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California: Government Plates Immune from Tolls, Photo Tickets
Lawmakers and police in California do not have to pay tolls or photo tickets when using secret government license plates
CHP stalking cops and govt crooks without private toll road transponders on public highways
Nearly one million special government license plates have been issued in the state of California giving law enforcement, judges, district attorneys, politicians and their friends immunity from photo ticketing and tolls. According to an expose published yesterday in the Orange County Register newspaper, the Confidential Records Program has handed out a total of 996,716 protected plates to 1800 state and local agencies. These plates keep the identity of the vehicle owner out of the computerized databases that track ordinary motorists. This protection ensures that private red light camera companies and collection agencies for parking tickets toll road violations have no idea where to mail a ticket for nonpayment.
In 1978, the Confidential Records Program was introduced to protect vulnerable police officers who faced criminal threats. It has since become a perk handed out to anyone with the right connections to lawmakers or police. In 2001, for example, museum guards won the right to the plates in their union contract. Anyone driving with such a plate can also expect leniency from traffic police who will, after looking up a special plate, often release a speeder as a "professional courtesy" because having such a plate signals the driver is "connected."
The Register found that on the 91 Express Lane toll road alone, special plate holders have skipped out on $5 million in tolls and penalties because the plateholders know they cannot be caught. The top violators include prison guard Dwight Storay, social worker Lenai Carraway, and Chino Police dispatcher Susie Stephen. All denied the charges or refused comment to the Register.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has shielded the program from further scrutiny by refusing to provide a more specific list of plateholders under the Freedom of Information laws. It demanded the Register pay $8442 for a simple list of the number of license plates issued to each participating government agency.
State Assemblyman Sandre Swanson (D-Alameda) has introduced legislation to expand the confidential plates to dog catchers, zoo veterinarians, firefighters and code enforcement employees after being asked to do so by the American Federation of County Municipal Employees.
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Source: Special license plates shield officials from traffic tickets
But by the time a California Highway Patrol officer recognized Loretta Duplessis' Camry from a "heavy hitter" list of toll evaders and pulled her over Feb. 27, the couple had racked up $34,805.95 in penalties from OCTA, according to a note the officer wrote on her citation.
The Register used public records laws to obtain OCTA computer logs for the 91 Express Lanes and found 14,535 unpaid trips by motorists with confidential plates in the past five years. A Register analysis showed that was 3,722 separate vehicles, some running the toll road hundreds of times.
That's only about $29,500 in tolls, but under the penalty schedule set by state law, fines for chronic violators can reach $500 per toll, which would total more than $5 million for the confidential plate holders with multiple violations if they ignored warning notices. OCTA officials said that if they had been able to notify these people, they believe most would have paid before penalties ballooned.
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DMV wants $8,442 for list of agencies with protected plates
Click here to see the top 20 toll violators holding confidential license plates.
Michell and Dwight Storay California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 622
Brenda Orantes San Bernardino Police Department 411
Rudolph and Loretta Duplessis Los Angeles World Airport Police Organization 407
Arnold and Lenai Carraway Orange County Children's Services 239
Rolando Carvajal California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 224
Fred Morris Jr. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 171
Edward Lutz Orange County Sheriff's Department 171
Brian Wright Los Angeles County Probation Office 152
Deborah Rossman Los Angeles Police Department 148
Greg Nowling Fullerton Police Department 142
David and Christine Sandidge California Highway Patrol 128
Ramona Watkins Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 111
Rory and Sharon Helms Garden Grove Police Department 107
Charles and Suzann Barton Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 105
Thomas and Melissa Purcell Long Beach Police Department 100
Robert and Linda Adrian Anaheim Police Department 97
Daniel Hackett Corona Police Department 90
Ryan and Glenn Velasco Los Angeles Police Department 88
Mina Cho Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 87
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"Habitual motor vehicle offender" statutes make ordinary traffic tickets felonies with up to 10 years in prison.
Probable cause exists to make felony citizens arrests of all these cops. If they resist citizens arrest, lawful use of deadly force and justifiable homicide is authorized in self defense, as allowed in all citizens arrests.
These secret license plates can used by any defendant to defeat all traffic tickets in California, under the Equal Protection doctrine of the
14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which freed the slaves. When government employees get to do something with immunity from prosecution, then everyone gets to do it. That's THE LAW.