Gravette’s David Stewart aims to make ticketed speeders happy by helping them recover fine money.
The Guru shares what Stewart has in mind, and then there’s time to provide readers with information about a bridge that matters to people in Bella Vista.
Question: “A few weeks ago you discussed the proper place to stop if stopped by an unmarked police car,” Stewart writes.
“Back in the 1970s or 1980s, we had a person the media called ‘the blue light rapist’ who stopped and attacked women at night. He had a blue light so it looked like an unmarked police car.
“Due to that case, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that unmarked cars could not be used in traffic enforcement. I have not been able to find out if this ruling has been overturned.
I’m sure you have better sources and can find out.
“If it has not been overturned then all tickets written after that date written by officers in unmarked cars were written illegally and should be removed from people’s records and the money refunded. I know this would be a burden, but they knew it was illegal when they issued the tickets.”
Answer: The person known as the “blue-light rapist” in Arkansas is Robert Todd Burmingham, who was convicted for pulling over women using a blue light in the late 1990s.
While there’s no state law forbidding traffic stops with unmarked cars (and The Guru found no Supreme Court decision that says it’s illegal), state law does prohibit the sale or transfer of blue lights to anyone other than law enforcement officers or county coroners.
All blue-light sales and transfers must be reported to the Arkansas State Police. State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said 23 blue-light sales or transfers were reported in 2010; 18 have been reported so far this year.
Illegal “blue light” stops by people posing as police officers still goes on. Two Newton County men last year used a blue light to pull over someone (who just happened to be an offduty state wildlife officer and called the sheriff’s office).
When being stopped, it’s reasonable to slow down and wave to a police officer so he’ll know he’s got your attention. Stopping in a well-lit area at night is smart.
Q: “Gordon Hollow Road is a boon to all who live west of the Bella Vista Scotsdale Golf Course,” writes Bella Vista’s Duane Michelsen. “The cooperation of local and Missouri entities to upgrade the former cow path was a joy to see. But. ...
“There is a problem with the transition at both ends of the bridge. I do not know who to blame so I will ask if there’s a schedule to fix the uncomfortable jarring you get when crossing the bridge. The depressions should be repaired as they are getting worse.”
A: Keith Lindquist, Mc-Donald County, Mo.’s presiding commissioner, saidhe’d have someone look at the bridge. Flooding has torn up county roads, so fixing minor damage to the Gordon Hollow bridge isn’t a top priority, he said.
Robert J. Smith, aka The Guru, writes on traffic issues in Northwest Arkansas on Fridays. He can be reached at nwaonline.com/guru or [email protected].
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 11 on 07/01/2011