Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie paid overdue court fines for a red-light camera violation just hours after a reporter
inquired about the suspension of his driver’s license.
Court records confirm that Battie’s license was suspended on November 13th by officials of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court due to his failure to complete required payments stemming from a March red-light camera citation. The court had notified Battie of the overdue balance multiple times in September, October, and early November.
The suspension was directly related to a payment plan Battie signed on July 25th, agreeing to pay a total of $239 (plus fees) to resolve the March violation that occurred at the intersection of Bahia Vista Street and South Tuttle Avenue. Despite making a partial payment in July, records show he owed $246 by the November 13th deadline.
Upon contact from the News Leader on November 25th regarding the suspension, court records show Battie immediately paid the outstanding $246 that afternoon. The court docket was subsequently updated with a time-stamped filing noting, “Driver’s License Suspension Cleared/Court Cleared.”
History of License Issues
A review of court documents shows that the recent red-light incident is not the first time Commissioner Battie has faced issues related to traffic violations and license status.
Court records reflect four previous citations charging Battie with unknowingly driving while his license was suspended, canceled, or revoked, dating back to 2012. In the most recent prior case in 2021, Battie was cited for both speeding (42 mph in a 20 mph zone) and driving with a suspended license. As in the current case, his license was suspended in April 2022 after he missed a final payment deadline for those citations, though the license was restored two months later upon full payment.
In a 2018 case where he was cited for unknowingly driving with a suspended license, Battie successfully had his conviction amended to a “withhold of adjudication” in 2022. This legal maneuver was necessary after the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles classified him as a Habitual Traffic Offender due to the conviction, resulting in a five-year suspension. The amendment ultimately lifted that lengthy suspension.
