Traffic Unit

Commander Chris Havens
817-426-9919
e-mail:
chavens@burlesontx.com

The Burleson Police Department began a concentrated focus on traffic in 1995 with one officer utilizing the Chevrolet Z28 Camaro pursuit unit. The Burleson Police Department’s first two motorcycle officers hit the streets in November 2002. Traffic became its own unit five years later, under the patrol commander.

The traffic unit is supervised by a sergeant who utilizes Harley Davidson motorcycles and Dodge Chargers. The current unit has a combined average of 14 years in law enforcement.  

The mission of the traffic unit is to enforce laws and educate drivers to gain compliance with the State’s traffic laws. The goal of the unit is to reduce the number of crashes on the City’s streets and highways and to make the City’s streets safer.

Each of the traffic officers are certified as crash investigators. The sergeant is a crash reconstructionist, which is the highest level. Two in the unit are advanced crash investigators and two are intermediate crash investigators. The purpose of the Crash Investigation team is to be able to reconstruct a crash using scientific methods so that offenders who cause injury or death to other innocent motorists can be effectively prosecuted.  Dedicating the traffic unit to crash investigations allows patrol officers more time to patrol and to respond to calls for service. 

In addition to enforcement, the traffic officers are often seen leading the City’s parades, guiding traffic in and around the City’s major events and working with the public at open houses and safety fairs. The motor officers hone their skills monthly by training with other officers in the Metroplex. They also compete in Police Motorcycle Skills competitions and have placed in the Top 3 multiple times over the years.