Traffic fines incurred by DC assistant fire chief in department vehicle remain unpaid

TAKOMA PARK, Md. - One of the top officials in the D.C. Fire and EMS Department has been caught on camera speeding in Maryland and the District in his department-issued vehicle, but the tickets for these incidents remain unpaid.

Some of the fines that Assistant Fire Chief Craig Baker have incurred are more than two years old.

Baker was caught speeding four times since Jan. 2016 on New Hampshire Avenue in Takoma Park in his department-issued Chevy Tahoe. However, an open records check shows none of those tickets have been paid.

D.C. Fire and EMS said those four violations in Takoma Park were incurred while Baker was responding from home to emergency calls in the District, including three two-alarm fires and a train derailment.

However, in Nov. 2016, Baker's department-issued vehicle was clocked going 43 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour speed limit zone in the 3400 block of Olney-Laytonsville Road in Olney. That ticket has not been paid.

On Dec. 23, 2017, his vehicle was seen on video turning right at a red light, but never coming to a full stop at the intersection of Gorman Avenue and Route 1 in Laurel. According to open records, Baker has not paid the $100 fine more than three months later.

Assistant Chief Baker has also received tickets in the District in Sept. 2015 for passing a stop sign and in May 2017 for speeding -- tickets that total $200. These fines remain unpaid.

According to D.C. government policy and the fire department's policy, anyone caught in a city-owned vehicle on a speed or red light camera is required to report it to their supervisor. If they are responsible, they are supposed to pay them off.