Latest news with #TempePolice
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tempe red light and speed cameras begin issuing $250 fines on June 6
The Brief Tempe's new speed and red light cameras will begin issuing tickets starting June 6. This follows a month-long warning period designed to help drivers adjust to the new technology. The ticket will be $250. TEMPE, Ariz. - Red light and speed cameras are officially back in Tempe. FOX 10 reported in April that the cameras were being installed, and on June 6, citations will begin. For the past month, an offender has only been sent a warning as people and police get accustomed to the new system. So, how has it all been working out so far at the 14 intersections? What they're saying "I see a lot of people speeding, so maybe it will be a good thing," a driver said. "I think that it's bringing awareness so eventually, yes, it will prevent crashes," another driver named Nicole Crenshaw said. "Don't run red lights," Maya Coleman, a driver, said. "That's pretty much it." By the numbers In just one month, Tempe Police says it has issued several warnings. Tom Haubold is the traffic program supervisor for the Tempe Police Department. "So far, 5,186 have gone out," he said. Haubold is able to review video and pictures showing drivers running red lights or speeding. "Well, this one, they're doing 59 in a 40," he said, looking at a video of a violator. Data is also broken down by how fast people are driving over the speed limit. "This one was 21 miles an hour. All of these people were 22 miles an hour. All of these were 23," he said. Before a citation can be mailed out, there are steps the police department takes to make sure a violation is valid. "They'll look at all the information that's in there, and then they'll decide, 'OK, yes, this is a good violation.' Now, they have to look at the driver's photo and the registered owner's name. Is it a match? Is it a male driving in a male name? That's better, right? So then they'll run the plate, they'll get the driver's license photo of the registered owner. "Now they have to compare the two photos, and if that's a match, then it can go out as a citation," Haubold said. If you are photographed running a red light, you could expect to see a $250 citation in the mail. Dig deeper The city of Tempe is leasing the cameras on a monthly basis. The red light cameras are $2,000 a month. The mobile cameras that move every two weeks are $3,000 a month. "The biggest thing I want to see is, I want to see the reduction in our fatalities and our serious injury crashes," Haubold said. Here's a fun fact: the city of Tempe had these cameras years ago but got rid of them. They brought them back as part of their Vision Zero program.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tempe brings back photo enforcement for red light runners and speedy drivers
The Brief Speed and red light photo enforcement is coming back to Tempe after the city ended the program in 2009. The city says with these cameras, officers will be able to patrol the city instead of waiting for drivers to speed and/or run red lights. TEMPE, Ariz. - For the first time in over a decade, red light and speed cameras are coming back to Tempe. The backstory Drivers spoke to FOX 10 in 2009, just before police said the cameras were removed, who were not fans of programs like this. "I would agree with it more on a street corner where there's a school or something, but why on the freeway, why every five miles? It's a revenue scam basically," a driver previously said. Now, years later, some Valley cities are bringing back photo enforcement. Phoenix is working on a new red light camera program, and you can add Tempe to the list, too. What we know Tempe is adding cameras to 14 intersections in the city, and officials say it's all about saving lives on the road. The cameras are being installed throughout the city at some of its busiest intersections. Starting May 7, anyone who speeds or runs a red light at these intersections will get their picture taken. "And the people will just get warnings to start out with, and then on June 5, hopefully we're going to start issuing true citations where people will be held accountable for their violations," Tempe Police Lt. Mike Hayes said. Tempe drivers will soon see red light and speed cameras at 14 high-risk intersections, but that's not all. "Then we have four other mobile cameras that will be moving throughout the year," Lt. Hayes said. "We use the same kind of statistical analysis to put those cameras on those major roadways to places where we've seen high amounts of wrecks on arterial streets, where people are picking up big, heavy speeds, and through speed studies that show that people are a little bit faster on those roads as compared to other roads." The Tempe Police Department says this is all in response to achieving Vision Zero and reducing