Judge Throws Out Speeding Tickets For Cops

ROCKVILLE, Md. (WUSA) -- Should speeding cops have to pay their speeding tickets just like the rest of us?

A Montgomery County judge says no. He's just thrown out speed camera tickets for four on-duty officers who refused to pay.

No one's arguing about emergency calls, but the Montgomery Police Department does think officers who speed through the cameras without a legitimate reason should have to pay.

"We have rules, and rule one in our police department is obey the law, obey all laws," says Capt. John Damskey, head of the Montgomery County Police Traffic Division.

But the judge tossed out the four tickets, finding that the department violated the officers due process by trying to collect without having a specific written policy on when officers can and cannot speed. In two cases, the officers were snapped going twice the posted speed limit.

Police union officials declined to talk to us on camera, but they sent out an email saying they expect the department to obey the law. They're lawyer argued that speeding is a natural part of an officers job, and that they have a hard time remembering months later why they were speeding.

"No sir," says Capt. Damskey. "I've been doing this for 20 years. That doesn't hold any water with me."

The court records suggest that three of the officers offered no explanation for why they were speeding. The fourth was going 51 miles an hour in a 25 mile an hour zone -- he said he was on his way to training.

The police department says the vast majority of officers caught speeding simply pull out their checkbooks and pay up. It says the judge's ruling is NOT binding on other cases, and it plans to keep sending cops tickets.

County Council President Phil Andrews is urging the County Executive to appeal.