At an oversight hearing, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said that numerous unpaid traffic fines on police vehicles are still being reviewed to see whether they fall under official-use rules.
Under department policy, automated traffic-enforcement tickets racked up by cop cars outside of official business are paid by the driver, while the department will pay for those incurred while the car is being used for police work.
In testimony this week, Chief Smith conceded to Council member Brooke Pinto, Ward 2 Democrat, that there is a “possibility” that some MPD officers are paying the fines that they need to under department policy.
But “some of them are still being reviewed and in the process as to whether or not they should be waived,” the chief said.
Between January 2023 and July 2024, MPD received $140,000 in traffic-camera tickets on its vehicles, and $32,000 remain unpaid, according to a WUSA-TV report.
According to the report, one unmarked cop car had two unpaid $500 tickets for driving more than 25 mph over the speed limit, along with other unpaid tickets. Other cases included a van with $1,300 owed in speeding and stop sign-related tickets, and an MPD cruiser that had racked up 14 unpaid tickets, most incurred by running stop signs according to WUSA-TV.
For her part, Chief Smith also said that, when it comes to her own traffic violations, she pays up when required.
The city has looked to ensure that the traffic tickets it issues are properly paid off, whether the driver lives in the city or not.
Last month, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed suit against three Maryland drivers, one of whom also had a car with Virginia tags, for thousands in unpaid traffic tickets. Another one of the drivers had previously pleaded guilty to reckless driving charges after hitting a child in a crosswalk in Northeast.
