Ind. police receive grant for traffic safety program

By Ed Bierschenk
NWI.com

HAMMOND, Ind. — Nearly 200 tickets were issued to people making improper turns along Kennedy Avenue at two key intersections as the Hammond Police Department stepped up enforcement in the area as part of a federally funded traffic safety program.

Hammond received $56,200 in crash reduction grant money for Operation Centipede provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grant provides funding to pay officers to perform patrols, outside of their regular duties, on a portion of Kennedy Avenue and along Interstate 80/94 between the state line and Grant Street.

As part of the program, Hammond police along with Indiana State Police officers conducted a sobriety checkpoint where they issued 70 citations and arrested one person for driving while intoxicated and four for possession of marijuana.

Full story: Hammond crackdown on speeding shifts to jaywalking