By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Florence Police Officer Michael Steward issues a speeding ticket to a driver he said was driving 49 mph in a school zone. Florence has issued about 3,000 tickets so far this fiscal year, about double last year's amount. The Enquirer/PATRICK REDDY

FLORENCE - Officer Michael Steward earned distinction this year as one of this city's most efficient crusaders for traffic safety as he chased down offenders or quietly hid just around the corner, waiting to catch them.

He has handed out 191 traffic citations this month - helping Florence issue about 3,000 tickets this fiscal year. That's double the amount of citations written over the same period last year.

"Some ... say they feel sorry for speeders who get ticketed," said Steward, a retired Kentucky State Trooper who now works for Florence Thursdays through Sundays. "I feel more sorry for the person who is put in an ambulance because of someone else's reckless driving."

Police Chief Tom Kathman said Steward patrols areas where residents complain about drivers.

"The 100 percent increase can't be attributed to just one person," Kathman said. "It is a result of every officer's stepped-up effort. And we have a lot of new, aggressive officers."

Steward isn't the most prolific ticket writer in Florence. Officer Adam Argullin has written 285 traffic citations this month.

Steward said he plans to work a lot of residential streets this summer because children will be playing. The speed limit on neighborhood streets in Florence is 20 mph.

"I don't want to respond to a child hit," he said.

He said the No. 1 excuse he hears from drivers is that they thought the speed limit was higher. Steward also said mobile phones have added to the problem of driver inattentiveness.

Kathman said the 53 sworn officers in the department are not under orders to write more tickets to increase city revenues. He said Florence gets no money for citing someone for breaking a state law.

A common citation in Florence is for parking in a handicapped spot, yet many of those tickets are reduced to warnings.

"We find the majority of people who park in handicap spots are not trying to skirt the law," Kathman said. "They really do need the assistance of a spot near an entrance, they just forget to display their handicap sticker or hadn't applied for one."

Mayor Diane Ewing Whalen said she receives very few complaints from residents who have been ticketed. What she does hear is from constituents complaining about reckless drivers.

"We have a large population of young families concerned about speeding in their neighborhoods," she said. "If they request additional patrols, we accommodate that."

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com