Crime & Safety

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.

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. , two of them in on-duty accidents.

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when the driver failed to yield when turning onto South Cobb Drive. He suffered two broken ankles, a broken leg and a cracked hip. 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.

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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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