Subject: Arizona Department of Public Safety

• DPS: Department of Political Safety

  The state police force is riven with dissent over the governor's politicization of the department. Leading the list of complaints are rapid advancement of unqualified Symington cronies, the governor's misuse of the DPS plane, and scarce resources for crim

  February 6, 1997

• See Ya Later, Regulator

  February 17, 2000

• Road Rage: DPS Photo Enforcement Cameras Blocked with Post-It Notes

  Freedom's Phoenix has the scoop on the growing Post-it note rebellion against DPS' new photo enforcement cameras. Say you wanna revolution? I know I do every time I take the 51 through town and have to run the gauntlet of the Arizona Department of Public Safety's photo enforcement cameras. Literally, everyone slows down for the few yards it takes to put these electronic watchdogs in the rearview, then speeds right up again when they're past them. Actually, the vision that occurs in my brain is

  November 19, 2008

• Red-Light Camera Helps Stick It to Suspected Motorcycle Thief

  One in a blue moon, photo enforcement cameras do something other than make a profit off of momentarily careless drivers like Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. One Phoenix red-light camera helped nab a suspected motorcycle thief recently, says the Arizona Department of Public Safety.  

  November 25, 2008

• Hot Links: DPS Covers State With Speed Cameras; Phoenix Cutting 1,000 Jobs; FBI Calls Robber "Mid-Life Crisis Bandit"

  Travelers must force their way through a gauntlet of photo enforcement vans today on Interstates 10 and 40 in what appears to be the single largest deployment of speed cameras ever. The Arizona Department of Public Safety wants to "cover all of I-10 and I-40 in Arizona," says the Republic article below. Combined with fixed sites, the DPS says a speed camera will be placed every 20 miles -- though the story doesn't say whether that is the average. A good trick to lull people into complacency woul

  November 26, 2008

• Local Photo Enforcement Vandalism is Child's Play Compared to Destruction of Speed Cameras Elsewhere

  New Times first reported two weeks ago that the speed cameras being placed abundantly throughout town by the Arizona Department of Public Safety were being "vandalized" with -- gasp -- Post-It notes. Scofflaw activists hope placing the sticky notes on camera lenses will bring attention to their cause and allow at least a few speeding motorists to escape citations. An Arizona Republic article states the protesters have also been spraying the cameras with

  December 1, 2008

• Glendale Man Arrested on Suspicion of Hammering Speed Camera With Pickax: Hero or Villain?

    A Glendale man has been arrested on suspicion of vandalizing a speed camera on Loop 101 by striking it with a pickax. Late Wednesday night, a motorcycle officer with the Department of Public Safety heard a lot of banging noises while he was staked out under an overpass. When he went to check it out, he saw Travis Munroe Townsend, 26, whamming a box containing a photo enforcement camera, states a DPS news release (reprinted below).

  December 4, 2008

• Arizona Photo Enforcement Ticket: How to Beat It and Keep Your Conscience Clear

  People ask us all the time: What can I do about that nasty photo radar ticket I got in the mail? The answer: Nothing. Literally. Chuck it in the trash. It's perfectly ethical -- just look at the ticket's fine print. You see, for photo enforcement citations to be valid, the state Supreme Court rules say it has to be properly served to you. And the U.S. Mail won't cut it. So, the ticket asks you to sign a waiver of your right to proper service and mail it back t

  December 5, 2008

• Cloned UPS Truck Caught Smuggling Ton of Pot

  "Synchronizing" is a tough word to spell, even if you aren't high from the ton of marijuana you're trying to smuggle. But you'd think after going to all the trouble of creating this UPS lookalike, the smugglers would invest some of their profit in a dictionary. The truck, which was carrying 2,118 pounds of marijuana, had a homemade license plate that caught the attention of the state trooper who pulled it over last month in southern Arizona.

