SAN DIEGO -- Red light cameras in the city have been turned off while a judge decides whether they were being used properly, but in the meantime police officers are stepping in as substitutes.

At Murphy Canyon Road and Aero Drive, officers worked in tandem Friday to catch motorists running the red light.

One officer watched the intersection and then radioed others when a motorist failed to stop. Drivers were pulled into a parking lot where they were issued a ticket.

"If I broke the law, I have no problem getting a ticket for it," one driver told 10News.

Another motorist did not take it so well. "It just doesn't seem fair to have a police officer hiding off to the side, and a whole bunch waiting around to pull cars over," the man said. "It just seems suspicious in light of what's going on in the court proceedings."

The man, who did not want to be identified, said that he believes the city is getting desperate and is trying to use officers to prove that the cameras are needed.

A judge is considering whether the cameras were set up for the purpose of making money.

Officers said that Friday's stops were for public safety.

"The red light enforcement cameras had a deterrent factor. People knew the camera was there and it never sleeps," San Diego Police Sgt. Jorge Leon (pictured, above) said.

Now that the cameras are off, people think that they don't have to be as careful to stop at red lights, Leon said. Friday's operation was to let people know, "We're still watching the intersections," he said.

Police said that they picked this intersection after getting many complaints from people. They said that they will continue to do this in coming months at many intersections, not just the ones with cameras.