Police Set Up Patrols to Catch Cell Phone-Using Drivers

Joined by police from neighboring communities, Newtown officers turned their eye to cell phone use with a six-hour enforcement operation Monday, netting 21 drivers talking and seven texting at various spots around town.

Officers conducted the check at several high-traffic spots in Newtown, looking for drivers illegally talking or texting on the road. The operation ran from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m, with Newtown's police assisted by officers from Bethel, Brookfield, Ridgefield and Redding.

Here's how it worked: a plain-clothes spotter stationed himself ahead of the checkpoint, watching for drivers talking or texting. When he saw a violation, the officer radioed ahead to multiple officers from neighboring towns, waiting at an approaching intersection.

In the course of the operation, police focused on at least two I-84 off-ramps, Sandy Hook Center and Wasserman Way. Aside from the 21 cell phone violations -- costing drivers a ticket set at a minimum of $125 -- police issued seven infractions for texting, two seatbelt violations and one falure to obey a traffic signal.

The operation was funded by a grant from the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It was the third grant-provided enforcement operation in Newtown in recent weeks, after a seatbelt check in May and a sobriety checkpoint the night before graduation.