With a unanimous vote, the Glendale City Council passed an ordinance that banned texting while driving.

On Tuesday, the West Valley city joined several other Maricopa County governments that put distracted-driving measures into place. Other cities with some type of law against drivers using mobile devices when behind the wheel include Fountain Hills, Phoenix, Tempe, Surprise and El Mirage. 

The ban will officially go into place on Feb. 7.

Drivers calling emergency services or first responders, a hospital or doctor will be exempt from fines, which starts at $250 for a first offense.

The same day that Glendale passed the ban, a Salt River police officer was killed during a traffic stop on a Phoenix-area freeway after being struck by a man who admitted he was texting. 

Officer Clayton Townsend had pulled over another driver on Loop 101 near McDowell Road when he was hit.

Townsend, a husband and new father, died at a hospital.

“We are all mourning the tragic death of Officer Townsend,” Glendale Police said in an email Wednesday, and would announce at a later date how it planned to enforce the texting ban.

“Distracted driving is a huge problem on highways,” Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Col. Frank Milstead said.