ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates found out that dozens of red-light camera tickets were issued to government employees driving county vehicles.
Reporter Mario Boone obtained the records detailing more than 100 red light camera violations by city or county workers over the last four years.
"We see it every day. They think they're above the law," driver Chanel Gadson said.
The agency with the most red-light camera violations was the Orange County Sheriff's Office, which said its deputies drive 26 million miles each year. Out of 49 citations, 23 were dismissed after deputies proved they were responding to an emergency at the time.
Orange County government employees received 22 violations, while Lynx employees had 20. Drivers for Orange County Public Schools were cited for 18 red-light camera violations.
The city of Orlando, including Orlando police, had 14 red-light camera tickets. Six of those were dismissed, records show.
"It's not very alarming to me, you know," driver John Demski said.
The agencies told Eyewitness News that the red-light violations are taken seriously and the employee is held responsible. Lynx said it suspends workers after their first offense.
Statements to WFTV from Orange County agencies:
"Enforcement agencies regularly provide the district reports of traffic violations by district vehicles. The district tracks the infractions made by its employees and takes appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with the district’s safe driver plan."
-Dylan Thomas, Orange County Public Schools
"The City takes the issue of red light running seriously and does not condone this type of behavior by our employees. To that point, the City has a process in place that ensures employees who violate the red light running law are held accountable. The employee who was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident is responsible for paying the fine and will receive the appropriate discipline if the violation is found to be unjustified"
-Cassandra Lafser, City of Orlando
"County administrative regulations require the employee to pay the fine and they are required to receive a pre-determination hearing with a minimum disciplinary action of a written reprimand."
-John Petrelli, Risk Manager at Orange County Government
"We have 1500 sworn deputies responding to calls for service and multitasking as they drive in our community. This also adds up to over 26 million miles driven throughout the course of a year. Overall the OCSO also recognizes our safe drivers as well. In regards to a camera violation, If they’re responding to a call for service it is documented and no fine assessed. If it’s not a work related response then our personnel are required to pay the fine like the rest of the community. We hold our folks accountable for safe driving"
-Capt. Angelo Nieves, Orange County Sheriff’s Office
"Safety for everyone on Central Florida's roadways is our primary concern. As an agency LYNX drives for perfection. We aim to have zero red light tickets issued to any of our employees. We believe our red light camera enforcement is strict and discourages our employees from violating the law. The policy is clear, if you receive a citation, you will be suspended for five days without pay and pay the fine. A second infraction, requires the employee to pay the fine and also be suspended for 10 days without pay. A third violation is immediate termination, which we have never had to enforce."
-John M. Lewis, Jr., LYNX CEO