  December 9, 2008

• Smuggling Syndicate Crushed in "Operation En Fuego," AG's Office Says

  Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard will reveal details tomorrow of the break-up of a large smuggling syndicate thanks to the work of several law enforcement agencies (but not the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office). While Sheriff Joe Arpaio was rousting corn vendors and trying to one-up Mesa Police Chief George Gascon, Phoenix police, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau were working more quietly on busting the high-level s

  December 11, 2008

• Caring Cops and State Troopers Send Christmas Cheer to Kids

  Sometimes there is a cop around when you need one, and that's especially true for disadvantaged children getting extra Christmas cheer from local law enforcement.Officers from the Phoenix police department's Maryvale precinct delivered presents to two Valley homes this week, (picture below from Channel 15 (KNXV) report). Cops put out this short description of the two families in a news release received by New Times:About the Two Families:

  December 24, 2008

• Traffic Stop Nets Nearly 200 Pounds of Pot Found Wrapped Like Christmas Presents

  A couple driving north toward Tucson the day after Christmas was caught with nearly 200 pounds of marijuana disguised like holiday presents. The Nogales, Arizona, couple were stopped on Interstate 19 for a traffic violation, according to an Arizona Department of Public Safety news release: Inside of their vehicle, concealed neatly in wrapping paper, were not toys but bundles of marijuana totaling 185 pounds. The release also contained a quote from DPS Director Roger Vanderpool:

  January 5, 2009

• Valley Fever's Top 5 Entries of 2008

  Happy New Year, Phoenix. Here's one last look at 2008 with the top five blogs as determined by the sheer number of eyes that read them. Catch the top three slots after the jump. 5 - Is dead CEO's mortgage empire crumbling?Mortgages Ltd. CEO Scott Coles, 48, was found dead on Monday in his $11.3 million home. The cause of death has yet to be determined, but the unfortunate event may fit the scenario of CEO suicide during an economic downturn...full story 4 - John McCain and Wife Cindy's Former Ma

  January 6, 2009

• State Troopers Will Go Easy on Motorists Who Violate New License Plate Law

  A new law allows authorities to pull over vehicles with license plate holders that cover the license plate's state name, but state troopers won't consider it a priority. Harold Sanders, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, says his agency won't use the law as a way to boost revenues for the state, and citations for violating the law are expected to be minimal. Still, the change to Arizona's license plate legibility law went into effect thi

  January 6, 2009

• Photo Enforcement Camera Reprieve: State Troopers Will Set Trigger at 11 mph Over Speed Limit

  In a belated Christmas present, the Arizona Department of Public Safety announces it will raise the trigger of photo enforcement units by one mile per hour. Until now, DPS had its Valley cameras giving people tickets if they sped 10 mph over the posted limit -- now, it will be 11 mph. The move puts the state system on par with city speed cameras, which might eliminate some of the confusion among motorists that undoubtedly benefited the program's bottom line. The trigger speed is likely tied

  January 8, 2009

• Photo Enforcement Ban Proposed by State Lawmakers

  Is photo enforcement on Arizona's highways and freeways coming to an end? On the heels of the launch of a citizens initiative to ban the cameras that have been multiplying like coyotes on local streets, a group of state lawmakers has now introduced a bill that would do the same thing, but quicker. The Associated Press is reporting today that Sam Crump, a Republican representative from Anthem, is leading a group of legislatures to push the bill into law.

  January 14, 2009

• ATS Drops Complaint Against Redflex with AZ DOA; Federal Suit Still On Like Donkey Kong

  So far, this is still our fave way to fight Redflex's robotic photo enforcement sentinels. Aussie photo enforcement firm Redflex is crowing like a stud rooster today, issuing a press release from Redflex flack Shoba Vaitheeswaran, announcing that its Scottsdale-based rival, American Traffic Solutions, has voluntary withdrawn its administrative challenge to Redflex's $20M contract award with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Redflex nabbed the statewide contract in July, after a compet

  January 19, 2009

• Fleeing Suspect Tip #151: Get Out From Under the Truck If You Hear the Engine Start

  Yesterday we wrote about one local contender for America's Dumbest Criminals.Today we have one more for you: A guy fleeing a state trooper hides under a truck, only to have the truck then run over him.

