GOP lawmaker still against photo radar

The chief proponent of ridding state roads of photo radar cameras said Thursday the arrest of his party's executive director on speeding charges doesn't change his belief the system should be shut down.

Rep. Sam Crump, R-Anthem, acknowledged that the Department of Public Safety arrested Brett Mecum Wednesday after a stationary camera clocked him several weeks earlier doing 109 mph in an area posted with a 65 mph speed limit. In Arizona, traveling at least 20 miles over the posted speed limit is a crime.

But Crump said there may have been a legitimate reason that Mecum was driving his 2008 Shelby Mustang that fast. Crump, who is an attorney, said if Mecum had been stopped by a live DPS officer, he would have had a chance to explain.

With photo radar, Crump said, the photo of the car and the calculation of speed from the equipment is the only evidence. And that, he said, means the driver's presumption of innocence is gone.

Crump's legislation, awaiting House floor debate, would make the use of any type of photo enforcement system on a state road illegal after Sept. 30, 2010.

That covers not just the 36 fixed and 42 mobile cameras operated by the state Department of Public Safety but any cameras now operated by cities and counties on state roads. That includes not just highways, but even two-lane stretches of numbered highways that go through communities.

Local governments could still have photo radar - but only on the streets they control.

Crump said he believes the system is illegal for several reasons. And he said he would prefer if it went away immediately.

But the contract the state awarded last year to Redflex Traffic Systems allows the company to demand reimbursement for its installation costs if the contract is cancelled within the first two years. That two-year period runs out at the end of next September.

Crump said whatever Mecum- or anyone else - did is irrelevant to his concerns about the propriety and legality of photo radar.

"It's not a revelation that there are issues of high speed on our highways," he said.

"Probably on the night he was speeding, a dozen other people were doing the same thing," Crump continued. "They just weren't caught on camera."

Aside from the inability of those photographed to confront their accuser, Crump said the system violates a state law which requires that anyone other than a law enforcement officer who gathers evidence for use in court must be a licensed private investigator. He said Redflex employees have no such licenses.

Mecum, in a prepared statement, said he has not had a chance to review any evidence against him. "I will evaluate that information prior to entering any pleas in this matter," he said.

He also said the incident "will in no way compromise or effect my ability to do my job."

Whether Mecum will be prosecuted remains an open question.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has questioned his ability to prosecute someone accused of criminal speeding when the only evidence is from an automated photo enforcement system.

Thomas said he has not seen the details of the Mecum case. But he said he believes that photographic evidence alone is not enough to get a conviction.

He said DPS is free to develop other evidence, whether that includes witnesses or even statements that Mecum may have made to police after being arrested.