Clayton County police permit to use radar revoked by state

JONESBORO - Clayton County may have to throw out thousands of convictions for speeding and other traffic violations dating back two years because a county employee tried to cut corners on paperwork, an Atlanta television station reported Thursday. <br> <br> Clayton County Solicitor Keith Martin said an application for a state permit to use radar and laser speed detection devices contained photocopied signatures of county commissioners, WAGA-TV reported. <br> <br> ``It is embarrassing and infuriating that Georgia&#39;s fifth-largest county resorts to forgery to facilitate what a municipal speed trap can accomplish legally,&#39;&#39; Martin wrote in a letter to the county Department of Public Safety. <br> <br> According to the station, Martin said the county&#39;s failure to obtain a permit legally could make any tickets and arrests stemming from their use invalid. <br> <br> County police voluntarily stopped using radar and laser guns last week and will not take them up again until the state Department of Transportation issues a proper permit, Major Ken Green said. <br> <br> Green said several discrepancies, including an incorrect application date, were discovered recently when a lawyer asked to see the county&#39;s application materials. <br> <br> ``What obviously happened was the documentation the county people submitted to the state to get our radar permit was altered,&#39;&#39; Green said. ``Because they made this alteration ... the permit to use radar and laser speed detection devices is invalid.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Green said a new application has been submitted and the county should have a permit in about three weeks. Meanwhile, municipal and state officers can still use radar to catch speeders in the county. <br> <br> ``We surely don&#39;t want people to get the idea they can come down to Clayton County and act foolishly, because they can&#39;t,&#39;&#39; he said.