Covert cops: Metro goes undercover for traffic enforcement

Keith Paul

Wednesday, April 11, 2001 | 11:19 a.m.

The driver of a little white car apparently didn't pay attention to a homeless man standing on a busy corner as the motorist blew through a red light Tuesday. But the homeless man had a lot of interest in the motorist.

The man in torn clothing, leaning on a shopping cart filled with empty soda cans, a basketball hoop, a piece of PVC pipe and other junk, bent down and spoke into a police radio. A short distance down the street, a Metro Police traffic officer pulled over the driver for a ticket.

The homeless man was actually Officer Dave Talley standing on the corner of Charleston and Lamb boulevards -- the scene of 15 accidents in the past 30 days. Tuesday started "Where's Metro?" -- the traffic squad's covert operation.

"It's not like we are setting people up," Sgt. Phillip George of the traffic unit said. "We look at the number of accidents out here, and most likely they are caused by people speeding and running red lights."

George pointed to another car that had just run the red light, then radioed a description to officers up the street.

Police have always found that when a police car or motorcycle is camped out near an intersection, motorists follow the rules of the road, but when cops aren't around, some motorists speed, run red lights and drive aggressively.

Metro traffic officers borrowed the idea from a police department in Florida that posted officers in regular clothing on a corner for some plainclothes traffic enforcement.

Talley volunteered to pose as the homeless man. He gathered some of his old, ripped-up clothing, borrowed a shopping cart and filled it with junk. To look more the part, Talley bought a raggedy-hair wig from a costume shop.

"A homeless person doesn't look out of place here, so people don't really give me a second look," Talley said.

He watched as cars ran red lights right in front of him. Officers stationed down the street pulled over the motorists for tickets. Talley also had a battery-powered radar gun in his shopping cart to record speeds.

Talley did give motorists fair warning. He had a sign that read "Will not work for food. Working radar."

"Most people don't get it," he said.

The undercover traffic enforcement will continue this week, and police promise there will be some every month at various intersections throughout Metro's jurisdiction.

"We would prefer not the have to write tickets. We would prefer there not be any violations out here," George said.

Traffic officers will dress in whatever allows them to blend in with the area. In the future they may be posing as construction workers or crossing guards or just someone sitting waiting for a bus.

"We are going to use our imagination and be creative," Lt. Carlos Cordeiro of the traffic unit said. "There are always people who see someone speeding or running a red light and say 'Gee, I wish there was a cop here.' "

Now when drivers see someone standing on the corner, they might wonder if that person is a cop, George said.

A man pushing a baby in a stroller walked up to the corner where Talley was standing Tuesday and noticed him talking into a radio.

"You a cop?" the man said. When Talley told him he was, the man responded, "Man, that's a good cover."

A real homeless man then walked up to the corner and started crossing the street.

"Is he a cop, too?" the man wondered.

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