Capt. Ronnie Hampton, Commander Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troop F, Ardmore, announced Thursday that area troopers are conducting “Operation HEAT.”
Hampton said 13 troopers are part of the High Enforcement Action Team, designed to “saturate an area and conduct high-enforcement operations during a selected period.” Wednesday, the HEAT team concentrated its efforts in Johnston and Pontotoc counties.
Each county was patrolled for four hours. Johnson County HEAT statistics included:
• 60 warnings
• 31 citations
• 5 arrests
“One custodial arrest originated from a speeding stop north of Tishomingo where a person that was entered into the National Crime Information Computer from Missouri (felony theft charge) was taken into custody,” Hampton said.
Pontotoc County statistics included the following:
• 90 warnings
• 37 citations
• 4 arrests
In addition, Hampton said troopers assigned to Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement, “conducted 14 inspections, putting two commercial vehicles out of service and issued 11 citations and nine warnings to commercial vehicles.”
Hampton said HEAT is not a limited emphasis.
“Operation HEAT will commence in each county of Troop F on a regular basis,” he said. “We take traffic safety very serious and are committed to making the roads safer for the motoring public.”
Troop F covers Carter, Garvin, Johnston, Love, Murray and Pontotoc counties. Hampton would not discuss the HEAT schedule where troopers will concentrate next, but said the emphasis would be in Carter and Love counties “later this month.”
And the troop commander said HEAT is not limited to troopers simply watching the roads.
“During these operations, the patrol will utilize driver license and vehicle safety checkpoints to ensure that all vehicles are properly equipped and in good working order,” he said. “In addition, we will be arresting people that do not have a valid license to drive and impounding their vehicles. It is every person’s responsibility to ensure that their vehicles are road-worthy and that they have a valid license to drive.”
