Officer of the Month?!

Our Eyes just told us that there was a special "Officer of the Month" from the Northeast Area Command for the month of May. What crime fighting skill did this officer (who shall remain nameless) demonstrate with such skill? What sort of villain ended up receiving the fruits of their misdeeds?

Captain Bill Henz decided that the award for "Officer of the Month" should go to an officer whose dedication to making sure that Marty's Scam-eras remain safe (and profitable), is unsurpassed. May's "Officer of the Month" following the directives from on high, cited 40 hardened driver's for... covering their behinds with the suddenly illegal license plate covers.

It wasn't rape, murder, or even armed robbery... covering license plates with covers that foil the red light Scam-eras and protect a drivers wallet. What's more, NO ONE seems to be able to point to a specific law ANYWHERE that makes these covers illegal. Yes... that includes the city's Code of Ordinances!

§ 8-6-4 LICENSE PLATES.

(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to park or to operate a motor vehicle on a roadway unless there is attached to the rear thereof, a license plate for the current license year, unless the state of issuance requires two license plates, in which case such plate shall be affixed to the vehicle as provided by law of the state of issuance; such license plate or plates to be maintained free of dirt, emblems, trailer hitches, or any other obstruction so that the color, state of issuance, years and license number or letters thereon are clearly visible.

(B) No person shall display upon a vehicle any registration evidence, registration plate, or permit not issued for such vehicle or not otherwise lawfully issued.

(C) No person shall display upon a vehicle a license plate altered from its original markings.

('74 Code, § 9-5-20.4) (Ord. 65-1974; Am. Ord. 7-2003)

Where in that language does the city ordinance 8-6-4 give authority to law enforcement to cite and/or confiscate offending plates? As long as your plate is "maintained free of dirt, emblems, trailer hitches, or any other obstruction so that the color, state of issuance, years and license number or letters thereon are clearly visible," you are not in violation of the city ordinance, period.

Our Eyes tell us that city attorneys are furiously making deals with those dastardly drivers who have been cited for the afore mentioned infraction, in order to keep the citation from going to court. The Eyes have it that the city will drop the charges if the accused agrees to remove the plate cover from their vehicle. Looks to us like the city would rather not have an independent judge make a ruling regarding the legality of the "enforcement" action.

APD Public Information Officer has maintained that the Scam-eras can see through such plate covering devices. Mayor Marty has assured us that the Scam-eras are all about public safety. In light of the determined effort to punish dastardly drivers for covering their @%$, we don't see how either could be true.

More importantly, don't Captain Henz, Chief Schultz, and the Almighty Marty, have better things to do... more important criminals to capture? We'd argue that license plate covers rank up there with j-walking as far as law enforcement priorities are concerned. Perhaps Captain Henz should consider tasking his officers with more important duties, as opposed to protecting Marty's sacred cash cow.

Northeast Drivers Beware

No we aren't referring to drivers in New York or Boston (although you take your life in your own hands every time you put your foot on the peddle while driving in those urban paradises). We're talking about drivers right here in River City (AKA Marty's Magic Kingdom).

Not only does the Northeast Heights have the dubious distinction of being the first part of town to have the red-light scam-eras installed, but now the Northeast Area Command is enforcing the Schultz no plate cover edict with something close to a religious fervor.

Recently promoted Captain Bill Henz is making sure that his troops zealously enforce Chief Schultz's commandment by confiscating license plate covers that foil the "infallible" scam-eras.

(Sidebar)
Captain Henz is a recent promotion to Captain who replaced now Deputy Chief Kevin McCabe as commander up in the Northeast. Our Eyes tell us that Captain Henz was so "loved" by the officers he was chosen to command that during the most recent bid, all of the senior officers in the area command transferred out leaving behind officer who didn't have enough seniority to choose somewhere else.

Don't take this the wrong way... the new officers in the Northeast work hard, but simply don't have the experience to judge whether or not and enforcement edict sent down from on high (the 5th floor) is a legal order or not. They simply follow orders as one would expect them to do.
(End Sidebar)

The real problem here is that confiscation of property (license plate protectors) could very well be illegal. The New Mexico traffic code does not outlaw license plate covers, regardless of what Chief Schultz maintains. (We explained our position here.) As long as the plates are clearly legible from 100 feet at night, your plate is considered legal according to New Mexico law. Further, there is no city ordinance that we're aware of that outlaws the practice of protecting your license plate (and your behind) with one of these scam-era protection devices.

So, confiscating a license plate cover that leaves your plate clearly legible by law enforcement could easily by considered larceny. We're not hanging this one on the officers of the Northeast Heights - they're just following orders. We're placing the blame upon the people who should know better, namely Captain Henz and Chief Schultz.

Currently, we have no knowledge of a judge making a judgment regarding the plate covers with respect to their legality (The Legislature has most definitely been silent on the issue). And our Eyes tell us that judges will often dismiss charges without prejudice rather than making a precedent setting decision. Therefore, the written law can and is being interpreted by people like Chief Schultz who know that they can get away with it until some other authority (either legislative or judicial) weighs in.

We'd love to see someone whose plate cover was confiscated file larceny charges against Chief Schultz and Captain Henz. After all the Constitution guarantees us the right not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property with out due process of law.