(A) There is hereby established in the Police Department of the city a Traffic Coordinator to be under the control of a Sergeant of Police or higher rank under the direction of the Deputy Chief of Operations Division.
(B) It shall be the general duty of the Traffic Coordinator and of all members of the Police Department to enforce the street traffic laws and regulations of this city and all of the state vehicle laws applicable to traffic in this city; to make arrests for traffic violations; to investigate accidents; to cooperate with the City Traffic Engineer and other officers of the city in developing ways and means to improve traffic conditions; and to carry out those duties specially imposed upon such bureau by this chapter and other traffic ordinances of this city.
(C) It shall be the particular duty of the Traffic Coordinator:
(1) To investigate traffic accidents and, assisted by all other members of the Police Department, to arrest and to assist in the prosecution of those persons charged with violations causing or contributing to such accidents.
(2) To assist the City Traffic Engineer in conducting studies of the causes of such accidents and determining remedial measures whenever three accidents have occurred at any particular location within a period of one year.
(3) To study the cases of all drivers charged with frequent or serious violations of the traffic laws or involved in frequent traffic accidents or in serious accidents and take whatever steps are lawful and reasonable to prevent the same or to have the licenses of such persons suspended or revoked.
(4) To annually prepare and file with the Mayor and the Common Council a traffic report which shall contain information on traffic matters in this city as follows:
(a) The number of traffic accidents, the number of persons killed, the number of persons injured and other pertinent accident data.
(b) The number of traffic accidents investigated and other pertinent data on the safety activities of the police.
(c) The plan and recommendation of the bureau for future traffic safety activities.
(5) To designate a type of pennant or other identifying insignia to be displayed upon, or other method to be employed to identify, the vehicles in a funeral procession.
(D) It shall be the particular duty of the Records Bureau or other unit designated by the Chief of Police:
(1) To keep records of all violations in this city of this chapter and other ordinances of this city and of the state traffic and vehicle laws of which any person has been charged, together with a record of the disposition of all such alleged offenses. Such records shall be so maintained as to show all types of violations and the total of each. All forms for records of violations shall be serially numbered for each month and year, and written record shall be kept available to the public, showing the disposal of such forms. All such records and reports shall be public records.
(2) To maintain a suitable system of filing traffic accident reports. Accident reports or cards referring to them shall be filed alphabetically by location. Such reports shall be transferred to the City Traffic Engineer after three months.
(3) To receive and properly file all accident reports made to it under state law or under any ordinance of this city, but all such accident reports made by drivers shall be [sic] and the City Traffic Engineer only, and no such report shall be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding other than upon request of the person making such report or upon request of the court having jurisdiction to prove compliance with the laws requiring the making of any such report.
(4) To maintain suitable records of all traffic accidents warranting arrest or conviction and complaint reports for each driver, which shall be filed alphabetically under the name of the driver concerned.
(5) To accumulate all records during at least a five-year period, and from that time on such records shall be maintained complete for at least the most recent five-year period.
('74 Code, § 17-124) (Ord. S-185-85, passed 10-8-85; Am. Ord. G-25-93, passed 7-13-93; Am. Ord. G-12-98, passed 3-10-98)