Nobody likes getting a traffic ticket.

But let’s say the officer writing the citation is rude, cops an attitude or does something you don’t understand.

Then it can be doubly frustrating.

That’s when it might be time to call Gene Adolph.

“If you were disrespected by somebody, wouldn’t you like to be able to say to that person, ‘Look, this is the way I feel, this is what concerns me,’ and then listen to their response? That’s what we provide here,” Adolph said.

Adolph doesn’t work for a private company, and he’s not a consultant.

He’s one of several officers working in a little-known HPD department called ADR – the Alternative Dispute Resolution program.

“People sit across the table and look each other eyeball to eyeball, nose to nose. This is basic communication,” Adolph said.

You read it right – you can meet and talk with the officer you had an issue with, up close and personal.

The program isn’t for criminal complaints, and it’s strictly confidential.

It’s also successful. 

In fact, the department called 11 News and wanted us to tell you about it.

“I think it really satisfies people. They get a chance to come in and express their concerns to the person that they had a problem with … They can vent,” Adolph said.

Most of the issues that come up are just basic misunderstandings.

Once, a driver stopped in traffic felt threatened when an officer approached the car with his hand on his gun.

The driver was mad, until he learned through mediation that’s what the officer is required to do.

HPD conducts two to three citizen-employee mediations a month. 

If you have an issue, you can go to any HPD substation or the downtown headquarters and make a report.