Two Colorado Springs motorcycle officers claimed they wrote more traffic tickets than they actually did – a fib that is costing the El Paso County District Attorney’s office money.
The police department told district attorney John Newsome and the city attorney’s office that the two motorcycle cops fudged paperwork, double counting some tickets. Both have retired, said police spokesman Lt. David Whitlock.
He said he couldn’t name the officers because it is a personnel matter. Nor could he say whether they were forced to retire.
It isn’t clear why the two claimed they wrote the extra tickets. Colorado Springs police aren’t required to meet a ticket quota, Whitlock said.
The two men over-counted tickets they wrote between January and February, 2008, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Diana May.
The DA’s office must notify all those ticketed that the cops misled the department on an internal document. Those who received tickets might be able to defend themselves by saying that the officers shouldn’t be trusted, May said.
“Our obligation is not to hide it but to disclose it. We have to make sure that any information that can be exculpatory is made known and we are committing a significant amount of resources to make it known.”
She didn’t know how much it will cost to find and contact those who received the citations. But one DA’s office employee is working overtime to do so.
Since they never wrote a phony ticket or lied on an official document they didn’t break the law and won’t be charged, May said.
“They were internally keeping their numbers up and stretching them out. We reviewed this case and based on the information there is insufficient evidence to proceed on charges,” May said.
The department launched an internal investigation after a supervisor noticed discrepancies in paperwork submitted by the officers.
Investigators concluded the tickets the pair actually did write were valid and that the officers were the only members of the department engaged in the sham.
“We took action to make sure this is not something that is going on universally. This is just two officers who made a bad choice,” said Whitlock.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
