to conduct investigation at the scene and the other to obtain warrants for possible blood draws or to assist with the investigation at the hospital."
As for the additional officers Linda observed, Hansen says "it sounds like you went by shortly after (the wreck) had occurred, as usually there is a larger initial response to ensure quick securing of the scene and preservation of any possible evidence. The initial response is the field officers of the Area Command the crash occurred in, in this case Southeast Area Command. They respond to fatals with usually a supervisor and as many officers as are needed to properly secure the scene, then the additional officers are released back to patrol once the scene is secure."
And to get to the 17 Linda counted, "I can tell you from my experience that is a rarity," the lieutenant says, "as usually our officers are busy with other responsibilities and we're trying to make due with less than we actually need to properly secure a fatal scene."
"I can understand how it can appear excessive and possibly an unnecessary use of our resources," the lieutenant says. "I'm actually proud to see that many officers at a serious fatal crash scene attempting or providing assistance to the injured citizen and to help reduce the inconvenience shutting roads down can cause the rest of our citizens."
WHY DO SOME OFFICERS IGNORE TRAFFIC LAWBREAKERS? Linda also points out "I've seen many a policeman ignore blatant violations under their eye and not give a ticket."
Hansen explains that it "is as frustrating to that officer as it is to you that they can not take the time to take action as they are responding to a higher-priority situation. ... Most of the time when officers pass a blatant violation, it is because the officer has to prioritize safety and severity of an action. What I mean is the officer who you see passing up a traffic violation many times is responding to a dispatched call that is possibly more severe: burglary in progress, armed robbery, domestic violence, fatal traffic crash, etc."
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CAMERAS GO AWAY? Finally, Linda also asks "how many officers man the Traffic Unit? As we don't have the red-light cameras, are they going to be giving out more tickets?"
Hansen points out that while "our Traffic Unit is currently comprised of two sergeants, one lieutenant and 21 traffic officers," in fact "every sworn law enforcement officer on our department including our chief of police has the authority to issue a traffic citation."
As for the fate of the red-light cameras, "when the red-light cameras go away we will do what we have been doing even with the red-light cameras, that is conducting traffic enforcement as time, manpower (and) economics allow, focusing on any area of concern that is brought to our attention or that we identify as a problem area in need of additional enforcement action."
Assistant editorial page editor D'Val Westphal tackles commuter issues. Reach her at 823-3858; road@ abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103.
Copyright 2011 Albuquerque Journal
