Ticket and car camera

[kpepperz]

What is the name of your state? IL

My husband got a ticket for running a stop sign at the end of our street. This stop sign is set back from the corner a bit, and the line at which you are supposed to stop is at a place that makes it impossible to see if there is traffic coming from the right (there is a building blocking the view). He stopped at the stop sign, looked rleft (which has a clear view) and then inched forward to see if any traffic was coming that was blocked the the sight of the building. THere was none, so he went. The cop pulled him over for running the stop sign. My husband asked if there was a camera in the car, the cop said yes. When my husband asked to see himself running the stop sign, the cop said he couldn't because the camera was broken.

My questions are these:
1) If requested, does the cop have to show the tape to the offender?
2) If the camera was indeed broken, does my husband have a chance on getting this dismissed due to faulty equipment?

My husband insists he stopped at this stop sign. He has reqested a court date for fighting it. Thank you in advance for your help.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by kpepperz

My questions are these:
1) If requested, does the cop have to show the tape to the offender?
2) If the camera was indeed broken, does my husband have a chance on getting this dismissed due to faulty equipment?

My husband insists he stopped at this stop sign. He has reqested a court date for fighting it. Thank you in advance for your help.

The camera doesn't matter at all. Thousands upon thousands of tickets were given for running stop signs before cameras were ever installed in patrol cars. The state has an expert witness who will provide testimony against your husband. All he has to do is to convince the hearing officer/judge (or whomever fulfills that role in your state) that the expert witness is wrong and he is right.

[joelyons09]

just a question, do all police vehicles have to have a camera? or is it just by some jurisdictions?

[Maestro64]

If you believe the camera was working then you can request/subpoena the tape and have it at the court hearing if you wish to fight it.

If you do fight it, than take pictures of the area and show if line of sights are not good which requires going over the stop line to see and proceed safely. The rule on running a stop sign is crossing over the stop line painted on the ground without stopping. Arguably you can be cited for running the stop sign if you crossed the stop line before stopping.

You might have good defense and you can always request the tape in the car. If the officers tries to say it was not working then ask for proof it was not working on that day like a maintenance request for it repair prior to that day.

[The Occultist]

Originally Posted by Maestro64

If the officers tries to say it was not working then ask for proof it was not working on that day like a maintenance request for it repair prior to that day.

Uh huh. And what if it quit working before the officer had a chance to go back to the station to fill out any maintenance request paperwork? And if no such requests were ever made, what happens then? The case is thrown out? I doubt that.

[JustAPal00]

I was always under the impression that the cameras weren't activated until the lights were turned on, or the officer manually turned it on. The would go through a lot of boring tape if not!