ARIZONA NEWS

Photo of texting Tempe motorcycle officer goes viral

Jun 27, 2013, 3:02 PM | Updated: Jun 28, 2013, 1:34 am

Texting while driving is a serious no-no, especially for an on-duty police officer on a motorcycle.

According to azfamily.com, this police officer was caught texting while driving his motorcycle on U.S. 60 while going over 80 mph.

The photographer, Justin Argall, said:

“I kind of looked over and I saw it and it dawned on me what I just saw and I looked again and that’s when I took the picture,”

In response to the now-trending picture, the Tempe Police Department said:

“The Tempe Police Department does not condone this type of distracted driving. In fact we have instituted specific policies prohibiting texting while operating police vehicles. Texting while driving or performing any activities that take away attention from the driving task are extremely dangerous and should be avoided whenever possible. Training will be provided to reduce the chance of our officers putting themselves in similar dangerous situations in the future.”

The officer was not publicly identified but the police department assured that the officer was reprimanded and considers the situation closed.

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Photo of texting Tempe motorcycle officer goes viral