Some OPD officers hit 100 mph as WFTV observes from Skywitness 9 HD

ORLANDO, Fla. — Twelve Orlando police officers are under investigation for speeding, a story Channel 9's Drew Petrimoulx has been investigating for the past five months.

WFTV learned some of those officers were going more than 100 mph, and they were outside city limits.

On the ground and in the air, WFTV followed OPD officers as they buzzed through central Florida streets with their lights and sirens turned off.

WFTV could barely keep up with one motorcycle cop in downtown Orlando or a police cruiser that was speeding onto the State Road 429.

To keep up, we needed Skywitness 9 HD, and from the air, WFTV watched officers make other drivers look like they were practically standing still, Petrimoulx said.

Video shows one cop blow past other vehicles on the way to the courthouse.

Using transponder timestamps WFTV obtained through a public records request, we spent hours calculating average officer speeds across State Road 408, outside the department's jurisdiction.

Most alarming were the speeds of Officer Rod Johnson, who hit 101, 103 and 107 mph.

WFTV showed the findings to Orlando Police Chief Paul Rooney.

"We are not above the law," said Rooney. "We have very strict policies in place."

But WFTV's analysis of nearly 200 OPD trips found a pattern of speeding along theSR-408, where the speed limit switches between 55 and 65 mph.

The average officer speed was 74 mph.

"How many officers have been pulled over and given speeding tickets in their cruisers so far this year?" we asked Rooney.

"I have no idea," Rooney said.

"Do you know of any?" WFTV asked.

"No," Rooney said.

But Rooney said his department is now investigating Johnson and 11 other officers over questions about their speeding.

Still, hearing about WFTV's story was frustrating for people we found paying speeding tickets.

Rooney had warned his officers about speeding in March by sending out an email.

WFTV will be following up on that investigation.

In the meantime, WFTV found that Orlando officers have written more than 4,500 speeding tickets so far this year. On average, a ticket costs each driver about $200.

WFTV