Squad Car Gadgets Distracting Officers

ST. PAUL (AP) - As police cars across Minnesota add more technology, there's growing concern that officers may be subject to the same distracted driving they're supposed to stop.

Research found 61 crashes in four years where an officer's distracted driving was a factor. Most of the accidents involved officers who were distracted by a gadget inside of the squad car, such as a computer, cellphone or radio. Many other crashes involved an officer who took his or her eyes off of the road to check drivers for seatbelts or vehicle information.

Although the amount of crashes is relatively low compared to the amount of miles officers drive each year, they acknowledge technology is making safety harder.

There are roughly 17,000 distracted driving crashes in Minnesota each year.