deaths on Tempe roads. "What we did is, to figure out where the photo radar cameras should be positioned was, we did about a three to five year study in our worst intersections and areas that have had bad collisions. We can use our officers in other locations around the city to kind of make the city as a whole much safer," Lt. Hayes explained. He says drivers who violate the law and are caught on one of the cameras can expect to see a civil citation with a fine of $250 in the mail. "We receive video and still photos from the company, and then we can see everything that they did while they were driving that vehicle through the intersection or pass one of the mobile cameras. We can see their face, everything. We have to judge that. Our people internally judge that to make sure it's the correct person, the violation is correct. If none of that is true, then we don't send it out. We don't send that back and verify that. They will never get a ticket," Lt. Hayes said. What we don't know FOX 10 asked how much the program is costing the city, and we are waiting for a response. What you can do If you receive a citation, Tempe Police say you'll have the opportunity to go to court, pay it outright or go to driving school if you are eligible. If it's not paid, it'll go to collections, the same way the court handles other citations. Click here to learn more about Tempe's photo enforcement.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
ATM robbery suspects accused of multi-state robbery spree tracked through Playstation 5 console data
The Brief Three men were arrested in Houston for robbing an ATM from a Bank of America in Tempe. Police were able to track down the suspects using GPS information and data from stolen cassettes and a Playstation 5. The information was used to link the suspects to robberies in other states. TEMPE, Ariz. - Tempe Police credit a video game controller with identifying the suspects in a multi-state ATM robbery spree. Three men were arrested in Houston, Texas and the crime was all caught on surveillance video in November of last year. What we know An ATM at a Bank of America in Tempe was robbed by three men. Several unique pieces of evidence link them to this crime. At 10 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2024, two men are seen on surveillance video robbing an ATM. "There were some ATM technicians out fixing one of the drive-through ATMs, and our suspects used that opportunity to approach the ATM. They asked the technicians to leave and then that's when they stole cassettes out of the ATM," said Jessica Ells with Tempe Police. Ells said money is stored in cassettes that have GPS location data. "Officers were able to use that GPS location data and within about an hour were able to find out where the cassettes had been taken," said Ells. What's next From there, Tempe Police found the rental car and cassettes left behind. Inside the car, a PS5 console and controller. "[Investigators] were able to gather account information from that PS5 and that account information is what led them to social media accounts linked to that. So the social media accounts that were associated is how we identified the suspects," said Ells. Police say dashcam footage recovered from the getaway car puts the suspects at the scene. They stole just under $280,000 dollars. "Through the course of the investigation, it does appear that they are linked to other robberies in other states that all occurred in a very similar manner with approaching these ATMs and taking the cassettes," she said. Big picture view The three men arrested in Houston were identified as Maurice Brooks, Micah Lazaro and Anthony Smith. "If you're going to ATMs, whether you're going into the bank or you're going to the ATM itself, whether through the drive-thru or the walk-up. Just always be aware of your surroundings. Be aware if anyone might be following you home or following you to your car. It's always important just to be aware that that situation could happen," she said. So far two suspects have been extradited to Arizona and one is awaiting extradition on federal charges.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Cop Arrested For Squealing His Tires Sues Police Department
