Green Cove Police Push Back Against Red Light Camera Detractors
Posts From Their Facebook Page Generated Hundreds Of Comments
*While this post is filled with sarcasm, the data provided is accurate*
The Green Cove Springs Police Department made posts to Facebook recently taking jabs at detractors of the city’s red light cameras. The Police Department, which has recently leaned in hard to Orwellian style surveillance of the town’s roadways, appears to have taken umbrage over the lowly residents daring to criticize the cameras.
It’s no secret that people hate red light cameras. The only people who seem to like them are the politicians whose municipalities benefit financially from the cameras. While the local politicians here in Clay do not attempt to listen to concerns about the cameras, their political overlords in Tallahassee at least have the courtesy to pretend they want to get rid of the cameras. As far back as 2018, the Florida House of Representatives has passed a bill to outlaw red light cameras. The half-hearted measures get praise for the politicians who vote for them and coverage from the media, and then quietly die in the Florida Senate. It’s the same song and dance done with other topics Republicans find beneficial to pretend to support, like gun rights.
The Green Cove Springs Police Department upped the ante yesterday via two posts on their Facebook page. The first post included a graphic highlighting the ‘myths vs truths’ about red light cameras in Green Cove.
As the police department had initiated an impromptu Festivus-style ‘airing of grievances,’ the comment section played out as you might expect. People quickly pointed out that cameras do not make intersections safer by the post’s admission.
Others pointed out the money generated for the city, which is nearly $300,000 yearly. Many commentators offered real-life experiences of how the cameras have made the intersection more dangerous. As you can imagine, the police department was unsympathetic to their concerns.
Despite the deluge of over 200 comments on the first post, most of which were critical, the police department doubled down a few hours later. A video was posted showing one truck running a red light.
Dubbing it a new series called ‘Red Light Runners,’ the post shows a lone pickup truck running a red light. Per the text on the post, this single video of a solo lawbreaker allegedly rebutted several criticisms of the red light cameras. Because there was no law enforcement vehicle in this video no law enforcement vehicles have run red lights. And because no one had to slam on their brakes in this one video, it must be logical to assume anyone saying they had to slam on their brakes is not telling the truth.
Clay News & Views has placed a public records request to the city of Green Cove Springs for any data related to law enforcement vehicles running red lights and being subsequently ticketed. Updates will be provided once the data is received.
While it’s not clear where the funds generated by these cameras go, it is clear they are not used for public relations staff or training for the Green Cove Police Department. The dismissive tone of the posts and combative nature of the replies to comments have left a bad impression on some residents, with one going as far as to call the posts “unprofessional and antagonistic.” It would appear the majority of people commenting on the posts agree.