KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho | Cheney Pedestrian Emphasis Patrol

CHENEY, Wash. - Cheney officer Chris Oakes walks across the crosswalk at the intersection of 1st and D in downtown Cheney as part of an emphasis patrol to raise awareness about pedestrian safety Tuesday.

The officer looks like a regular citizen in jeans and a sweatshirt but underneath his clothes, Oakes wears a radio that he uses to communicate with other police officers who are standing by in their patrol vehicles. When drivers fail to slow down in the crosswalk as officer Oakes walks by, he radios the other officers who then pull over the drivers. Several drivers received tickets today for Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian. The ticket is $124.

The Spokane Regional Health Department teamed up with the Cheney Police Department in a pre-planned event, but it comes on the heels of two serious hit and run crashes in Spokane this week that killed one man, 47-year-old Dennis Burgess, and injured another person.

The emphasis will run until 1pm Tuesday. The department has three other emphasis patrols planned next month.

Data suggests that 20 bicyclists and pedestrians are hit every month in Spokane County. That's according to www.stickmanknows.org.