  January 21, 2009

• Photo Enforcement Policy Differs for DPS Troopers Flashed by State System; City Cops Always Need Legit Excuse

  When Interstate 17 speed cameras flashed a couple of Gilbert cops last November, the officers were rewarded with more than a ticket -- they became the subjects of a department investigation and, as of yesterday, an Arizona Republic news story.The question of what cops do with the automatic tickets is a thorny one. Although any law officer can legally speed to an urgent call -- as we'd want them to -- the sting of photo enforcement on the public's behind makes people intolerant of any double st

  January 30, 2009

• Photo Enforcement "Notice of Violation" Safe to Ignore Without Worry of Process Servers

  We're still getting plenty of responses to our popular blog post on how to beat photo enforcement tickets without feeling guilty -- most of them questions from people who were recently flashed. Though many of the new questions were answered in that post and a subsequent follow-up, we thought this one deserved special attention: Jim says: Hello all, I just received a speed camera ticket while I was driving through phoenix. I dont see anywhere on the form where it says I am waiving my rights?

  February 17, 2009

• Disaster Exercise to Test Hospitals, Public Safety Officials With 1,200 Volunteer Victims (Including You, If You Want)

  Disaster will strike the Valley on March 10, 2009.No, that's not a prediction from the Mayan calendar. It's a mock event being held on or near Arizona State University's Tempe campus to test the disaster readiness of local public safety officials and health care workers.The "Coyote Crisis Campaign" is a five-day exercise taking place during ASU's spring break in which 1,200 volunteers will pretend to be victims from an improvised explosive device. Officials don't have all the volunteers they nee

  February 17, 2009

• Speed Cameras Spur Arrests; More Vans Coming to a Highway Near You

  Arizona's highway speed camera system is not only saving lives, but also helping bring criminal speeders to justice, says the Department of Public Safety. Mario Espinoza, 36, accused leadfootThe latest DPS news release (scroll down for the full text) about photo enforcement continues the agency's tack of trying to combat some of the negative news stories about the statewide system. DPS touted the safety angle in late December, claiming the system sa

  February 19, 2009

• Former State Trooper Guilty in Drunken, Off-Duty Collision With Motorcyclist

  A former 27-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Public Safety has been found guilty of aggravated assault following a drunken collision with a motorcyclist who lost his leg. George Aguilera faces five to 15 years following today's jury decision, says the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. Click here for the office's PDF news release. The disgraced state trooper had been drinking off-duty on May 3, 2007 before slamming into the back of a motorcyle on

  February 24, 2009

• Photo Enforcement: Using GPS to Find Speed Cameras Like Needing a Proverbial Flashlight to Find Your...

  A commenter on our recent post about process servers who fib plugged a computerized speed-camera-finding unit called GPS Angel, claiming it "knows where all the speed cameras and red light cameras are..." We assume "Todd Gerson" works for GPS Angel or its PR firm, since he left the same basic comment on several national Web site articles about photo enforcement. A bit of extra Googling found a recent review of the product -- and no 

  March 6, 2009

• Crime Lab at Arizona Department of Public Safety Lands Lofty Accreditation as it Seeks State Funding

  There's nothing like knowing something is worth an expensive pricetag -- as long as you've got little choice but to pay for it. Days after a prominent Arizona Republic story about how lawmakers are scrambling to find funds for the cash-poor Arizona Department of Public Safety crime lab, the agency announces its lab has landed a prestigious accreditation (see text of news release below). The lab has become the first in Arizona and one of just 21 labs nationwide to be accredited by a combine

  March 6, 2009

• Russell Pearce Wrong: State Already Has Surcharge to Defensive Driving Schools; Higher Fees May Hurt Industry

  State Senator Russell Pearce's plan to add a state surcharge on the cost of taking defensive driving school to pay for the Arizona Department of Public Safety's crime lab contains one major problem: A $45 surcharge on motorists taking the classes already exists, and Pearce's proposal for a new surcharge of up to 47 percent would make defensive driving school much more expensive than paying a speeding ticket. In an Arizona Republic article today, Pearce (left) doesn't seem to

