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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-19-2009 Minutes mE CITY OF OCOEE POLICE INFRACTION HEARING BOARD MEETING NOVEMBER 19,2009 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Minarein called the City of Ocoee Police Infraction Hearing Board meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall with the pledge of allegiance. The roll was called and a quorum declared. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Minarcin, Members Arney, Ball, Laney and Lopez- Anderson. Also present were Lt. Dreasher, Sgt. Wagener and Attorney John Hamilton. ABSENT: Member Chinelly (Absent excused). Chairman Minarein welcomed everyone and explained the procedures for the hearings. He swore in the officers and the complainants who were present. Chairman Minarein asked if anyone in the audience would like to abandon their appeal before the hearing begins. Mr. Douglas Patrick Matthews, case number 1290900010261, wished to abandon his appeal and pay the civil penalty. PRESENTATION OF CASES #01690 Bass - Officer Yocum presented his evidence as to why a citation was issued to Ms. Bass. Ms. Bass paid the citation, but wanted to contest it at the hearing. Ms. Bass was not present at the hearing, but sent in a letter for the hearing board to review. Lt. Dreasher asked if there needed to be a continuance and Mr. Hamilton advised that Ms. Bass did not have to appear to contest the violation. Member Amev made a motion that Ms. Bass' appeal be denied. seconded bv Member Ball. Motion passed 4-1. with Member Lanev opposinJ!. #01864 Dix - Officer Hunt presented his evidence as to why a citation was issued to Mr. Dix. Mr. Dix stated that as the still shot showed, his brake lights were on proving that he did stop at the red light. A motion was made bv Member Amev to deny the appeal. seconded bv Member Anderson. Motion passed 4-1. with Member LODez.-Anderson opposinJ!. #02755 Wedewer - Offieer Allen presented his evidence as to why a citation was issued to Mr. Wedewer. Mr. Wedewer stated after reviewing the video he was wrong and would pay the civil fine. #07002 Rucker - Mr. Rucker chose to abandon his appeal and pay the civil fine. #07259 Boggs - CSA Sulkowski presented his evidence as to why a citation was issued to Mr. Boggs. Mr. Boggs asked CSA Sulkowski if he was a witness to the violation or a reviewer of the video. CSA Sulkowski explained to Mr. Boggs that he was a reviewer of the video and did not personally witness the violation in real time. Mr. Boggs explained to the board that he was concerned with the police vehicle in the other lane, and due to heavy east-bound traffic he chose Page J of3 to run the red light so that he would not have to sit at the red light for another cycle. Mr. Boggs asked the board to use discretion for his case and other cases. A motion was made bv Member Amev to denv the avveal. seconded bv Member Anderson. Motion passed 4-1. with Member Lanev ovvosiml. # 1 0451 Donkel - Officer Yocum presented his evidence as to why a citation was issued to Mr. Donkel. Mr. Donkel stated that he had taken the wrong road towards his destination, and his confusion led him to run the red light. A motion made bv Member Lopez-Anderson to denv the avveal. seconded bv Member Amev. Motion vassed 4-1. with Member Lanev ovvosiml. #10683 Carter- CSA Sulkowski presented his evidence as to why a citation was issued to Mr. and Mrs. Carter. Mr. and Mrs. Carter were not present for the hearing but submitted an affidavit for the appeal. In the affidavit Mr. Carter stated the vehicle was driven by a former employee. A motion was made bv Member Amev to denv the avveal. seconded bv Member Ball. Motion passed 4-1. with Member Lanev oVf)Osin1!. # 11442 Rivera - Mr. Rivera choose to abandon his appeal. # 11913 Curry - Sgt. Wagner presented his evidence as to why a citation was issued to Ms. Curry. Ms. Curry stated she was not the driver of the vehicle on that day and because she lends her vehicle to several different people, she was unable to say for sure exactly who the driver was. Ms. Curry asked the board to consider a payment plan. A motion was made bv Member Amev to denv the avveal. seconded bv Member Anderson. Motion vasses 4-1. with Member Lanev ovvosin1!. #12150 Home - Officer Hunt presented his evidence as to why a citation was issued to Ms. Home. Ms. Home stated that she had stopped, then rolled, and then turned on red and felt as though she did not do anything wrong. Motion was made bv Member Ball to denv this avveal. seconded bv Member Amev. Motion vassed unanimouslv. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 8:50pm; board resumes for new business. REGULAR AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes for October 15, 2009 B. Election of Vice-Chairperson Member Amev motioned to avvrove the minutes for October 15. 2009. seconded bv Member Laney. Motion vassed unanimouslv. Page 2 of3 Clerk Decker stated that through an e-mail Member Chinelly made mention of his interest in the Vice-Chair position, and although he was not able to attend the meeting due to a death in the family the board took a vote to grant him the position. Member Amev nominated Member Chinellv for the position of Vice Chair. seconded bv Member Ball. Motion passed 4-0, with Member Lanev abstaininf!. BOARD OR OFFICERS COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS Member Ball asked the board to use discretion when denying appeals from complainants who's still shots show an infraction of. 1 second. Lt. Dreasher addressed this concern by explaining to the board that the yellow phase of a light is four (4) seconds long, and in order to judge if a vehicle could have stopped before the light turned red is determined by using a scientific formula. For example, to know how many feet per second a vehicle travelled, a multiplier of 1.466 is used. So, if a car was traveling 13 miles per hour, using the 1.466 multiplier, one can accurately determine that the vehicle was travelling 19 feet per second. Now, because the yellow phase of the light is four (4) seconds, one would multiply the feet traveled per second ( 19 feet), by four (4) which is 76 feet. The distance of76 feet is how long the vehicle had to stop before it reached the intersection. Lt. Dreasher explained to the board that a citation is issued only after it has gone through a three-step review process: first, the red light running company reviews the videos, then the officer, and finally he reviews them. Attorney Hamilton mentioned to the board that the ordinance allows them to grant an appeal if they find that the evidence before them is insufficient. Lt. Dreasher also informed the board that the City will install signs with the ordinance information. He also mentioned that new cameras are up at Blackwood and SR50, Clarke and White Rd. (south-bound), and Clark and A.D. Mims Rd. (north-bound). Member Anderson suggested that the City distribute educational material informing the public about the red light running cameras. Member Laney wanted to know if Winter Garden was going to install red light cameras and Lt. Dreasher stated that they are exploring the possibilities, but feels they may be waiting to see the outcome of the lawsuit. Member Lopez-Anderson wanted the approval of minutes to be placed on the agenda, and also to set a time limit for each case. Attorney Hamilton explained to the board that each complainant has the right to due process. Member Anderson expressed her thoughts on instituting a payment plan and extending the fine due date to be more than ten (10) days. Lt. Dreasher stated that it would be mentioned to the City's attorney. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9: 19 p.m. .. .. 2 -- Rob Minarcin, Chairman Contact the City Clerk's Office to listen to an electronic copy of these minutes. Page 3 of3