Editing Mountain View, Colorado (section)

== Police department history and ticketing ==

The Town of Mountain View and Mountain View Police Department held their [[National Night Out]] on August 1, 2023, at the Town Hall. Neighbors came out to meet with police officers, enjoy hot dogs and play games even in the wet weather. National Night Out is an annual community event that promotes police and community partnerships.<ref>[http://The%20event https://5280fire.com/2023-incidents/national-night-out-2023-mountain-view/]</ref> joins residents, law enforcement agencies, community groups, businesses, and local officials to build lasting relationships and reduce crime.

In 2023, Mountain View's Town Council <ref>[https://ngazette.com/mountain-view-announces-promotion-of-new-police-chief/]</ref> announced the appointment] of Police Chief Michael Nesbitt, effective Aug. 21. He has been with the town since 2018 and prior to being appointed, served as the Town's Interim Chief for four months. Previous to his work in Mountain View, he served in Edgewater, Red Rocks Community College and Northglenn.

In 2014, The Mountain View Police Department was criticized for its overuse of issuing citations for menial traffic violations. Officers have frequently issued tickets for such violations as cracked windshields or objects such as air fresheners hanging from rearview mirrors. In 2013, the department issued more citations than the cities of Denver, [[Aurora, Colorado|Aurora]], and [[Boulder, Colorado|Boulder]], combined. Nearly half of the town's revenue comes from court fees and citations, according to its 2014 budget. A typical "obstructed view" citation alone can run someone $80, which includes a $30 surcharge. It is alleged that the excessive enforcement of these laws is motivated to raise revenues for the police department, a force with only nine full-time or part-time officers.<ref name=9News20140522 />

In 2014, the Mountain View Police Department was mentioned in a "Best of the Worst" piece on [[Reason TV]], pointing out that Mountain View police fund their own jobs in part by over-ticketing out-of-town motorists for obstructed view citations.<ref name=rtv20141215>
{{cite AV media |last=Balaker|first=Ted |date=December 15, 2014 |title=The Best of the Worst of 2014: Don't Cops Have Better Things to Do? |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHZgrkjErg4 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/NHZgrkjErg4| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|access-date=December 16, 2014 |time=0:48 |publisher=Reason TV }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Mountain View PD was again featured in a 2015 interview with [[9news.com|9NEWS KUSA]] reporter Jeremy Jojola following an [[investigative journalism|investigation]] by 9NEWS of all 270 Colorado municipalities with respect to budgets and police ticketing of motorists. In 2014, Mountain View brought in 53 percent of total town revenue from police tickets. Mountain View issues tickets for the [[primary enforcement]] of a [[Seat belt legislation in the United States|seat-belt violation]]s in addition to the "obstructed view" violations previously mentioned.<ref name=9news2015>
{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkZoJvlLwjw | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TkZoJvlLwjw| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=9News Jeremy Jojola on Denver Metro Speed Traps |at=4:55–7:30 |date=June 8, 2015 |work=9News }}{{cbignore}}</ref>