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5/9/2007 Iowa: Police Chief Suspended Over Ticket Quota Police chief in Pleasant Hill, Iowa is suspended over ticket quota allegations. The Pleasant Hill, Iowa city manager suspended the city's police chief on April 26 after evidence surfaced that he had instituted an illegal traffic ticket quota. According to local police union leader Ron Zimmerman, 33, officers were being told to issue between five and ten tickets each month. A sergeant chided Officer Zimmerman on "the low number of tickets" that he issued. Although Chief William Hansen, 58, denies the existence of a quota, a Des Moines Register review of court documents shows the amount of ticket revenue has more than doubled under Hansen's watch. In the year ending April 30, 2005, the city issued 1136 tickets worth $124,933. In the year ending April 30, 2007, that figure jumped to 2427 tickets worth $309,261. The number of citations issued in Pleasant Hill per capita is nearly double that of Des Moines, which generates $5.9 million from its ticketing program. Hansen is receving his full salary while an outside investigator examines the case. Source: Ticket quota claim spurs probe (Des Moines Register (IA), 5/9/2007) Permanent Link for this item Return to Front Page

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