Judge finds Ohio village in contempt over traffic cameras

CINCINNATI (AP) — A judge has found a southwest Ohio village in contempt of court, saying it violated his order against using traffic cameras to catch speeders.

Judge Robert Ruehlman of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court also wants the sheriff’s department to confiscate the cameras in Elmwood Place. The village also must pay back fines collected since Judge Ruehlman’s ruling March 7 knocking down a village ordinance that allowed camera use starting last September.

The judge’s bailiff says he made his ruling verbally in court today, and that a written opinion is in the works.

The village has appealed Judge Ruehlman’s injunction, and has said it stopped issuing citations in the aftermath of his ruling.