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Clute council presses police captain over spike in calls and traffic-stop mix
Summary
Council members questioned Police Captain Fisk after the department's February report showed 4,035 calls for service and an enforcement pattern in which 61% of traffic stops resulted in written warnings and 12% in citations; captain said counts include all citizen interactions and enforcement is at officer discretion.
At a regular meeting of the Clute City Council, council members pressed Police Captain Fisk about a sharp rise in calls for service and the department's approach to traffic enforcement. The February report on the department showed 4,035 calls for service, roughly 1,000 more than the previous month, and 896 recorded traffic stops.
"This is every call that comes in," Captain Fisk said, explaining that the calls figure includes 911 calls, walk-ins and flagged-down contacts rather than only emergency dispatches. He told the council that traffic enforcement decisions are left to officers' discretion and that the department does not use quotas. "Quotas are illegal," he said.
Council members sought clearer detail about the traffic-stop outcomes. The report recorded that about 61% of those stops resulted in written warnings and 12% in written citations; council members asked what violations produced most citations. Captain Fisk said he would provide a more detailed breakdown on citation types but noted that common causes include lack of insurance and not having a driver's license.
On crashes, Captain Fisk said the department recorded 15 accidents in February and that enforcement levels are assessed against crash data and other outcomes. "If we had 200 accidents, maybe we need to be writing more citations," he said, adding that officers sometimes escalate a traffic stop to an arrest or a DWI, which affects how events are counted in the report.
The council also discussed code-enforcement staffing and inspections during the police report item. Captain Fisk said the city recently added and trained code-enforcement personnel and is expanding inspections of apartments, hotels and other facilities; he described logistical challenges such as identifying property owners when properties are in probate or trust. He said the city completed three demolitions last year and has used contracted mowing to address nuisance properties.
The council did not take policy action on enforcement at the meeting but requested additional data on citation categories and said members expected follow-up information from staff.
