Traffic Citations Down Because of Injured Motorcycle Officers
Only one of Smyrna Police Department's four motorcycle officers was well enough for duty last month.
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Citations issued by the Smyrna Police Department for July 2012 were down more than 50 percent from the previous year and Chief Stan Hook says it’s not because drivers are exercising more caution.
“The majority of our citations are written by the motorcycle police officers, but they’re all down,” Hook said at Monday’s Smyrna City Council meeting. “We have one bike rider so you can see what happens.”
In July 2012 the department issued 1,098 citations compared to 2,145 the year before. In May three of Smyrna PD’s four motorcycle officers were injured, two of them in on-duty accidents.
Corporal Gene Crawford was struck by a car when the driver failed to yield when turning onto South Cobb Drive. He suffered two broken ankles, a broken leg and a cracked hip. Crawford is recovering in his Powder Springs home and should be able to return to light duty in January.
Officer Steve Waldrop was also injured on-duty when he took a turn into a neighborhood going about 15 miles per hour and his bike slipped out from under him. He sustained a cracked elbow. Public Information Officer Michael Smith said Waldrop returned to full duty last week, but still needs a brace for support and protection while his elbow continues healing.
Officer Mike Montgomery was injured in an off-duty motorcycle accident on Interstate 75. The road was slippery from rain, which caused his bike to tip over. As a results he needed knee surgery. Montgomery's injuries have taken longer than expected to heal and he has yet to return to work.
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Smyrn
12:41 pm on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Sounds like the motorbokes are a liability fir them. Maybe they should get rid if them???
Smyrnan
7:43 am on Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wishing the three SPD motorcycle officers speedy recoveries. Smyrna needs you back on the job so you can issue tickets before it affects its revenue stream.
Has anyone from SPD visited these guys? I've heard of wounded officers that were ignored by the department. Not much love in that PD.
lesFluers
9:56 am on Friday, August 24, 2012
I do wish them a speedy recovery and maybe Smyrna PD will focus more on.. say.. gangs and such?
Deanna Riddlespur
9:45 am on Friday, August 31, 2012
Wish them a speedy recovery and wish that Smyrna had bicycle cops, Its dangerous out there on people trying to go green. No respect from the people in vechicles.
Atlanta Glamdoll
12:07 am on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
I agree with lesFluers. Shouldn't police focus be more on suppressing gangs, responding to violence and robberies, patrolling crime-prone areas etc (i.e. REAL police work) rather than chasing down expired tag violations just so they can create revenue for the city?
I do wish the officers a speedy recovery however. Motorcycles are dangerous as it is, and it seems that tire traction on these bikes needs investigation. Perhaps the bikes should be done away with.