I got pulled over by the police Friday Night ...

[Guest]

[rant]

I did not get out of work until about 10:30 PM Friday night and proceeded to head directly home. It was overcast and rainy - T.S. Barry was pushing plenty of rainy weather my way. As I drove down the street that I live on (rural, paved, two lanes only), I saw a Sheriff's Car in the opposite lane of traffic slow as he passed me than bang a sharp u-turn in the middle of the road. I am thinking .. wtf??!! I am not doing anything even remotely out of the ordinary and my speed is EXACTLY at the limit 35 MPH.

So I pass by my house seeing the he has accelerated to catch to me, so I pull out of his way into a public lot in case I am not the object of his pursuit. The police car proceeds to pull in behind me and turn on his lights. He places the spot light on my car and walks up asking the standard "gimme your license/registration." while starting up a session of 50 questions like: where are you from, where are you going, what business do you have out here .. that kinda shizit. Finally, after like 15 minutes he finally asks me, "Do you know why I pulled you over?"

One of my front headlights was out. :blink: I got read the riot act because I had a headlight out :mail-296:

[/rant]

I guess I can't bitch too bad, at the end of it he told me to get it fixed and didn't write me a ticket.

I respect all men and women in uniform, but enough of the macho bull@#$% lease:

JR

 

[MetroRAFB]

I feel your pain, but I bet at least half the time he does that he gets a nice juicy arrest out of the deal. Some crackhead with a warrant, some illegal allien with no ID or licence, or maybe a DUI. Sucks that it happened to you though after a long day at the office.

 

[Dleg]

I agree JR. There is absolutely no reason to pull the law-enforcer interrogation **** until you have a reason. It doesn't take a genius to know that many people with a broken headlight don't yet realize it.

But at least he let you go with only a warning, so he's probably a decent guy. Maybe just in need of some perspective.

 

[Road Guy]

every time I hear a cop give the tough guy angle I lose more and more respect for them.

they are 10 X as bad, for most of the things they pull people over for, speeding, running stop signs, failure to yield, etc.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I feel your pain, but I bet at least half the time he does that he gets a nice juicy arrest out of the deal. Some crackhead with a warrant, some illegal allien with no ID or licence, or maybe a DUI.

I hear that. It seems like that's how half the arrests on COPS usually start.

Guy gets pulled over for a busted tail light and ends up carrying a loaded gun and 2 bags of crack.

 

[MA_PE]

the whole "pull someone over for a minor infraction" like headlight out, expired inspection sticker, tail light out, failure to have a 3-second stop ata remote stop sign, etc. thing is a gray area. None of these infractions pose a threat to society as we know it, they are revenue generators. Although they deny it, officiers are also expected to write X amount of tickets for similar infractions to keep the revenue going and to demonstrate to the community that the officers are doing thier job and not just scarfing donuts. It always sux when we are the "victim" bnut there is some peace of mind that they're on patrol and will stop a "suspicious" vehicle in the neighborhood.

As educated professionals we also feel that it's only right that when we are pulled over, the officer immediately identify the reason he stopped us and proceeed from there. This inquisition followed by "do you know why I stopped you?" is for the birds. Again it sux when you're on the receiving end but I guees they're trained that way because the tatics work.

I lived in a pretty large condo complex and was sitting in my car in the parking lot (daylight, mid-morning, parked, engine off) looking at some paperwork when two officers approached (one on either side of the car) and asked me for my license and reg. I said "Why?" He empahatically repeated the request, so as I got them, I said "All I asked is why you need to see them?" When he saw my address (the building behind him) he said there were reports of someone in a similar car stealing something or other (probably complete BS) and he proceeded to lecture me on how I should never question an officier when he asks for license and registration and just provide them, blah, blah, what a dick.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I spoke to my Dad the other day. My folks live by a town public park/lake and my Dad is on the park commission. They wanted to install some new park benches there. They laid out the benches, and my Dad was going to swing by and check the locations before they installed them permanently.

So he does a drive by of the park road (how long does it take to look at a bench?) and leaves. Immediately gets pulled over and asked why he drove in/out so quickly. Like this 60 year old guy is off to make a crack deal at 9 AM or something. What a crock.

 

[MetroRAFB]

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I used to have that poster.

 

[MetroRAFB]

 

[DVINNY]

to quote Whitney Houston "CRACK IS WHACK!"

 

[MA_PE]

to quote Whitney Houston "CRACK IS WHACK!"

And she oughta know. she does the crack and then Bobby goes {Whack} upside her haid

 

[MetroRAFB]

 

[Mike1144]

I tried to fight a ticket once and discovered the entire judicial system is full of bullies!

Getting on the interstate this cop was tailgating me real bad. He got caught behind some slow traffic and I got way ahead of him. Few miles later he pulled me over for driving in the left lane. There were signs saying "Left lane for passing only". I was doing 72 in a 65. I told him I was trying to pass a van in the center lane. He said, and I quote, "Not in this car you weren't." Insults my 4 cylinder car! I had never gotten pulled over before, so I didn't realize you shouldn't challenge a cop too much. He told me he had me going 72 in a 65. I asked him what speed limit he was supposed to follow? At this point he's pissed. He tell's me to sign the ticket saying I'm guilty, that he's not going to settle this here. Either he meant to say "not-guilty" or I heard him wrong. But now I'm not going to sign it, cause I didn't do what he says I did. He yanks open my door and says "Thats it, you're going to jail." SO I sign the ticket, and I leave.

