Curious crowds call for an increase in police
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JANESVILLE — If your curiosity gets the better of you and you drive around a “road closed” sign to sneak a peek at the rising Rock River, the cash level in your wallet could drop $160.80.
That’s the fine for failure to obey a traffic-control sign, and Janesville police already have written a handful of tickets for motorists who just had to drive closer to the rampaging Rock.
“While we appreciate that there’s interest in seeing where the water is and that this is a rare situation in Janesville, we cannot stress enough the hazards presented by being in and near the water,” Deputy Police Chief Steve Kopp said Tuesday afternoon.
The department has added two to four officers per each of its three shifts to keep officers at or near areas of concern, specifically Mole & Sadler’s subdivision, Centerway and Main Street, the downtown river walk and Monterey Dam.
Several of the cops have been riding bicycles because it’s easier for them to get in and around the flooded areas, Kopp said.
Police are protecting the security of residents’ houses and property in Mole & Sadler’s because several homes have been evacuated, Kopp said, and “we don’t need additional unauthorized traffic to be there.”
The city has given subdivision residents placards to put in their vehicles to let officers know the residents have a right and reason to be there.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no crimes or accidents related to the flood or flood-affected properties had been reported, Kopp said.
“We’ve been real fortunate. We’ve had some people cited for driving around barricades,” he said. “Our biggest concern is the health and safety of people moving too close to the river. Our biggest problem has been people ignoring the (yellow police) tape and barricades.
“And there are other areas where people can venture without going past a barricade. We have a concern for them.”
Officers have been advising onlookers about the hazards created by the river’s depth and swift current and by the debris and pollutants the floodwaters carry, Kopp said.
The department has not yet figured the cost of flood-related overtime.
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:27 a.m.
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Looks like we have some new candidates for the Darwin Award!
Jun 19, 2008 at 9:38 a.m.
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I think it's great they are giving tickets to people going beyond barricades. They are there for their own protection.
They should also be purchasing more ticket pads and giving out tickets to all these idiots in the water. We went down last night to make a donation to Red Cross and walked down by Main St. There was a kid riding his bike through the water as his father watched. We said to him "Don't you understand there is E.Coli & bacteria in the water and they are dumping raw sewage in the water upstream?" He looked at us like we were dumb and just said with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth "Oh, really".
You didn't have to look much farther to see another idiot running in the water trying to catch carp with his hands.
This is not a game or a wet playground people. Would you allow your child to swim in your sewer? Let's wake up!!
I didn't notice any signs down on Main St. though. Some of these people may not get the paper, hear people talk or see the billboards (because they apparently are living in a cave somewhere on the outskirts of town) so I think for them we need to put signs up right on the waters edge with the warning of raw sewage, bacteria, etc.
It is so sad to see what is happening & my heart goes out to all those affected by this disaster.
Jun 19, 2008 at 8:22 a.m.
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I was at the library last night watching a mother with a baby strapped to her back walk with her young child through the flood water in the parking lot and main street. And just up the street, a half dozen kids were splashing in another flooded area.
It never ceases to amaze me how under informed people are at the dangers these waters pose.
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