  March 6, 2009

• "Heroin Ring" Stretched from Chandler to Show Low, Says DPS

  On the heels of recent articles across the United States that claim heroin use is surging, the Arizona Department of Public Safety says it recently broke up a major heroin ring based in Chandler. Detectives worked for seven months on the case with members of a northern Arizona anti-drug task force, tracing the source of drugs found in the White Mountains back to the East Valley. In the last week of February, cops served three search warrants and found more than 15 ounces of the narcotic. S

  March 6, 2009

• Money Seized in Traffic Stops Provides Photo Evidence of Drug Cartel Biz

    Drool away at this big-buck seizure. The Arizona Department of Public Safety today released photos of cash seized in traffic stops by state troopers, including one of a stop that netted a duffle bag containing $248,249 in cash. The evidence shows what law enforcement is facing, DPS says. The large cash seizure represents a couple of other things, too, like the temptation that troopers must be facing out there and the nonchalant attitude of some of the people connected to th

  March 13, 2009

• Drunk Dump Truck Driver Causes Chain-Reaction Accident on Loop 202 Off-Ramp in Mesa, says DPS

  The only thing more dangerous than a drunk driver is a drunk driver behind the wheel of a massive dump truck.But that's who's responsible for a chain-reaction collision on the westbound off-ramp of the Loop 202 at Country Club Drive in Mesa today, says the Arizona Department of Public Safety.Michael R. Fisher, 51, of Mesa, (pictured), was impaired by alcohol as he drove a full-sized Kenworth dump truck on the off-ramp, says DPS, apparently too blind to see the vehicles in front of him stopped fo

  March 26, 2009

• Speed Cameras Still Resulting in Arrests in Maricopa County for 100-mph-Plus Drivers

  Maricopa County motorists caught doing more than 100 mph by freeway speed cameras continue to be tracked down and arrested, even though it's a certainty they won't be prosecuted. County Attorney Andrew Thomas (pictured) announced late last month that he believes the law doesn't support prosecuting such cases, and he's apparently stuck to his word. That hasn't stopped the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which runs the country's only statewide photo enforcement program on freeways and hig

  April 2, 2009

• Speed Camera Alert: Three More "Super Speeders" Arrested in Homes

  The Department of Public Safety released details on the arrests of who the agency calls "super speeders" -- motorists caught by photo enforcement cameras on Valley freeways.Coincidentally, New Times called DPS last night about the issue, and wrote about it this morning.But get this -- it turns out one of the "super speeders" was only going 89 in a 65 and got arrested in her home. Whoa, that's harsh -- especially when DPS knows she won't be prosecuted. Sounds like the troopers are going to be arr

  April 2, 2009

• Violent Fugitive on the Loose in West Valley, Says DPS

  Warning: Extreme badass on the loose. The Arizona Department of Public Safety warns that Angel J. Valenzuela, 37, was on the run yesterday near 27th Avenue, between Bethany Home and Glendale Avenue, after vowing to shoot at any cop who tried to take him back to prison. The agency says  its troopers tried to pick the guy up at his apartment yesterday on multiple warrants, ramming Valenzuela's vehicle when he tried to escape. The known gang member took off on foot with tw

  April 14, 2009

• Auto Theft Down in Phoenix and Tucson; Arizona DPS Takes Credit

  Roger Vanderpool, DPS Director The Arizona Department of Public Safety is taking credit for a decrease in auto thefts in Phoenix and Tucson, saying a smorgasbord of enforcement efforts made the difference. Referring to a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau that show no Arizona city in the Top 10 auto theft hot spots for 2008, DPS director Roger Vanderpool says todaythat, "Much of this is a result of the sustained effort by DPS to attack the problem of auto theft from severa

  April 15, 2009

• Hello Mali

  Bang the Drum Thusly

  March 13, 2003

• Pastor Tased and "Beaten" at Checkpoint Plans to Sue; Admits He's Been Resisting at Checkpoints for Months

