A CTV News investigation has revealed that 61 Toronto police vehicles were captured going through red lights while they were not on an emergency call over a period of 18 months.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that between January 2014 and July 2015 there were 61 instances of police running red lights.
Some of the police vehicles were caught entering the intersection more than 30 seconds after the traffic light had turned red.
If an officer is unable to justify going through the red light, the police force is responsible for covering the cost of the $325 ticket.
Toronto Police Association President Mike McCormack says that “every officer has to justify it” if caught on the red light cameras.
“We’re like everyone else, we have to justify our behaviour,” McCormack said.
Officers who are not able to justify entering the intersection while the light is red are docked six hours of pay. If an officer is caught more than two times they are required to go to a professional standards hearing.
But Toronto Police Const. Clint Stibbe says that these 61 instances “shouldn’t be reflective of the entire situation.”
“In 18 months we have had 61 officers that have committed this offence. When you think about the sheer number of miles that vehicles in our service put on, the number of shift rotations we have, the number of officers on the road, that’s actually a very small number.”
Stibbe says that “everyone makes mistakes” but “officers have to follow the rules of the road.”
“We have a requirement under the (traffic) act to stop at each of those signals, fully, and ensure it is safe to enter the intersection and then proceed with caution,” Stibbe says.
Along with red light cameras capturing pictures of the vehicle, sensors in the road also register how long the light has been red when the car goes through and at what speed the vehicle is going.
Below is an interactive map that shows when and where police vehicles were caught going through red lights. Viewing on a mobile device? Click here.
