Too dark!!!!

[Guest Tinted]

I thought this article was good!

The officers who have been driving around Greenfield in the city's three new police cars are plainly visible to passers-by.

That's different from the vast majority of cars in GPD's fleet; their windows are so darkly tinted it's impossible to see their occupants.

The tinting, which is so opaque it may break state law, has occasionally raised whispers about the obscured face of law enforcement in Greenfield. The new cars, whose unmodified windows allow the public to see who's on patrol, now only serve to sharpen the question:

How can a police department that so values contact with the public tolerate a display that promotes - in the words of one observer - an air of intimidation?

To Police Chief Clarke Mercer, the issue is more pragmatic than philosophical: When the police department put portable computers in its cars a few years ago, the only way to deal with glare on the screens was to tint windows.

But to others - including at least one police officer who dislikes tinted windows - the issue is one of transparency. Both literally and figuratively.

``They wave or smile at me now,' says Cpl. J.D. Fortner, who removed the tinting from the windows of his police car. ``You get a lot more interaction with the public by not having tinted windows.'

It's that interaction, Fortner says, that helps humanize police officers with the public.

There may be another problem with the tinting: According to the Indiana State Police Web site, any tinting material that prevents occupants from being recognized through the window from outside the vehicle violates state law. The law doesn't include the windshield.

Some city officials admit Greenfield police cars may violate that standard.

City councilman D.J. Davis, an attorney, said it's hard to see occupants of city police cars.

``It's very unlikely that you could identify them,' he said of the law. ``You can see them if you see them from the front, but not from the side.'

When asked whether GPD is above the tinting law, he replied: ``They certainly better not be.'

Councilman Jason Horning said seeing officers through the windows is difficult. But he noted a simple alternative.

``Sometimes I can't see through (the windows), but chances are people are not going to recognize their face anyway,' he said. ``A lot of them have their names written on the doors.'

But having an officer's name stenciled on the door isn't the standard.

A state police officer from the nearby Pendleton post seemed slightly confused when asked whether the tinted-window law applied to police vehicles.

``The law says no vehicle,' the officer said. ``If I can't see you, I'm going to write you a ticket.'

Horning, who says he has tinting on the windows of his personal vehicle, has noticed the police tinting is darker than most, but he doesn't know if it is !llegal.

``If they are tinted too dark then it needs to be redone to where it's compliant with the law,' he said. ``I would think with them being the police department they would not tint their windows !llegally.'

Davis said that change would have to come from Mayor Rodney Fleming.

Fleming said he has received only one call from a resident upset about the tinting; he said he would not tell Mercer to remove the tinting.

Mercer said the tinting does help the officers see their computers better. Only two officers have requested not to have tinting on their windows. He says the cost for tinting is $80 per car.

Fortner said computer glare really isn't an issue.

``The state police have had computers as long as we have, which is since 2000, and no one at the state police has tinted windows,' Fortner said. ``We also got new computers that have a special screen to reduce the glare. I have one and there are no problems at all seeing the screen.'

Fortner, who also is a city councilman, requested the removal of window tinting from his police car in 2003 after he was suspended for unprofessional conduct stemming from using his police car to facilitate an affair.

``I think it creates a distance between us and the public,' he said of the darkly tinted windows. ``The public likes to see us and it gives the impression that we are hiding something. I think they want to be able to see who their police officer is, and with tinted windows you can't see the officer.'

City Councilman Kelly McClarnon said he doesn't have a problem with the tinting, but it does make an impression.

``Tinted windows, if I had a choice, I would err to the side of not having them because they can be a little intimidating,' he said. ``But if I was a police chief and had all the information in front of me I might think a little differently.'

McClarnon said while a decision to not tint windows is an administrative one, the police department, like other city entities, does represent the city.

``They are a calling card for the city,' he said. ``They represent our city whether in Indianapolis or the city or wherever. When we interact with police they represent the city, and they do it extremely well. I have very few complaints with the police.'

Davis said the issue of tinting windows and how darkly to tint them raises other questions.

``It would be interesting to see how many tickets have been given out for tinted windows and how many have been given to police officers,' he said.

Horning says keeping the tinting or removing it to make the officer inside more visible should be addressed if not done legally, but it won't change perceptions.

``If you are obeying the laws you should not have to worry about the police officer in there,' he said.

q

[Guest tint rookie]

``It would be interesting to see how many tickets have been given out for tinted windows and how many have been given to police officers,' he said.

[*]351813

or even more interesting, tickets given by officers driving !llegally tinted cop cars.

talk about the pot calling the kettle black

[Guest Beeline]

I didn't read the whole thing but if a police car is in pursuit and can't see what the hell he is doing.....would that be dangerous to the public...protect and serve

[Guest tint rookie]

I didn't read the whole thing but if a police car is in pursuit and can't see what the hell he is doing.....would that be dangerous to the public...protect and serve

[*]351823

didnt you know that cops have superhuman strength and mental abilities, stemmed directly from their supersized egos?

[Guest tint rookie]

tired of behaving are you?

stirring the pot?

[Guest Tinted]

Yeah rook, if mayor calls the tint on squad cars !llegal what happens with all the tickets and fines that have been given out?

[Guest tint rookie]

getting any gvt. agency to pay up is more than a fight in itself. esp. if theres gonna be that many plantiffs and defendants, like in a case such as this.

or they can just go to plan B. flat out admit they are above the law.

either way is gonna leave a sour taste in the citizen's mouths.

I like plan c..... just adjust the tint lawas to make everyone happy

[Guest Tinted]

[TINT]

just call 1-800-!llegal tint

[BIG E]

He says the cost for tinting is $80 per car.

Who the hizzell is tinting a 4 door car with a cage for $80. {h@ck Shop special}