ROSSFORD, Ohio — An Ohio police department has enlisted a mannequin to help deter speeders.
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Construction on State Route 65 in Rossford is pushing more drivers onto residential roads, and the Rossford police department brought in some extra help to keep speeding down, CBS affiliate WTOL-11 reported.
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“Proactive way that we could try to get ahead of maybe complaints that people might have,” Rossford police Sgt. Brandon Lewis said.
More drivers are heading down Eagle Point Road, and police have a mannequin, named “Officer Manny,” there to watch for speeders, WTOL-11 reported.
“People don’t know. By the time you’re close enough to look over and see what it is, you’ve already slowed down,” Lewis said. “Officer Manny, as people are calling him, is actually a CPR training dummy that we borrowed from the fire department next door.”
Although Manny isn’t passing out tickets, he gets people to hit the brakes and take a glance at their speedometer.
“If there are time frames where we’re busy on other calls or we’re tied up or we’re not able to have an officer there full time, the presence of that patrol car in the area is going to help slow people down even if it’s not a real officer sitting in there,” Lewis said.
Lewis told WTOL-11 that within three hours of Manny’s first shift, someone had posted about him on Facebook. However, Manny is on the move throughout Rossford.
“Quite a few looks of surprise, too, with people that drive by, and it’s me sitting there instead of Officer Manny,” Lewis said. “They’ll get a little chuckle out of it, but the end goal is to slow people down.”
Lewis said Officer Manny is just another tool for the department to use to keep people from speeding, especially when officers are busy with calls.
He added that there are interactive speed limit signs that show people their speed.
Officer Manny could be staying around with the roundabout projects planned in the near future, but for now, the fake cop will keep his post, making a real impact on the roads.
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