Efforts to unplug Louisiana's speed trap cameras create small-town discontent

Yahoo

5 days ago

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It looked for a moment that automated speed enforcement cameras in Louisiana might go the way of the Oldsmobile. But what was once an all-out ban on the devices now has an exception that threatens to force the proposal down a dead end.
For the past two years, state lawmakers have tried to drastically scale back the use of technology that captures lead-footed drivers and red-light runners in the act and sends them tickets in the mail. While their boosters consider traffic enforcement cameras a force multiplier for manpower-strapped police departments, detractors see them as a money grab for local governments.
Critics also pan the heavy burden placed on motorists who want to challenge their citations. The companies that provide speeding cameras to local police often handle fine collections and contested tickets, leaving no local avenue for appeals.
'It's taxation by citation,' Rep. Chuck Owen, R-Rosepine, said May 28 during a Louisiana House floor debate over a bill that would do away with speeding cameras everywhere but school zones.
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The debate has created bipartisan fractures at the State Capitol. One side believes local jurisdictions should be able to govern themselves – and that includes the use of traffic enforcement cameras as they see fit. The other viewpoint says speeding 'scameras' make it next to impossible for drivers to challenge their tickets.
'I've got preachers' mommas calling me, telling me they're getting tickets. They didn't even know they were speeding,' Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville said last week before the House approved Senate Bill 99, by Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe.
Cathey brought his new proposal after authoring a law last year that established requirements for using speeding enforcement cameras in Louisiana. They include signage to let motorists know they are being monitored. Plus, cities and towns must provide a local administrative process for motorists to appeal their tickets.
But because a handful of municipalities still won't follow the rules, Cathey came back this year with what he's called 'a bill with teeth.' If approved, police chiefs and municipal leaders who continue to ignore the requirements can be charged with malfeasance in office. The penalty for that crime can be up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
When Cathey's bill went before the Senate in April, Sen. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, amended it to ban the use of the cameras everywhere but school zones.
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In its current form, the legislation would not apply to red light cameras. But every other speeding enforcement camera in Louisiana would be shut down – with one notable exception.
An amendment placed on the bill in the House would exclude the city of Opelousas, where sponsor Rep. Dustin Miller, a Democrat, said speed enforcement cameras allow his hometown police department to commit more officers to combatting violent crime.
That exception doesn't sit well with Cathey, who's been highly critical of small-town leaders who he says refuse to follow the existing law. He's declined to name them publicly, but he hasn't held back his opinion on Opelousas' leadership.
'You know, I may just buy a billboard outside of Opelousas to let everybody know that it's the speed trap capital of Louisiana,' Cathey said in an interview Friday.
Miller's amendment passed by the slimmest margin in a 47-46 vote, with the updated bill gaining approval in a 72-23 vote. In an interview after the House adjourned, Miller said his city shouldn't be penalized for the wrongful actions of other municipalities.
'They're claiming that there's, like, seven towns that's doing illegal stuff,' he said. 'Well, as far as my knowledge, Opelousas is doing it correctly. So I'm just like, allow them to still do it where they're doing it.'
In an interview last week, Cathey said he lacks confidence in Opelousas Police Chief Graig LeBlanc to manage the city's speeding enforcement cameras. The senator noted LeBlanc is currently under criminal indictment for a shooting that allegedly stemmed from a love triangle. The state attorney general is prosecuting the case, in which the chief has been charged with obstruction of justice and malfeasance in office. LeBlanc and his wife, St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Deputy Crystal LeBlanc, were injured in the shooting.
Calls to the police chief seeking comment were directed to the department's public information officer, who has not responded to questions about the city's camera program.
Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor also has not responded to calls and emails.
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LeBlanc and other local police leaders have appeared at the Capitol to oppose Cathey's bill, as have small town mayors who argued the legislature should respect their autonomy. Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux also testified against the Cathey bill.
Reggie Skains has been the volunteer, unpaid mayor of Downsville for 39 years. The town at the border of Lincoln and Union parishes has a population of less than 150 residents, yet it sees far more traffic because it's at the nexus of two state highways in north Louisiana.
In the first six days Downsville deployed speeding enforcement cameras, it issued 419 tickets, the mayor said.
'This is not driving safely,' Skains told a legislative committee, stressing the cameras meet a need in his community.
Roosevelt Porter is the police chief of Epps, a village of less than 400 just minutes away from the Poverty Point World Heritage Site. He said although Epps is within Cathey's Senate district, he had not heard from the senator about his bill.
Speeding enforcement cameras in his village issued 3,500 tickets in their first month, but the number fell to 1,500 in the second month, Porter said.
'I could care less if this thing makes money,' the police chief told a House committee in April. 'If it slows people down, that is what's important to me.'
Porter grew more emotional as he continued his testimony, shouting and coming close to tears at his conclusion.
'My town is at your mercy, but I know how this stuff works,' he said. 'Let that be your family member that comes through there and gets killed. What are you going to do then?'
When Cathey's bill went before a Senate committee, Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, said the measure would have prevented the scandal that unfolded within his district last year when a West Baton Rouge Parish constable issued more than 4,000 school zone speeding tickets over a two-week period. The infractions each came with a $150 fine, but Attorney General Liz Murrill determined the constable had no authority to enforce traffic laws and had to refund what was collected.
Cathey said last week he was unsure about the outlook for his bill now that an exception has been added to it. He predicted other towns and cities would seek similar exemptions.
'Currently, Opelousas is the speed camera capital of Louisiana,' the senator said. 'And if the people of Opelousas don't like it, they need to reach out to their local legislators and let them know.'
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