Officer Kraus,

Can you forward this to your Division Commander for me? Thanks.

My name is Todd Sherman. I run the website called 'Mobile Scanner and RADAR-Detector Laws In The United States.'

Over the past 6 months, I've received complaints from people who are advising me that they are being ticketed from Troop C troopers for having radar detectors mounted upon their windshields, and actually being issued pretty hefty fines for that infraction.

I'm suspicious of this and was thinking of possibly taking on investigation of this myself to find out just what exactly is going on with this particular Division. That I have so far heard, you seem to be the ONLY Division so far actually making use of this windshield law to ticket people for radar detector use - something the Florida Senate has told people was supposed to be LEGAL to use. I am also thinking of taking this into the Press to see if they might be able to help in the investigation of what is going on down there. I'm wary of your intentions and this is apparently unprecedented. It's only occurring down there in your Troop C area. Why? What's going on?

Let me nutshell it for you...

The Florida Senate recently voted DOWN a proposed bill by ex-Alachua County Sheriff Steve Oelrich to make the use of RDs illegal. This in effect sets something called "precedence" from a pretty powerful source -the Florida Senate itself - that radar detector use in the State of Florida is in fact NOT illegal. Not illegal means it's LEGAL. I don't know how YOU interpret this, but I proffer that you are not a Judge and it is not within your right or purview to act in the manner and duty of a Judge where a law such as the windshield law is so vague and obviously so in conflict with the Florida Senate. (You'll be interested in knowing too that Oelrich in fact came from a county which made heavy use of something called the 'Safety Warning System' - which employs devices mounted upon emergency vehicles specifically DESIGNED to make today's radar detectors go off and scroll little text message warnings so as to give people heads up and to be able to take appropriate cautionary action. I suspect some places inside your own Troop C area ALSO make use of those devices. They are inescapably and increasingly popular, nowadays. It would not look good if your area did in fact make use of such a system and then your own troopers were in fact ticketing and financially accosting people for making use of them. I am researching that right now, too.)

At any rate, this can be carried farther to say that if the Senate has approved the use of RDs in Florida, then that in fact IS considered a "state approval" of the use of radar detectors. I'm sorry. I do not see any other interpretation of that from someplace so high as the Florida SENATE. That's pretty inarguable, and places your entire Division into a fairly dangerous and precarious position of suspicion. You COULD be sued for harassing the public unnecessarily.

It is also my interpretation that the main purpose of the Florida windshield law seems to largely be to prevent unauthorized use of tinting and sun shielding and the prevention of unauthorized additional screening methods. I do not in that law see ANY specific mention BANNING of the use of RADAR DETECTORS. It's too vague for you to touch in it's current wording. I suggest it's just best leaving it alone as it leaves you too open to misinterpretation and the apparent unintentional harassment of innocent people.

Another Florida law, regulating the use of GPS devices, specifically allows the use of a very bulky device. This law would seem to be in conflict with the windshield law because the GPS device itself DOES provide for the "obstruction of the windshield" that I'm sure your officers are holding to. The GPS devices are often larger and take up MUCH more area on the windshield, all said and done, than the RDs do. And yet, the GPS law ALLOWS for their use. Hmm.

Are your officers attempting to make use of some sort of a "holy grail" loophole that they think they see in the windshield law to unnecessarily harass and stalk Florida citizens who are otherwise making wholly legitimate use of RADAR-Detectors that the Florida Senate specifically showed no interest in making illegal?

I just wanted to be absolutely sure we were all on the same level, here.

Would you answer these questions specifically for me?...

• What is the intention of the FHP Troop C Division with respect to radar detector usage considering the Florida Senate's vote on radar-detector usage?
• Are your officers actually acting ALONE and on their OWN interpreting the windshield law; or are you specifically INSTRUCTING the officers under your command to ticket people under this law?
• Who is the authority that approved/instructed this action be taken?
• Are you aware that no other police agency across the entire state of Florida is taking this action?
• How many times have your officers used this law to ticket people since you began using it?
• How much has this accosted people in terms of fines so far since you began using the windshield law? (I am thinking of seeking to have your Division reimburse those people for the fines and to rescind those tickets.)

These are reasonable questions.

I would argue that your Division is acting on it's own, making it's OWN interpretation of an obviously vague law, taking advantage of a loophole. I would argue that you are using the color of law to harass and intimidate, using a vague law to deliberately and intentionally and unnecessarily accost innocent citizens and ticketing and fining them for using a device that the Florida Senate has actually VOTED to allow them to freely and peaceably be able to USE within the state. I would argue that the windshield law is in conflict with the Senate's own set precedence. I would argue that you have unfairly fined people. I would argue that you have unfairly placed unnecessary infractions into the permanent record of innocent people who in fact broke no such law. I would argue that those people ticketed and fined need to be reimbursed, and that their illicitly imposed infractions be removed, and that the officers who imposed the infractions upon those people be punished - unless offered some sign that they were NOT acting on their own, illicitly.

...What is going ON down there?

Offering you friendly chance to explain, here.

Thanks,

Todd Sherman
Mobile Scanner & RADAR-Detector Laws In The United States
http://www.afn.org/~afn09444/scanlaws

UPDATE - RESPONSE (05/05/2010):

From: Kraus, Larry
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 2:36 PM
To: Todd L. Sherman
Subject: RE: Troopers writing tickets for RDs mounted on windshields...

Mr. Sherman,

I forwarded your request to my Captain in Tallahassee, please allow us some time to look into this matter and we will answer all your questions.

Thank you
Sergeant Larry Kraus

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