5:25 P.M. UPDATE:
The city of Damascus has filed a petition in Faulkner County Circuit Court seeking a short-term halt to a prosecutor's decision to turn over traffic enforcement in the area to other agencies.
Earlier in the day, Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland ordered that the Damascus Police Department cease traffic enforcement patrols on some highways. That decision came after an initial finding in March that the town was running a speed trap, violating state law.
City Attorney Beau Wilcox said in a news release Wednesday afternoon that the city is "disappointed in the severity and longevity of these sanctions."
"The constitutionality of the Arkansas speed trap law is dubious at best due to its vagueness, its lack of procedural due process, and its arbitrary nature," Wilcox said.
The circuit court filing requests a temporary court order as well as a long-term order vacating and nullifying sanctions. It also seeks a declaratory judgment that the state law is "unconstitutional on its face."
The attorney said city officials "believe strongly that bringing this matter before a court to flaw and equity will provide settled finality to a long-standing, controversial and unresolved issue."
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— Brandon Riddle
EARLIER STORY:
CONWAY — A prosecutor on Wednesday ordered Damascus police to cease traffic enforcement patrols on highways affected by a decision that the small town has been operating an illegal speed trap.
A memo of understanding in effect for one year will turn over traffic enforcement in the area — which includes a stretch of U.S. 65 on the way to Branson, Mo. — to Arkansas State Police and the Faulkner County and Van Buren County sheriffs' offices.
Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland said the order will be in place while he is prosecutor. He said that after one year the town can petition his office and request a review of any resulting public-safety concerns. The sanctions came as Hiland also stood by his original finding that the town of fewer than 400 residents was running a speed trap in violation of state law.
City Attorney Beau Wilcox issued a statement saying the town disagrees with and plans to "vigorously contest" the sanctions.
Wilcox said the City Council and the mayor have authorized him to seek judicial intervention, and he's pursuing it Wednesday. He said city officials and police will have no further comment until the case is filed in Faulkner County Circuit Court in Conway. He didn't say when that would be.
Jim Baker, county judge of Faulkner County, has asked the state for a red light at the intersection of U.S. 65 and Arkansas Highway 124.
Hiland said in a statement that a red light there or at U.S. 65 and Arkansas Highway 285 "would permanently ameliorate the public safety concern with excess numbers of vehicles exceeding the speed limit in an unsafe manner."
