(A) Citation issuance. If a police officer observes facts which he or she believes constitute a violation of the traffic ordinances of the city, committed by a resident thereof, in lieu of arresting such a person, he or she may take his or her name, address, operator’s license number, and registered license number of the motor vehicle involved and any other pertinent and necessary information and may issue him or her in writing in form prescribed by the City Manager and City Council or his or her duly designated delegate, a traffic citation embracing the above information, and also stating the traffic violation alleged to have occurred, and notifying him or her to answer to the charge against him or her at a time, not later than the date specified in the citation. The officer, upon receiving the written promise of the alleged violator, endorsed on the citation to answer as specified, may then release the person from custody. If the person to whom a citation is issued fails to answer as prescribed in the citation, a complaint shall be filed and the case shall be prosecuted as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(B) Police officer course of action. If the alleged traffic violation is committed by a nonresident or resident of the city, the police officer may:
(1) Release the person after obtaining sufficient information as set out in division (A) of this section, pending his or her appearance on a day certain in court, as specified in the citation;
(2) Take the person into custody and demand that bond for the offense charged be posted according to the provisions of this chapter; or
(3) Take the person into custody under arrest. The arrested person either shall be taken immediately before the judge for further proceedings according to law or shall have bail fixed for his or her release in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Upon providing bail as fixed, and upon giving his or her written promise to appear upon a day certain, as provided in division (A) of this section, the person shall be released from custody.
(C) Parking violations; citation placed on vehicle. If the alleged offense be a violation of an ordinance restricting or regulating the parking of vehicles, including any regulations issued under such an ordinance, and the operator be not present, the police officer shall place on the vehicle, at a place reasonably likely to come to the notice of the operator, a citation conforming substantially to that prescribed in divisions (A) or (B) of this section, with such variation as the circumstances require; the operator of this vehicle shall be under the same obligation to respond to the citation as if it had been issued to him or her personally under divisions (A) or (B) of this section.
(Prior Code, § 1-11-9)