Read the full story on The Auto Wire A Chicago police officer who was on vacation in Tempe, Arizona was arrested for allegedly squealing the tires on his rental Dodge Charger. Now, he's lawyered up and has announced he intends to sue the police department for violating his civil all went down in August 2024 on Mill Avenue, a street that's heavily patrolled by Tempe Police Department, something Jalen Woods probably didn't know. But what Tempe bike officers didn't know at the time is they were dealing with a fellow cop, not just some random suspect. As Woods' attorney says, 'he knows his rights, he knows the law' and that's why he hasn't let Tempe Police skate on his arrest. A filing with the court says the incident was 'malicious prosecution' and constitutes a 'false arrest.' Bodycam footage obtained by ABC15 shows Officer Woods was rapidly pulled over after allegedly squealing the Mopar's tires, then asked to exit the vehicle. Immediately, he was handcuffed. But the bodycam footage doesn't show the Charger's tires spin at all and you can't hear the Hemi V8 engine rev, which is what officers claim they heard. City prosecutors later dropped the case. But the ordeal is far from over for Tempe. Woods' attorney alleges the officers were profiling as they repeatedly asked if there were guns or jewelry in the 'fancy' Dodge. Even after they found out Woods is a cop, officers didn't slow down and make sure they had their ducks in a row. In fact, they gave him a lecture about how he should know better. We've personally seen this kind of behavior before as police often like to target performance cars, saying they appeared to be going fast, chirping tires, or revving their engine. Tempe Police impounded the rental car, presumably so they could search it thoroughly. However, they didn't find anything illegal inside. Now the city has an expensive lawsuit on its hands it will likely settle out of court. Image via ABC15 Arizona/YouTube Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
Woman suing City of Tempe, ex-Tempe police officer after she lost unborn baby in crash
The Brief A woman is suing the City of Tempe, as well as a man who once served on the city's police force. The lawsuit is over a crash ex-Tempe Police officer Zachary Hyde was involved in. Shone said she lost her unborn child as a result of the crash. TEMPE, Ariz. - The City of Tempe, along with a man who once served on the city's police force, are facing a lawsuit. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is an East Valley woman who lost her unborn baby because of a crash involving the officer. The backstory The crash happened on May 24, 2024. At the time, Jade Shone was planning for the birth of her first-born, a baby girl she had planned to name Isla. "For a long time, I never really thought about having children, and for a while I didn't think I was able to," Shone recounted. "But then, finding out the news that we were expecting was exciting." Shone said she had a green light, and was driving into the intersection at Dobson Road and Broadway in Mesa when she was hit by a Tempe Police vehicle that was being driven by Zachary Hyde. Police report from the wreck states that Hyde had his emergency lights on when entering the intersection, but it is unknown how long they were on before the crash. In the lawsuit, Shone claims that Hyde failed to conduct a proper check to be sure the intersection was clear before he entered the intersection on a red light, and failed to drive with the regard for the safety of all persons. Shone said she had several injuries from the crash, and worse of all, she received devastating news about Isla. "I realized something was wrong when we were at the hospital, and they had told me that I had started contracting and that they believe that they had seen some of the placenta already kind of start to detach," said Shone. The next few hours were gut-wrenching for both Shone and her partner. What She Said "After finding out that she was gone and no longer had a heartbeat, the rest of that night, I just kind of sat there with my thoughts and just really thought, you know, she's not coming home with us," said Shone. "They had asked me if I had wanted to hold her, and of course I did, so seeing her for the first time was both a happy moment for me, but also a very sad one." Hyde is no longer employed with the Tempe Police Department, after he was arrested for a DUI in an incident that happened after the wreck with Shone. What they're saying "In July 2024, then-Officer Hyde was arrested by DPS while off-duty and charged with driving under the influence. The Tempe Police Department immediately placed Hyde on administrative leave pending a departmental investigation. The statement we released then noted: 'Any time a criminal investigation is brought to our attention about one of our officers, we take the matter very seriously,'" read a portion of Tempe Police's statement. "Hyde is no longer employed by TPD." Tempe Police officials said as the city is part of the civil suit, they cannot comment more on the incident. Hyde's lawyer also told us on Feb. 7 that Hyde will not be making any statements in reference to either case. Shone weighs in on lawsuit As for Shone, she said she has moved into a stage of acceptance about losing her first baby, but calls the lawsuit her chance for justice for Isla. "I just kinda wanna know what was going on at the time, and if he is remorseful, and I want him to know that I have been through a lot, and I still am dealing with a lot afterwards," said Shone.
