City Commissioner Facing Questions Concerning Use Of Police
It is not uncommon for police officers to be seen at construction sites in their patrol cars providing protection for the workers from the oncoming traffic. Georgia Power, The Department of Transportation and various contractors use police officers frequently for this purpose. However, when an officer is requested to do work such as this, it is always off duty and the contractor is responsible to pay the officer for his time.
Questions are now being asked about a December 12th incident where a City police officer was used to provide traffic control and protection for a work crew that was cleaning a sign attached to the Walking tube between Floyd Medical Center and the hospital’s parking deck on Georgia route 20.
Sources tell RomeNewswire that Rome City Commissioner Bill Collins, whose crew was doing the work on the sign, contacted a Rome City police Captain and asked for an officer to be sent to the scene for about 15 to 20 minutes while his crew cleaned the sign. According to our sources, 15 minutes turned into nearly 2 hours.
Rome City manager John Bennett confirmed the incident occurred and said he was concerned that the request for an officer was not made to the Police Chief. Bennett said that anytime work such as this is to be done, it should always be done with an off duty officer.
Officials say that the request to the city for an officer was not uncommon if it had actually taken only 15 minutes as first stated by Commissioner Collins. However, scaffolding was placed in the center turning lane and our sources say it took longer than that to set it up.
RomeNewswire confirmed that the officer was on duty at taxpayer’s expense during the work and Collins did not pay for the officer’s presence.
The use of the officer is not the only issue that could be a problem for Collins concerning the incident. DOT public information officer Mark McKinnon told RomeNewswire that anytime a state route is affected by a lane closure, the contractor must file a request with the DOT and follow certain guidelines such as lane closed signage, cones and possibly barrels.
No word if any penalties could be issued by the DOT.
We have not been able to reach Floyd Medical Officials or Commissioner Bill Collins for comment.
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