Ottawa police officers getting more photo radar tickets: report

A photo radar camera in Ottawa. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

A report prepared for the Ottawa Police Service Board shows driving-related complaints against Ottawa police officers are on the rise, with staff blaming the expansion of automated speed enforcement cameras in the city.

The report says officers received 23 red light camera tickets and 165 photo radar camera infractions in April, May and June. There were also 15 internal complaints related to collisions.

That compares to 12 red light camera tickets and 75 photo radar tickets in the first three months of 2024. An internal complaint is launched when a red light camera or photo radar ticket is issued to the Ottawa Police Service.

"The key driver of the increase in Driving Related Internal Complaints is attributed to the number of Automated Speed Enforcement, which continues to rise with the implementation of more cameras throughout the City," the report states. "In 2021, the OPS updated its process to deal with camera infractions to hold members accountable and apply progressive discipline when the threshold for exemptions under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA) are not met."

The number of driving-related complaints against the Ottawa Police Service fell slightly in the second quarter of the year with 108 complaints, down from 112 in the first quarter of the year.

According to the report, 16 driving-related complaints against officers resulted in some form of informal discipline and 16 driving-related complaint investigations remain ongoing.

Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs has said that the police service has a process to understand what the officer was doing at the time of the photo radar or red light camera infraction, such as responding to an emergency. He said a determination is made on what path to go from that conclusion. The officer who was ticketed is responsible for paying the fine if warranted.

There are 40 photo radar cameras currently operational in the city, with plans for 20 more by the end of the year. The photo radar cameras issued 154,341 speeding tickets in the first five months of 2024.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle