CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Cedar Rapids Police Department was quick to react after a complaint about excessive window tinting on about six of their cruisers.
KWQC TV6 reports that a "Concerned Cedar Rapidian" sent an email to the mayor and the city council on October 8th. That person stated they were ticketed by a Cedar Rapids officer for having windows that were too dark under Iowa law.
“I was informed 70% light transmission is the legal limit and explained basically any tint added to a factory window would make it a violation,” the motorist wrote in the email.
That driver admitted guilt but then noticed that the cruiser also had dark windows. The email sent to city officials stated there was a “the blatant disregard and hypocritical enforcement of state law by the Cedar Rapids Police Department.” That driver then checked out some of the cruisers in the police department's parking lot and saw that several of their vehicles had excessive tint.
Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman admitted that the driver was correct. He stated there were six department vehicles and a number of employee vehicles that were not in compliance with state law. He goes on to say that staff believed that a previous law enforcement exemption was still in effect. That was not the case.
Chief Jerman says corrections were taken and the extra tinting was removed. Employees were also told to make corrections to their own vehicles so they would be in compliance.
Photo courtesy of KWQC TV6 and Cedar Rapids Police Facebook.