  Criminal charges have been filed against Steven Anderson, a local pastor we wrote about yesterday who claims he was brutalized at an Interstate 8 checkpoint. Anderson, however, says he's the victim and that he plans to sue the authorities involved in the incident. His family's personal Web site now includes a box for the collection of legal fees in addition to updates about Anderson's situation. (It says he's pulled in $680 as of 3 p.m.) We checked in with Anderson this morning by phon

  April 17, 2009

• Photo Radar Van Worker Shot Dead on Loop 101; UPDATE: Suspect in Custody

    Police are hunting have arrested a suspect in a SUV who shot a photo radar van operator Sunday night. (SEE UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF POST).  The 51-year-old victim, Doug Georgianni, had worked for the photo enforcement company Redflex as a "driver-technician" for only three months, according to a news release just put out by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Georgianni was shot as he worked in a fully marked DPS photo radar van parked on the side of the eastbound lanes

  April 20, 2009

• Speed Camera Killer Busted Near Home on Motorcycle, Say Cops; Owned Adventure Business

  His name is Thomas Destories, but he also goes by "Paydirt." He ran a local adventure business.And he doesn't appear to have gotten a single photo enforcement ticket.Police released details this afternoon about the man they say gunned down a speed camera worker in cold blood as he worked in a photo enforcement van parked off the Loop 101 freeway. Redflex employee Doug Georgianni, 51, later died of his wounds.  Police say Thomas Patrick Destories, 68, was caught after an Arizona Departmen

  April 20, 2009

• "Dangerous Felon" Caught by DPS Without Much Trouble

    State troopers last week caught up to a local ex-con wanted for alleged weapons violations who had eluded capture on April 13. Angel Valenzuela had vowed to shoot at anyone trying to take him back to prison, but it didn't turn out that way. Detectives with the Arizona Department of Public Safety figured out the location of Valenzuela's hideout and on Thursday night tracked him to an area just west of Wittmann, Arizona. The known gang member, ar

  April 27, 2009

• Brett Mecum, Arizona Republican Party Exec Director, Accused of Doing 109 MPH in His Ford Mustang

  The Department of Public Safety just announced why Brett Mecum, the 30-year-old executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, was arrested this morning at party headquarters: Mecum, the glum-faced guy in the picture, was caught by a freeway speed camera on April 10 doing 109 mph in his sports car, says DPS. The posted speed limit was 65 mph. As we've reported, DPS has a policy of arresting folks caught on video cruising that fast, despite a pronouncement by Maricopa County Attorney Andre

  May 6, 2009

• Watermelons and Pot: DPS Nabs New Jersey Man With Haul Near New River

  Image: Arizona Department of Public SafetyThe stop of a big-rig near New River on Tuesday turned into a juicy bust for the Arizona Department of Public Safety after 500 pounds of pot was discovered along with a load of watermelons.DPS says the rig (below) was hauling its load from Nogales, Arizona, where the driver picked up the watermelons -- and, apparently, the dope -- to Massachusetts. Troopers arrested the driver Anthony Moyd, 39, of Newark, New Jersey. Image: Maricopa County Sh

  May 8, 2009

• Bell Peppers and Pot: DPS Finds 5,000-Pound Weed Stash on Truck Near Nogales

    Image: Arizona Department of Public SafetyThe Arizona Department of Public Safety should open a farmer's market. This morning, the agency told us about a truck driver busted with 508 pounds of pot hidden with watermelons. A few minutes ago, DPS announced it had made an even bigger produce-related seizure on Monday: More than 5,000 pounds of marijuana hidden on a truck near Nogales among a shipment of bell peppers.

