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Lt. Joe Johnson (left) and Lt. Jeremy Mueller from SPPD. (Courtesy Stevens Point Police Department)

Stevens Point police announce increased traffic enforcement with style

By Brandi Makuski

Police Chief Bob Kussow said the SPPD has stepped up its traffic enforcement recently—and motorists should expect that to continue.

Kussow, who became the city’s new police chief on May 3, said for most of the COVID-19 pandemic, officers were more “reactive” when it came to traffic enforcement to avoid unnecessary contact or unwittingly help spread the virus.

But now, officers have begun taking a more proactive approach, Kussow said, due in no small part to complaints from residents.

“We’ve been getting a lot of complaints about traffic enforcement, and we’re still getting quite a few,” Kussow said on May 18. Among the top complaints called in are speeding, loud muffles, motorists trying to beat a red light, and not signaling for a turn, he added.

Kussow said the department is doubling down with a “media blitz” over the next two weeks to make sure the public is well-informed about the increased enforcement.

The annual Click It or Ticket campaign, which focuses on educating drivers and passengers on the importance of buckling up, begins on Monday, May 23. The department will also conduct extra speed patrol beginning on June 6, paid for by a grant Kussow secured for the SPPD.

Officers on patrol will be paying particular attention to areas popular with pedestrians and children, as the school year soon comes to a close, Kussow said.

“We’re going to be running heavy traffic enforcement in main corridors, in park areas, anywhere children are going to be,” he said. We just want to give the public a little warning…so everybody, in two weeks, should know there’s heavy traffic enforcement. We just want to people to slow down and pay attention.”

To help spread the word, Kussow said the department worked with the city’s community media staff to create a public service announcement video.

The video features Lt. Jeremy Mueller and Lt. Joe Johnson and was filmed by Sara Theroux a production specialist with the city’s community media department.