How could this happen?
The normally placid police chief of Culver City, Scott Bixby, said this morning that “we dropped the ball.”
A belatedly corrected case of mistaken identity — involving a television actor – dealt still another blow to the controversial red light camera system – loved by law enforcement, loathed by everyone else.
Because of carelessness by a Culver City officer and because the actor has an above-the-norm profile, the sloppy error ballooned into a sizable gaffe, as tracked by the Los Angeles Times.
On June 15, a white Land Rover that appeared to be driven by the 62-year-old actor Steve Tom of North Hollywood made a right turn – on a red light — at the hot intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Green Valley Circle.
The red-faced saga presumably concluded 24 hours ago with the Police Dept. apologizing to Mr. Tom for guessing that he was the errant driver.
Meantime, the veteran officer who brought the cloud of wider-than-expected embarrassment down on the heads of his department, is believed to have been disciplined.
Mr. Bixby picks up the narrative:
“What happened in this case is rare.
“Typically when a citation comes in, we review it to make sure there is an actual violation, based on the photographic evidence.
“Then we look at the registered owner. If it is a gender mismatch, then we have to do a little more research. If it looks as if everything matches, a citation is sent to the registered owner.”
Enter a stroke of carelessness.
“When (Mr. Tom’s erroneous) citation came through, our photo enforcement officer recognized the person as someone he has known for many years,” Mr. Bixby said.
“The officer knows that Mr. Tom’s ex-wife lives in the Fox Hills area, where the citation was written.
“Based on the fact the officer recognized Mr. Tom as the driver, and that Fox Hills is an area he would be in, he was 100 percent sure that this was Steve Tom.”
Another critical mistake by seasoned officers:
“A citation was issued by a different officer,” Mr. Bixby said, “because the officer who knows Mr. Tom did not want his name on the ticket because he knows him. He thought it would be better if somebody else issued the citation.”
(To be continued)
Another error! My ex wife has lived in Las Vegas for several years — NOT Fox Hills. Unbelievable incompetence.
It’s not as RARE as Bixby said. Because it is happening to me and I’m not even famous!!
In my case, it’s not the Clover City PD, it is San Leandro PD in the bay.
And they not only gave me a red light citation once but 3 times!! (For the same driver and car)
Aren’t tickets attested to and signed by officers under penalty of perjury? If so, can the officer that actually signed the ticket for another officer be prosecuted for bearing false witness on hearsay and is the city liable for defamation of character since the accusation was false?
Just another example that shows the “careful reviews” of the videos by the for-profit camera companies and their for-profit city business partners are a farce.
James C. Walker, National Motorists Association
The Culver City Police Department admitted there was an error and is handling the problem. What else do you want? By the way, the Citizens of Culver City must not have a problem with the cameras as they certainly could pass an ordinance that would ban their use in the city.
If this is the biggest problem the Citizens of Culver City have with their police department, I think the’ve got it pretty great.
Perjury, defamation of character? You all watch too much TV.