  May 8, 2009

• Yuma Man Charged in 2008 Crown King Fire; Former National Park Services Employee Set Signal Fire

  Image: WikipediaCrown King Saloon A former National Park Services employee is being charged by the federal government for leaving a fire unattended that grew out of control and spurred the evacuation of Crown King, a small, mountain town northwest of Phoenix. The "Lane 2" fire burned nearly 10,000 acres before being brought under control. David Cygan, 52, showed an NPS badge to a group of missing hikers, the government says, even though he had been terminated from the agency in 2007. You'd thi

  June 8, 2009

• Counterfeit Cash Bust in Phoenix; Task Force Gets Tip, Seizes $55,300 in Fake Bills

  To Live and Die in L.A. Phoenix. ​ Thankfully, this big-money bust didn't involve a nail-biting, wrong-way drive on the freeway that made for such a great action scene in the above-linked movie. Nope, just some good detective work by local cops who followed up on a tip a couple of weeks ago.

  August 12, 2009

• Arpaio's Anti-Illegal-Immigrant Squads Arrest 93 in Past Two Weeks

  Arpaio Twitter Watch:         ​ What Arpaio is referring to here is the fact that his anti-illegal-immigrant forces have arrested 93 Mexicans and other Latinos in the past two weeks. Okay, we confess we don't know for sure that they were all Mexicans and Latinos, but how many non-Latino illegal immigrants has the sheriff busted? None that we know of.

  August 12, 2009

• "Drive Hammered...Get Nailed;" That's What Law Enforcement Officials are Telling Us Before Weekend DUI Sweep

  www.thesharkguys.com​We would never recommend driving drunk, but this weekend, we really don't recommend it.Starting Friday, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety is beginning the national 2009 Labor Day holiday drunk-driving law enforcement campaign:  "Over the Limit.  Under Arrest."In a press release, GOHS Director Alberto Gutier warns that this weekend there will be 68 law enforcement agencies across the state working together to bust boozed-up motorists.

  August 21, 2009

• Hot Links: Paddling Out, Naked Men, and Whole Foods Boycott

  ​Arizona is one of 20 states that allows schools to mete out corporal punishment, most often paddling. Now, an education task force panel is calling for a state ban on paddling in schools. School districts must accept or reject the ban by June 30. School officials say they can't remember the last time -- or in some cases, any time -- corporal punishment has been used in their schools...A man was allegedly dragged naked from his West Valley home last night by three men in a home invasion/kidnap

  August 27, 2009

• Arizona's Bungled Budget May Help Sex Offenders Slip Under the Radar

  www.newhavenadvocate.com​ The state budget battle has prevented Arizona from complying with a federal mandate that requires states to enter information about sex offenders into a national database.   The Adam Walsh Act of 2006 requires states to submit information about their most prolific perverts by July of this year, and Arizona has failed to do so because our leaders are still engaged in a two-month-old pissing match over a 1-cent sales tax increase. "

  September 3, 2009

• Las Vegas Man Busted Here With 660 Boxes of Meth-Making Ingredient Pseudoephedrine

  www.funnyaussiephotos.com​What could someone possibly need with 660 boxes of pseudoephedrine? That was the question Arizona Department of Public Safety officers were asking a Las Vegas man after they found an absurd amount of cold medicine in his car, and it didn't take long for them to figure things out.

  October 9, 2009

• Sheriff's Posse Vehicles May Retain Official Insignia; County Rescinds Order After Hail of E-Mails

  Image: www.jeepposse.orgOfficial or private vehicle? In some cases, it may be difficult to tell.​ You don't mess with the posse.Maricopa County leaders learned that Wild-West lesson this week when they were forced to rescind a demand to the sheriff's office that posse vehicles could no longer sport official markings.In what appears to be another exchange of fire in the feud between county officials, county equipment services director fired off an October 5 e-mail to the sheriff's office ab

  October 15, 2009

• Pot Harvest Under Way, and DPS is Ready and Waiting

  www.topfarm.com​It's that special time of year for stoners all across Arizona -- time to harvest the chronic. Don't get too excited, the Arizona Department of Public Safety is on the prowl. In the past week, the DPS has seized more than1,300 pounds of weed in the town of Benson alone (single tear).

  November 4, 2009