Officer dressed as homeless man catches texters

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — A Maryland police officer went undercover dressed as a homeless man to catch people who were using their phones while driving.


Cpl. Patrick Robinson went undercover Tuesday morning equipped with a police radio and a body camera. 

He held a sign that read, “I am not homeless. I am a Montgomery County police officer looking for cell phone texting violations.”

Montgomery County police Sgt. Phillip Chapin and about eight other officers issued a total of 56 tickets county-wide that day, including 31 tickets and 9 warnings to people caught using their phones without hands-free devices.

Chapin says authorities are seeing more distracted-driver-related deaths as a result of people using their phones while behind the wheel.