OVERLAND PARK — Kansas and Missouri officials say law enforcement officials have no reason to issue tickets for not wearing a seat belt instead of other tickets.
The Kansas City Star reports that transportation officials in Kansas and Missouri say there’s no incentive for officers to issue more seat belt tickets.
Overland Park Police Chief Frank Donchez Jr. says some officers overlooked traffic violations like speeding and instead cited motorists for not wearing seat belts when they’d actually been buckled up. He says officers could’ve simply issued motorists warnings for the traffic violations instead of issuing false tickets for a lesser charge.
The issue comes up after three Overland Park police officers resigned last month following an internal investigation into false seat belt citations.
More than 200 traffic tickets have been dismissed and about $4,000 has been refunded to motorists.
