[RP TownTalk] Lawsuit accuses Riverdale Park of speed camera fraud

[James D. Holmes]

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/19210755/lawsuit-accuses-riverdale-park-of-speed-camera-fraud 





Lawsuit accuses Riverdale Park of speed camera fraud
Posted: Aug 06, 2012 11:17 PM EDT
Updated: Aug 06, 2012 11:26 PM EDT
By Sherri Ly, @SherriLyFox5



  RIVERDALE PARK, Md. - Riverdale Park Police are accused of illegally 
issuing thousands of speed camera tickets. A lawsuit filed Monday claims 
employees used an officer's name to fraudulently sign off on tickets he 
never saw. If true, the city could owe millions of dollars in refunds.

An officer inside the department blew the whistle, claiming tickets were 
being issued with his name and a forged signature on them, but that he 
never reviewed. The allegations are laid out in court documents accusing 
the department of fraud.

The accusations angered Baruti Ngankoi.


"I paid like $120," he said, doing the math on three tickets at $40 each.

All of them were from the same camera at the intersection of Route 410 
and Taylor Road.

The town is so small, it is easy to miss, but it has more than enough 
speed enforcement cameras in its 1.6 square miles to catch drivers 
passing through.

"I should get my money back," Ngankoi said.

A lawsuit filed in Prince George's County Circuit Court now claims the 
police department failed to issue tickets by the book. An officer is 
supposed to review each ticket under state law. Court documents show 
Officer Clay Alford's name on a ticket that was issued when he was on 
leave from the department.

"In my mind, I think that is fraud," said Attorney Tim Leahy of Byrd & 
Byrd Law Firm, which filed the lawsuit.

Leahy represents Officer Alford and two plaintiffs ticketed by the town 
that are now suing the town. Emails between the officer and two civilian 
employees describes splitting up the citations saying, "We all will take 
1000 and clear them out..." which is against state law for civilian 
employees to do.

"People are receiving a citation that says a law enforcement officer 
reviewed the images, and based on that review of those images, [it] 
found that there was a violation," Leahy said.

The attorney estimates about two-thirds of the city's speed camera 
tickets since 2009 were fraudulently approved using the officer's login 
and a forged signature. In 2011, the town earned $1.8 million from speed 
cameras, nearly a third of the town's budget.

The lawsuit demands those tickets be refunded.

"I think it's all about money," complained Ola Ijiwole, who drives 
through the area.

Based on additional emails, the attorney also claims the department 
rubber-stamped tickets in mere seconds.

"They completed a certain number in 3 and a half hours, which ended up 
being about 19 seconds per approval time," Leahy said.

Riverdale Park Police did not return our call for comment. Neither did 
the mayor.

Officer Alford's attorney says he came forward because he was 
uncomfortable with his name being signed onto tickets he didn't review 
and did not want to be in a position to possibly perjure himself if 
called into court.



Read more: 
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/19210755/lawsuit-accuses-riverdale-park-of-speed-camera-fraud?clienttype=printable#ixzz236I77wu0
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