KENS 5

by Joe Conger / KENS 5

Police have their eyes on you, why not have your own set of eyes on them?

It was after his first speeding ticket that Duane Davis decided to arm himself, with a device to fight the radar used by Schertz Police.

Davis said, “It correlates GPS technology along with video, shows you your latitude and longitude, velocity, if you’re turning a corner, your G-forces, up and down, your altitude, everything.”

Davis is on his 4th ticket now in 6 months, the latest one for traveling 30 mph in a 20 mph zone. But this time, Davis used what’s called a Smart Black Box to record his journey.

The company that makes it, KCI Communications, says the gadget acts like the black box recorder in airplanes, and could be useful for everything from traffic accidents to settling insurance claims and traffic citation disputes.

Davis believes something’s wrong with the City of Schertz’s radar calibrations. And this time, he says he has proof. His recording of the traffic stop showed nothing over 24 miles per hour.

Though when he showed it to Schertz police, Davis said they were less than impressed.

City officials wouldn’t discuss the case with KENS-TV.

Assistant Chief Michael Harris said, “I don’t think the officers would go out there intentionally and jeopardize their integrity as a police officer and try to make something up.”

But police said they do trust their own court-acceptable, good-‘ol-fashioned Doppler radar speed guns.

Harris added, “Once a year we use an outside company that will actually check the calibration of the radar equipment to make sure it’s working properly.”

KCI Communications’ Smart Black Box could set you back more than $250.

But to use it in a court fight to contest a ticket– that could cost thousands of dollars once an attorney is involved.

Even Davis admits the real solution could be to slow down a little.

UPDATE: City of Schertz dropped charges.