AZ - Anti-photo enforcement group protest in Chandler

Anti-photo enforcement group protest in Chandler

by Weldon B. Johnson - Feb. 20, 2009 04:30 PM
The Arizona Republic
First a few cars, then a few more honked their horns as they passed the intersection of Arizona Avenue and Elliot Road at about 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.
"This is nothing," Shawn Dow said. "Wait until about five, then you won't be able to talk over all the horns."
Dow and about five other members of the group Camera Fraud were at that busy Chandler intersection to garner support for their initiative to ban photo enforcement cameras on streets and highways in Arizona. In addition to their protest placards, the group had petitions on hands for registered voters to sign in support of the initiative.
The group has about 1,400 members, Dow said, and has held more than a dozen protests such as this one in various locations.
"We go where the cameras are," Dow said. "The cameras are everywhere, so we're everywhere. It all got started when the cameras started popping up all over."
The petitions call for an end to traffic citations generated by photo radar and other photo enforcement equipment. It reads, in part: "This initiative measure keeps the enforcement of our laws in the hands of trained law enforcement officers . . . "
The full text of the initiative and other information about the group can be viewed at www.camerafraud.com.
Today's protest is scheduled to last until 7 p.m.
"Make sure you get more people out with clipboards so it doesn't get backed up," Dow called out to the others. "We'll have it like a drive-thru to keep people moving."
The state Legislature also is considering measures to ban photo enforcement on state highways.