CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Clay County Sheriff’s Office spent two hours Friday morning conducting a driver’s license checkpoint on a stretch of SR 16 in Green Cove Springs.
Action News Jax told you about the planned morning checkpoint on Thursday and the concerns raised by immigrant advocacy groups who feared it may have been aimed at identifying immigrants without legal status.
Action News Jax photojournalist Mark Dougherty was among roughly 120 drivers randomly selected to have their license, registration, and insurance checked during the operation.
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“It’s a DL checkpoint. Just checking to make sure everybody has got their driver’s license and registration,” a deputy told Dougherty.
The whole thing took less than a minute, and he was on his way.
And that was more or less the experience for other drivers we spoke with who were stopped as well.
“It only took a second, and I mean, I guess if there was a problem, it would have been more of an inconvenience, but I’m legal all the way,” said Green Cove Springs resident Karen Vanstein.
“Keeps people straight. That way we don’t have to pay for all these knuckleheads who get in accidents and don’t have insurance,” said driver Bill Craig.
CCSO Chief of Community Affairs Domenic Paniccia led the operation and was a bit surprised by the attention it got.
“28 years of law enforcement and this is my first press conference about a driver’s license checkpoint, but hey, transparency is what we’re all about,” said Paniccia.
Part of the attention was driven by local immigrant advocacy groups, which put out a warning to avoid the area after the checkpoint was announced.
And while Paniccia said immigration issues could have come up, they didn’t, and that was never the focus.
“You put people that specialize in different things, because what can you encounter? It could be immigration, 100 percent,” said Paniccia. ”But you know what else you can encounter? You can encounter a missing juvenile that you’ve been looking for. You can encounter someone with a warrant.”
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Paniccia said the location of Friday’s checkpoint was near the scene of a recent deadly crash.
He also noted deputies pulled over every fifth car to ensure a random, non-targeted selection of drivers.
And with only two citations issued, Paniccia said he considered the operation a success.
“We made sure that people operating their vehicles on the roadway had what they needed. Not only do we appreciate that, but I think the citizens do,” said Paniccia.
Chief Paniccia said the sheriff’s office has conducted similar operations in the past, under different names.
But he added we can expect to see more “driver’s license” checkpoints moving forward.
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