Legal Snag May Delay Photo-Red’s Arrival System Needs Drivers’ Photos From State To Withstand Court Challenge, Lawyer Says

A long-planned system to photograph cars that run red lights in Spokane may be delayed yet again.

Known as “photo-red,” the automated cameras are scheduled to be on the job by next May after years of planning. However, members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee learned Monday the system has some legal wrinkles that could push it back months.

A photo-red picture showing the offending driver’s face needs to be compared with the mug shot from the driver’s automobile license. Without that comparison, it’s unlikely a photo-red ticket would survive a court challenge, said Sam Faggiano, an attorney in the city prosecutor’s office.

The Spokane Police Department has arranged for the Washington State Department of Licensing to provide a written description of the car’s owner. But that won’t be good enough for the courts, Faggiano said.

Though he wants to see photo-red implemented, City Councilman Jeff Colliton said he couldn’t believe this snag was coming up at the “eleventh hour.”

Faggiano said he’s brought up these concerns since 1992. “I’m not sure where Lt. Winkey was at these meetings,” said Faggiano, referring to police officer Glenn Winkey.

Last month it appeared photo-red had a green light after the Public Safety Committee heard a presentation from Winkey.

Out of town on business, Winkey was not at Monday’s meeting.

The City Council planned to approve a contract next week with U.S. Public Technologies, the firm supplying the cameras. The city also planned to hold a public hearing on amendments to an ordinance regarding photo-red.

Both will wait. The next time the city will likely discuss photo-red will be at its December Public Safety Committee meeting.

Even if the police department is able to get photos from the Department of Licensing, the system may still not function smoothly.

State law requires a police officer to witness a moving traffic violation to issue a ticket. No officer would be present when photo-red snapped pictures of motorists running red lights.

The law allows a court to issue a ticket if the officer wasn’t present, but “the process for that is fairly cumbersome,” said Rocco Treppiedi, a city attorney.

Photo-red’s sister system, photo-radar, doesn’t face the same problem. Photo-radar systems require an officer in a van to monitor the equipment. Spokane wants to use a photo-radar system to catch speeders.

Nevertheless, photo-radar is also on hold until the city learns if it can get driver’s photos from the state in a timely fashion.

Implementation of photo-red is “dangerously close” to being delayed because of the legal requirements, said Mark Sterk, administrative assistant to the police Patrol Division.

The city could try to get the Legislature to pass a law that would custom fit the circumstances of photo-red, said Sterk, himself a state legislator.

Even if the Legislature passed such a bill, it would be March before it was signed into law and that would delay implementation of the photo-red system until summer, Sterk said.

The city could also just forge ahead with the program and see how the photo-red tickets hold up in court.

Photo-red would be paid for by giving U.S. Public Technologies $35 of the $66 collected from each red-light ticket.

, DataTimes MEMO: The system Photo-red cameras will photograph any car entering an intersection after a red light. The photo will show the car, its driver and license plate. The system will also record the car’s speed and how long the light had been red. Four intersections will be wired for the cameras.