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Published on Sunday, May 9, 2004
in the Miami Herald
Q: Is there a state law that requires a state trooper to be on duty at the location of every major road repair? It seems that every time a utility line is replaced, a manhole cover is removed or drivers are diverted, there's a highway patrol car on the scene. Is this simply a safety measure (and expense) that private contractors undertake?
Keith Lane,
Miami
A: There's no Florida statute that requires a trooper to be on duty, but when the state Department of Transportation authorizes the repaving of a road or the replacement of a utility line, its guidelines ask how many law enforcement officers will be needed on the scene. Their presence is to ensure the safety of the construction or utility workers, as well as drivers and pedestrians.
Major Ernesto Duarte, chief of public affairs for the Florida Highway Patrol, recalled an incident in Orlando about a year ago in which a construction supervisor was killed in a collision with a traffic violator. ''Notably, on that specific day,'' he said, ``there was no police officer on his site at the time of the collision.''
The Highway Patrol restricts its personnel to off-duty employment that maintains the FHP's professional standards and reputation. Troopers are authorized to work in jobs geared toward highway construction, security patrol for government entities, protecting dignitaries and utility maintenance and installation.
''When troopers are on an off-duty job with a construction or utility company, they are working for and paid by that particular firm,'' Duarte said. ``The trooper provides insurance coverage for the patrol car, is working outside his or her normal work schedule and reimburses the state for the use of the car and equipment.''
He was quick to point out that the off-duty job doesn't burden the taxpayer or jeopardize the number of troopers on patrol.