It was supposed to be a quiet demonstration. But as the Battle Ground Police Department set up its ghost car, Officer Manny 2.0 on West Main Street Wednesday morning, the radar was already lighting up—recording multiple drivers speeding more than 8 miles per hour over the posted 40 mph limit and triggering the vehicle's flashing lights.
Moments later, a speeder traveling in the opposite direction caused a crash in the westbound construction zone near Northwest 29th Avenue, slamming into a car that had slowed as another car in front of it turned. It happened in front of both officers and reporters.
For Battle Ground Police, the incident was a real-time example of why Officer Manny 2.0 is critical—not just to slow drivers down but to gather hard data that helps officers plan smarter patrols and prevent crashes before they happen.
Officer Manny, a mannequin dressed in full police uniform and seated inside a retired patrol vehicle, is more than a roadside gimmick. As Police Chief Dennis Flynn explained, the ghost car is part of a deliberate strategy to slow drivers and collect data for targeted enforcement.
"When you see a police car parked on the side of the road, nearly everybody sees that and immediately takes their foot off the gas," Flynn said. "We put him out there, and we say that he is one of our most visible assets, but he's the cheapest to put out there because his hourly rate is so low."
First introduced a year ago as a static deterrent, Officer "Manny Kin" evolved into "Manny 2.0" this spring. Thanks to upgrades led by city fleet services, the car now includes a repurposed radar unit, low-voltage wiring, and red-blue emergency lights that activate for two seconds anytime a vehicle exceeds a set speed, typically eight mph over the posted limit.
"When a passing vehicle was exceeding that eight miles an hour... it would activate the emergency equipment," Flynn said. "They would see the vehicle... the overhead lights would come on as an additional warning and get them to reduce their speed."
Each time the radar is triggered, the system logs a violation, creating a dataset BGPD can use to evaluate problem areas. The department routinely deploys a secondary radar tracker before and after placing Manny to measure impact for designated areas.
"We had almost a 40 percent decrease in the number of speeding vehicles when compared to pre-ghost car or pre-Manny 2.0 deployment," Flynn said.
The department uses traffic data to place Manny strategically and often rotates the car's location every 24 to 48 hours to avoid predictability.
"There's a lot of value in surprising speeders," Flynn said. "Sometimes we pull Manny and replace him with a real officer—if someone's not paying attention, they're getting a ticket."
That element of unpredictability, combined with hard data on traffic patterns and violations, allows BGPD to target high-risk areas. And right now, Main Street is one of them.
Officer Manny highlights traffic safety concerns on Main Street
To demonstrate Manny's ability to detect speeding vehicles, Flynn took The Reflector to West Main Street Wednesday morning, just west of the Albertsons commercial area. While reporters and police were on the scene, a vehicle speeding into the westbound construction zone on State Route 502 near Northwest 29th Avenue rear-ended another vehicle that was slowing as another car in front of it turned.
Officers said the at-fault driver was traveling well above the posted 40-miles-per-hour limit as they entered the narrowed roadway, where one lane was already blocked due to construction.
On Friday, June 13, around 6 a.m., a separate single-vehicle crash occurred nearby, this time eastbound approaching Northwest 20th Avenue. Police say the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel. A utility pole was damaged, temporarily cutting power to nearby businesses. Public Works and Clark Public Utilities responded to the scene to assist the driver and repair the damage.
Business owners near the original crash site say traffic conditions have been worsening for years.
"I feel like people just fly through here," Jessica Dylan, a barber at Chop Shop, located just east of Wednesday's crash, said. "The minute somebody sees a cop car, they instantly slow down."
Dylan said visibility is also a problem.
"There are bushes out by the front—you can't see. I won't even go out that way anymore. I go over to the light through the Albertson's parking lot."
Dylan said the ghost car's presence is having a visible effect.
"Absolutely, yeah. I've seen other drivers slow down," she said. "Everybody needs to slow down, and we need that reminder."
Shop owner Vanessa Free, who has operated the salon for 15 years, said Main Street traffic has become chaotic over the years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
"People pull out in front of each other… it's a nightmare going both ways," Free said. "The amount of accidents that have happened over the last couple of years is incredibly insane."
Free supports the use of Officer Manny and wants to see more consistent enforcement citywide.
"I think it makes a difference—for people to hopefully slow down," she said. "We need more of a police presence in general."
For people like Free, programs like Officer Manny are vital for a department still operating with limited staffing. Flynn has requested that the City Council allocate three additional officers, citing that ghost cars help stretch existing resources.
"It is absolutely a force multiplier," he said. "We only have so many police officers that we can put out there. By having Manny 2.0, we can deploy him out there, get the effect we're trying to achieve of slowing people down."
If approved, the additional officers would enable a new patrol schedule with increased coverage during peak hours, when most traffic violations and crashes occur, and fewer officers assigned during overnight periods. Officer Manny would continue monitoring high-risk zones during those low-staffing windows.
For Flynn, the ghost car has become a symbol of smart policing and community engagement. But its deployment on Main Street this week is also a reminder: traffic safety in Battle Ground is an active concern.
"We've had more than our fair share of serious and fatal accidents," Flynn said, referring to previous incidents on Main Street. "By using this technology with Manny 2.0, it's just going to further us in trying to achieve the goal that we've set for ourselves."
As of press time, Officer Manny remained stationed along West Main Street, continuing to track speed violations just feet from where the Wednesday crash took place.
