03/01/2014
Parents dropping off their children Friday morning at Travis Elementary School were in for quite a surprise when they were greeted at the footsteps of the school not only by the usual smiling teacher, but also by a Harlingen police officer.
"We had one officer actually walking the parking lot looking for people who are texting in the school parking lot," Sgt. Dave Osborne said.
The police department, Osborne said, has received several calls, written complaints and even Facebook posts, from residents complaining about speeding, drivers running stop signs and people not looking out for students walking across the parking lot.
"The officer did not find anyone texting in the parking lot, however he did see other violations," Osborne said.
Action 4 News was only able to find one of the complaints on Harlingen Police's Facebook page. It was from "Maria Love" who wrote: "at Travis on Polk ...Folks pass the lines through the center and usually are speeding and can't see the kids! I hate how unsafe it is. Mornings, but afternoons are the worst."
"We did find a few violations, but it wasn't as bad as it was initially reported," Osborne said.
Parents who encountered the police officer at the parking lot tell Action 4, they were hesitant to drop off the kids, fearful something major had happened. Others said it seemed the officer was calling-in almost all the license plates checking for insurance.
"The Harlingen police department does not do anything illegal," Osborne said. "We're not doing road blocks, we're not stopping cars in the middle of a school zone trying to catch violators - what we're doing is having a presence in a high-traffic area."
It may not be a popular way to ensure kids' safety, but Osborne said it's what the law allows them to do, citing a cell phone use in school zone law, that went into effect September 1st. It bans drivers from using cell phones on all school property, including parking lots.
"We do have two officers in the mornings specifically targeting school zones," Osborne said.
No comments:
Post a Comment