In Thursday's print edition we carried a story on the unmarked Dodge Charger, which is being taken off Chanhassen roads. Do you think that's the right move?

Here's the story:

Chanhassen traffic enforcement:

Number of traffic stops 2004 – 2,580

Number of traffic stops 2005 – 3,936

Number of traffic stops 2006 – 4,611 (1,500 made by the unmarked car)

Car poses image problem for Chanhassen

Sheriff’s office reassigns unmarked squad at city’s request

By Teri Kelsh

Staff Writer

There are several tools law enforcement uses to provide for public safety. When Chanhassen turned to the Carver County Sheriff’s Office two years ago with a traffic safety problem, law enforcement turned to one of those tools to resolve it.

The tool was an unmarked car.

When the unmarked car was implemented the number of traffic citations in Chanhassen increased “significantly,” said Carver County Sheriff Bud Olson.

People receiving citations may have complained about being caught, but few complained about the tool used to catch them – that is until the tool changed in June 2006 from a blue Chevy Lumina to a black Dodge Charger, according to the city and Sheriff’s Office.

“When we started with the blue Lumina everything was fine,” said Olson. “We transitioned to the black Charger and I can’t tell you – because I don’t keep a record – of how many complaints I got.”

Todd Gerhardt, Chanhassen city manager, said he also received his fair share of complaints.

“I can’t tell you why a change in color and style would make such a difference but it did,” said Gerhardt. “People started asking if the city spent extra money for it, and why does the city need an unmarked car.”

Based on the complaints, Gerhardt requested the tool be removed.

Image is everything

The Sheriff’s Office replaced the 1990 blue Chevy Lumina with the 2006 black Dodge Charger hoping the newer vehicle would provide better overall performance and fuel efficiency.

For mechanical performance, the Charger has proven to be a fine choice, but not so fine when it comes to its appearance, according to Olson.

“It has a big image problem in the community for the way it appears – the image it projects,” he said.

When asked to define the image, Olson said because the vehicle is black it appears “too authoritarian.”

Gerhardt said the image the Charger projects is that it’s too high-priced.

“People felt we spent extra money on it,” said Gerhardt.

While the Sheriff’s Office actually paid for the cost of the car, which was $1,700 more than the cost of the typical Crown Victoria police cruiser, Gerhardt said the city did pay for it secondhand through its service contract with the Sheriff’s Office.

Newly elected Chanhassen City Councilmember Bryan Litsey said he isn’t buying the color controversy.

“I just don’t get how the color factors into this,” he said. “It begs the question that there has to be more to this.”

Litsey said he approached Gerhardt in December about the fate of the car and was told the city was requesting the sheriff remove it from Chanhassen based on several undocumented complaints.

On Dec. 14 Litsey sent an e-mail to Gerhardt suggesting a joint meeting with the mayor to discuss the issue. In the e-mail, Litsey stated his concern: “Something is amiss when the unmarked squad being used for traffic enforcement is suddenly sidelined for no apparent reason other than being the target of a few undocumented and unsubstantiated complaints.” 

“If there’s no formal documentation on the complaints how can we assess the validity of those complaints,” said Litsey in an interview. “I guess that leads to one of my main concerns, that a handful of undocumented complaints should change police operations. As city representatives, we shouldn’t be micro-managing the Sheriff’s Department. We don’t respond this way in other areas, so why should we be doing it here?”

While campaigning for city council, Litsey said he didn’t hear a single complaint about the unmarked Dodge or its color. He said a majority of the residents he spoke with were pleased at seeing the results of stricter traffic enforcement in the city.

“By all accounts, if the deputy driving the car is doing a good job, then you take away his ability to do that job effectively, what message are you sending,” said Litsey.

According to Sheriff’s Office numbers, traffic stops increased 35 percent from 2004 to 2005, which coincides with the arrival of the unmarked Chevy Lumina and the addition of two deputies hired in 2005 to work in Chanhassen.

The Dodge Charger hit the streets of Chanhassen in June 2006 and the number of traffic stops increased another 15 percent from 2005 to 2006.

Visible enforcement

A regular police cruiser is taking the place of the unmarked car in Chanhassen, said Olson, and traffic enforcement in the city will remain a top priority.

“Enforcement is not going to change,” said Olson. “What the city asked me to do is consider reassigning the unmarked car. No one has told me to stop writing tickets. What we’re going to do is put the deputy in a marked unit and in six months we’ll re-evaluate.”

Gerhardt said he believes replacing the unmarked car with a marked car will be to the city’s benefit. 

“We want more visibility [in law enforcement],” said Gerhardt. “I think with the burglaries and the recent home invasion we need more visibility.”

But Litsey disagrees. As chief of the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department, Litsey said an unmarked car is beneficial to law enforcement in preventing crime and catching criminals.  

“The whole idea of having an unmarked car is to monitor a person’s behavior when they don’t think the police are looking,” he said. “Taking a tool like that away diminishes the effectiveness of law enforcement.”

Despite Litsey’s objections, the unmarked car has been “reassigned” to serve other parts of Carver County as of Jan. 8.

“I take responsibility for the decision,” said Olson. “The request came through the city and I’m very sensitive to my contracts and communities, and how we deliver services.”

Teri Kelsh can be reached at tkelsh@swpub.com.