Adam Tuss, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – A local police corporal says he was punished after blowing the whistle on his own department and it all has to do with speed cameras tickets.
In a lawsuit filed this week, Riverdale Park Corporal Clay Alford claims civilian employees, working for the town of Riverdale Park, fraudulently approved thousands of speed camera tickets by forging his name on the tickets.
When Clay reported the issue to his superiors at work, he was suspended, according to his attorney.
“They were having two people who are not cops review and authorize speed camera citations, which is against the law,” says Attorney Tim Leahy of Bowie-based Byrd and Byrd LLC.
“It was even more uncomfortable for Corporal Alford because everyone was signing in under his login, so the citations were being printed out with his name on the citations, even though he had not reviewed the citations,” says Leahy.
The story was first reported by Channel 5.
The Mayor of Riverdale Park, Vernon Archer, sent WTOP this email:
“Sorry but it is town policy to not comment on personnel matters (or legal matters generally).”
The whole scandal appears to have been going on since 2009 according to Leahy.
“There is a very serious problem when the police department is itself involved in, what I believe to be, illegal activity. Because there is nobody policing the police,” he says.
Leahy says the town generated about $2.5 million in speed camera fines last fiscal year.
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