For Columbus Police Officer Keith Conner, distracted driving was just a thing he would occasionally enforce — until one day about two years ago.

Twice in an eight-hour shift, Conner encountered texting drivers in near-disastrous ways. The first time involved an elderly driver trying to text on a flip phone. The man forced Conner off the road and into a bus stop.

On the same shift, Conner was nearly hit head-on by a woman who was texting while driving toward oncoming traffic.

It was a turning point for the 18 1/2-year veteran, who patrols the 3rd Precinct, which includes Clintonville and Beechwold.

"The vast majority of the public seems to be driving with their head down," Conner said.

In the two years and three months since that shift, Conner has written 605 distracted-driving citations and given more than 3,000 warnings.

>>VIDEO: Watch dashcam footage of Officer Keith Conner citing someone for texting and driving

That's the most distracted-driving citations and warnings of any police officer in any agency in the state, according to the Columbus Division of Police. And he probably will keep the title, as he and five other officers and a sergeant are working solely as distracted-driving enforcers in September — Safe Driving Awareness Month.

The enforcement is focused on Zone 4, which encompasses the northern and northwestern parts of the city, including Clintonville and the Ohio State University area.

In the first two weeks of September, the seven officers issued 170 citations and gave 105 warnings.

"It's almost an epidemic," Conner said. "I'm seeing this eight hours a day, and I'm sick of seeing people driving with their heads down."

In 2017, nearly 14,000 crashes statewide involved a reported distraction, including 51 fatal crashes, an increase of 96 percent from 2016, according to the State Highway Patrol.

Patrol Lt. Robert Sellers said distracted driving is an increasing problem that cannot be solved through safety improvements in vehicles or the engineering of roads.

"Distracted driving is one of the most selfish activities someone can engage in," he said. "It affects more people than just the person driving distracted."

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Other drivers, road-construction workers and emergency personnel also could be at risk, as could a distracted driver's passengers.

Conner said he stopped a bus driver who had been texting while transporting six special-needs students. He also stopped an ambulance driver taking an elderly patient to a doctor's appointment.

Of the past 100 citations that Conner has issued, 26 people were texting, 11 were checking their email, 13 were using the internet in another way, seven were playing games, and four were watching live television on their mobile device.

The largest group, 39 people, were checking their Facebook accounts, Conner said.

"It absolutely dropped my jaw," he said. "You can see your friend's honeymoon photos later. It's not worth killing people over."

Driving while texting or being otherwise distracted is a secondary violation in Ohio, meaning that a law-enforcement officer must witness another traffic violation before pulling a driver over. However, it is a primary violation in Columbus.

Even something as simple as having directions on a cellphone that is not mounted is technically considered a violation of the law because it involves the internet.

And using a cellphone while at a traffic light or stop sign is a violation of the law, too.

The only legal way to use a cellphone for anything other than making or receiving a call while driving is for the vehicle to be off the road and the car to be in "park," Conner said.

Drivers occasionally disagree with Conner's take on the law, but he provides each person he cites or warns with a printout of the city's ordinance and underlines the relevant parts. And he has a 99.5 percent conviction rate for the tickets he writes.

Conner has seen more than just texting distract drivers. He has caught a woman shopping for shoes on Amazon, a woman with a laptop playing an online version of a game while driving, and a motorcyclist texting.

"To me, it's just plastic," Conner said of a phone. "Put it down and drive the 4,000-pound vehicle."

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner