HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – The Hopkinsville Police Department will increase citations for excessively loud vehicle exhausts in order to prevent unnecessary modifications to mufflers in the city that create noise in neighborhoods.

“There are a lot of loud mufflers in town. Some of them, actually a lot of them, are intentional,” said Hopkinsville Police Chief Jason Newby during a “Chats with Chief” live stream on Facebook. This ongoing video series is done in an effort to boost transparency and directly answer community concerns via comments on the stream.

Newby encourages public to fix exhausts

During the video on July 14, Newby discussed the department’s boosted focus on loud exhaust enforcement. He continued to say that starting immediately, traffic enforcement is going to crack down on writing citations for vehicles with modified exhaust pipes, also recognizing that in some instances people have mechanical issues that cause excessive noise.

“I know you’ve all seen them through town, you’ve heard them through town, you hear them at night when you’re at home…we’re going to start hammering you guys with citations starting today,” said Newby. “So, this your warning, if you’ve got those pipes, get them fixed.”

He explained that they have a full-time traffic enforcement officer with HPD who is responsible for speed enforcement and other traffic related issues. Motorists who are given citations for their muffler will have a mandatory court appearance where they will be required to show proof that they fixed their exhaust.

Newby responds to criticism

Following this announcement by Newby, a few days later he responded to criticism about HPD’s priorities as residents online suggested that police should focus on crime instead of traffic violations.

In a public statement on social media, Newby clarified that the department has seized 72 guns off of the streets and all homicide suspects that were involved in recent investigations have been incarcerated.

“If you have an issue with our loud exhaust enforcement, you are more than likely part of the problem,” continued the statement from Newby. “Our oath as law enforcement officers is to enforce all laws, traffic and criminal. Just because there may be certain issues going on in the community that does not give us the option of ignoring others.”

Residents with additional questions or concerns can contact HPD directly at info-pd@h-ky.us.

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