Police Chief Chris Connally says a court ruling did not require suspension of the Saint Joseph red light camera program. Connally says the voluntary suspension is meant to keep the trust of citizens while the issue goes through the courts.

Connally says the ruling on the Ellisville red light camera ordinance did not find use of the cameras unconstitutional. And because it came from the Eastern Missouri Court of Appeals while Saint Joseph is in the Western District, the city was not required to comply.

The ruling cited Ellisville for not assessing points for violations; the same provision is in the Saint Joseph law. If the Missouri Supreme Court upholds the ruling, Saint Joseph will be affected. In that case, Connally says the city would just have to change its ordinance to comply, then resume the red light camera program.

In the nine months the program ran there were more than 3,000 violations. But Connally says the percentage of local drivers cited dropped steadily, showing that the program was changing driver behavior.