UPDATE:
After an 8-month investigation, Georgia's Department of Public Safety says Jacksonville Police did not run a speed trap.
Claire Davis met with Jacksonville Police Chief Lewis Smith and Steverson today to learn more.
Lewis Smith has been Jacksonville's Police Chief for only two weeks. He says before he decided to take the job, he was worried about complaints that the department ran a speed trap. "I've stopped a few of them. First thing came out of their mouth 'Oj I've heard about you guys, operating a speed trap.' And I try you know, I try to tell em' that uh I don't know what happened in the past but ma'am got you here today running 67 in a 35," said Smith.
But Smith says he's relieved. That's after a letter from the Georgia Department of Public Safety Commissioner says police did nothing wrong. Last year, Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson said he was looking into complaints that the police department was running a speed trap. But the letter to Chief Smith said the town has complied with Georgia's rules for radar speed guns. "I'm gonna make sure before I write the ticket it's a good ticket because we've got so many people watching us that we're just not gonna make a bad case," said Smith.
Sheriff Steverson said more than 80 people file complaints against Jacksonville due to speeding tickets. But now, he says he's glad there's a new chief and hopes to see the department turn around. "No problems for us as long as they work within the confines of the law and respect peoples constitutional rights we won't have any problems. But if they begin generating a record number of complaints then of course we would have to take some action," said Steverson.
Steverson says he believes the complaints were still valid. Complaints said the town was using speed detection to generate revenue. But the state says Jacksonville did not violate state limits for revenue from speed-limit violations.
Last year, former Jacksonville Chief Charles Briley said he'd done nothing wrong, and he was trying to slow down truck traffic on a dangerous stretch of road.
After that, Briley and his wife were arrested and charged with stealing a newspaper collection box.
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A state investigation says the city of Jacksonville, Georgia is not running a "speed trap," and that police there did not misuse speed-detection devices.
That's according to a letter from Mark McDonough, commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety.
He later said that more than 80 people had filed complaints and that the state agency was investigating.
But the March 8 letter from McDonough to Jacksonville Chief Lewis Smith said Jacksonville "is in compliance with Georgia law" for use of radar speed guns. The state agency issues permts for those devices and can revoke them if the radar guns are being misused.
Specifically, the state letter says.
Complaints said Jacksonville had ticketed drivers too close to spots where the speed limit changed or in incorrect areas. The state found no evidence of that.
Other drivers said warning signs on US 441/Highway 31 were "nonexistent or improper." But the state's investigation says Jacksonville's signs are in keeping with state law.
Complaints said the town was "using speed detection to generate revenue." But the state says Jacksonville did not violate state limits for revenue from speed-limit violations.
At least one person complained that Jacksonville's patrol car was not properly marked, but the state report also says that's not so.
The state also looked into complaints that officers urged drivers to pay high or reduce fines to have citations "dimissed" or "not turned in," the state report says. But the state Department of Public Safety said that issue was outside their authority.
Last year, Jacksonville Chief Charles Briley said he'd done nothing wrong, and he was trying to slow down truck traffic on a dangerous stretch of road.
In a separate letter, McDonald's office says they investigated whether Dopson was illegally using speed-detection devices, but found no evidence of that.