Weeks later I'm at the courthouse, expecting to stand before a judge and explain my side. Nope, I was just able to schedule a time to fight the ticket. Weeks later I'm in a courtroom with a bunch of people who got caught driving with out insurance. The prosecutor is accepting pleas. He drops the driving with out insurance, they pay the speeding fine, and get 6 months probation. 15 in a row do this. The judge is sitting there bored chatting with her buddy. When its my turn they offer me a $100 fine, and 6 months probation. So I ask what the original fine is, $115. I say screw it, it'll be worth $15 to fight it. I pass on his plea deal. I get in front of the judge, and she starts reading me the riot act! "Are you prepared to take this to the next step! Are you going to hire an attorney for this! This is a book on courtroom procedure are you ready to follow this! I can fine you up to $285 plus court costs!". I interrupt at this point. I tell her the prosecutor said the fine was $115. She tells me it starts at $115. I tell her I want his offer then. I run to the hall to find him, entered a plea, and paid my $100. Buncha bullies! She actually waved a book at me!

 

[MA_PE]

I was doing 72 in a 65. I told him I was trying to pass a van in the center lane.

Passing doesn't give you an excuse for speeding. you can be doing 150 mph and passing everything in sight. You said you were doing 72 in a 65. Although it's not excessive it IS above the limit. Guilty. pay the fine and move on.

What I don't understand is the "probation" here. You got a speeding ticket. Pay the fine. done deal.

Like I said above, a lot of cops are very good at explaining anything. They assume that everyone knows what's going on and have little patience for any questions. You learned the hard way, (unless you want some grief or are really getting abused) it's best not to question his authority or call the officer on something illegal that he was doing. Even though you may be right, they do have the ability to cause you a lot of unecessary hassle and many of them are just spiteful enough to do it.

Same goes for every level of the judicial system.

A classic is how a friend of mine told me how great is was that his state cop brother grabbed a young kid testing out his new Mustang at 100+ and arrested him, impounded the car, etc. etc. In the same breath he told me how great it was for the same cop to wind his off-duty car up to about the same speed and when he got pulled over, flashed his badge and got a "have a nice day". Such is human nature and the "buddy system"/"brotherhood".

 

[Mike1144]

I wasn't 100% innocent. I just wasn't breaking the rule he said I broke. He didn't write me up for speeding. He wrote me up for getting in his way. He wanted to cruise the public roads at 80mph, and expects me to do 55mph behind a gravel truck. My ticket said "Disregard left lane passing only". If he wrote me up for speeding I wouldn't have had an argument.

The probation period basically means if you don't get another ticket in 6 months, your record is cleaned. In the end, I got off cheap and learned to keep my mouth shut.

On a side note, my sister got pulled over in Boston for making a left turn on red onto a one way street. The cop said you can't do that, she said you can. He radioed in and found out you can. He apologized and let her go.

 

[Dleg]

What really pisses me off about your story, Mike, is the judge :asthanos: . That is why I continue to say that one of these days I am going to run for King of America :true: , so I can change the system. I think courts should operate more like in ancient Greece - where they are presided over by rotating, appointed "citizens" and other citzens represent themselves. At the very least, this should apply for misdemeanors and such. But unfortunately the legal profession has hijacked the system for their own profit, and has no intention of letting go. And guess what? For the most part, they make the rules.

Now, I suppose you could say that about us engineers, but I think it is totally different - we are desiging and building things that have a direct impact on public health and safety. The same can certainly not be said of the legal community, as a whole. At least not related to deciding on traffic court cases.

 

[frazil]

Dleg for King!!! :asthanos:

 

[Dark Knight]

While I feel for all the good people who get harsh words from law enforcement, when they really haven't been any real threat to society, I just have to stick up for the cops. These people place their personal safety at risk by the simple fact that they wear a uniform and carry a badge. There are people in the world who would shoot a police officer simply because he is a police officer. I don't see anything wrong with the cops being aggressive, it keeps them alive. If a few good people happen to get their feelings hurt, or their pride stepped on, so what. My opinion, grow the **** up and get the **** over it, at least you only have to deal with one ass hole, the police have to deal with every wannabe gangster thug that was able to grab a pistol and a 40, and sell a couple ounces of pot. No offense, but suck it up.

You are right Sapper. It is also true that all jobs are not suited for everybody. The police officers they do the job they are capable to do and for what they were trained. Beside that, shoudl they be smart then they would be engineers and then posting here.

 

[Mike1144]

Beside that, shoudl they be smart then they would be engineers and then posting here.

That might be a bit harsh.

I only have a problem when the authority they are granted is abused. Cops that drive like they own the road pisses me off. If they got an emergency, turn on the lights and I'll get out of the way, cause someday they may be in a hurry to help me. That judge pissed me off worse then the cop. She didn't do a **** thing for 45 minutes. Then instead of being even the slightest bit helpful, scolds me like I had no business being in her court room. Since when do you need a law degree to present your side in a traffic ticket?

I'll make sure the next time a contractor asks for help in selecting a part, I tell him to call the undergraduate admissions department and ask about an engineering degree. Then I'll act pissed off cause he made me lose at minesweeper.