Dear Editor:
Seems like a simple question, but is it? Does their chain of command? Other agencies? County Attorney? Citizens? It should probably be all of the above.
On December 9, I traveled to Mesa to pick up supplies. On my way home, I was passed by a Graham County Sheriff vehicle going way over the speed limit. They came up behind me very quickly, west of Florence Junction, with no emergency lights or siren. I was going about 73-75 mph in a 65 zone. I recognized it as a law enforcement vehicle and made sure he had plenty of room. It surprised me to see it was a Graham County Sheriff’s Office vehicle. Was he responding to an emergency from 100 miles away? Not likely. I decided to try to pace him to see how fast he was going. I got up to criminal speeding (85 mph), and he was leaving me behind, way behind. I found them at the Circle K in Superior, pulled in, took a picture of the back, and got back on the road. I made it to the east side of Bylas before he caught me again. From my math, he was going around 85 mph then also, I never saw his brake lights when he got to Fort Thomas, a 45 mph zone. I was pretty frustrated at the abuse of authority this is, I see it frequently.
I once followed a Pima officer driving very aggressively through Thatcher and Central for a non-emergency call. I spoke with Diane Cauthen, the Pima Chief of Police. I followed a DPS officer through Central who flashed his emergency lights at someone in the left lane and went 15-20 miles per hour over the speed limit until he pulled into his driveway. I once found another DPS officer going excessively fast through Central, took down his info, and months later, he pulled me over for going 62 through Central, which is usually the normal speed of traffic. I confronted him about it because I had a notepad with all the info: date/time/unit number. He was pretty angry, but we had a civil conversation about it. According to him, he pulled me over for going 7 miles per hour over the speed limit because he hadn’t pulled anyone over for a few hours and needed to make more stops. I followed another DPS officer through Central. He ended up pulling into Casa Manana; it must have been an emergency lunch meeting. I’ve spoken to the Pima Chief Diane Cauthen, Sheriff PJ Allred, and a past DPS area supervisor or sergeant about this, always the same thing, excuses.
The law is stated in Arizona Revised Statutes 28-624
Summarized, 28-624A emergency vehicles may disregard traffic laws in emergencies, with lights and sirens. 28-624C provides an exemption for lights and sirens, but it is vague and open to interpretation. In non-emergency situations, all traffic laws apply.
28-624. Authorized emergency vehicles
A. If an authorized emergency vehicle is driven in response to an emergency call, in pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of law, or in response to but not on return from a fire alarm, the driver may exercise the privileges provided in this section, subject to the conditions stated in this section.
B. If the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle is operating at least one lighted lamp displaying a red or red and blue light or lens visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred feet to the front of the vehicle, the driver may:
1. Notwithstanding this chapter, park or stand.
2. Proceed past a red or stop signal or stop sign, but only after slowing down as necessary for safe operation.
3. Exceed the prima facie speed limits if the driver does not endanger life or property.
4. Disregard laws or rules governing the direction of movement or turning in specified directions.
C. The exemptions authorized by this section for an authorized emergency vehicle apply only if the driver of the vehicle while in motion sounds an audible signal by bell, siren or exhaust whistle as reasonably necessary and if the vehicle is equipped with at least one lighted lamp displaying a red or red and blue light or lens visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred feet to the front of the vehicle, except that an authorized emergency vehicle operated as a police vehicle need not be equipped with or display a red or red and blue light or lens visible from in front of the vehicle.
D. This section does not relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons and does not protect the driver from the consequences of the driver’s reckless disregard for the safety of others.
For those of you who know me, you might know I drive faster than I should. I usually keep it under 10 over, but I realize this is still speeding. I’ve probably had 20 speeding tickets in my life, but none in the last 10 years. Knowing that, this isn’t a jealousy issue about not being able to drive fast. This is an accountability, abuse of power, and setting a good example issue.
I do not know who was driving the Sheriff’s Office vehicle that day. I may know them personally, but I don’t know; it doesn’t matter. This is a cultural problem, not just one officer abusing power. I used to be extremely pro-law enforcement, but things like this start to erode that. For additional reference, there are a few articles about the former Greenlee Sheriff doing this, and his solution was to remove GPS units from vehicles, so they couldn’t be tracked and held accountable. That said, here are the vehicle details. It was on Dec. 9 at 3:25 p.m. that they were in Superior getting fuel.
Unit # 1091
Newer Tahoe Lic plate MMA5BR
Sean Herbert – Fort Thomas
