Pull your busted ass vehicle over!

[whipped]

I had to pick up my brother.....

Driving down this 4 lane (2 each way) highway, speed limit is 45. I'm going 50-2ish. Normally people drive 55-60 here but I KNOW there are always cops here, so I try not to speed if I can avoid it. The road is a giant speed trap.

I'm driving along, minding my own business when I pass a parked car on the left shoulder with no lights on. I knew it was a cop. I let my foot off the accelerator and slowed down to 47mph. He turns on his headlights and pulls onto the road. I thought, "man, I bet he's going to go after that truck ahead of me, he must be going 55...."

Cop's in the left lane speeding to catch up, I'm in the right lane. He comes about 2 car lengths behind me and then pulls into my lane. I'm thinking, "shit...." He gets closer and closer, and must be less than a car's length behind me, going 45. He turns on his brights. I'm blinded, trying to stay on the road.... He follows me for about half a mile and then lights up his cherries. "Dammit."

All of the lights make it incredibly hard to see anything, but somehow I manage to pull into a walgreens parking lot, although I went in the "exit" way. Oops. I put it in park, roll down the window and put my hands on the wheel. (Being black*, I know you get shot in the face if you don't.)

He surprises me by walking up on the other side.

"How are you?"
"Good afternoon." (it's 9pm... shit, can't take it back)
"License and registration please."
...hand it to him...
"Okay, give me a sec."
.....
2 minutes go by
.....
"Do you have any weapons, guns, drugs or contraband in the vehicle?"
"No sir."
"Would you mind if I searched your vehicle?"
...........
At this point, a thought flashed in my head of DiggityBiggity's post about "know your rights", where you exit the car and lock the doors.... I don't dare do this, because I know whatever reason he stopped me for, I'd get a ticket.
..........
"Ummm... yeah, sure, go ahead."
"Please exit the vehicle. Do you have any weapons on your person?"
"No."
"I'm going to pat you down."
...Another squad car pulls up...
"Please step to the front of my car and wait there"

...Searching...

...2 minutes later....

"Okay sir, I didn't find anything. You seemed a little nervous to me when you said 'afternoon'... However, your license plate light is out. I won't write you a ticket, but I expect you to replace it. Good night...."

:scratch:

THAT was fun.



*Okay I'm white.

[Shaun41178(2)]

I would have said no to the search.

Nervous that you said afternoon? Hahaa yea ok. WTF everyone is nervous when they get pulled over by the police. Well I guess 99%. I don't really get nervous, because I went through all the schooling that the cops go through so I know what I can and can't do.

Its not like the cop pulled you over because he thought you were nervous. His excuse was that your plate light was out. Like he could possibly see that sitting on the side of the road with a car driving by at 50 mph.

Thats why he trailed you. He was looking for any reason to pull you over. He found the plate light which gave him probably cause. If it wasn't the plate light, then he probably would have said that he saw you swerving in the lane. Thats always what they use when they really have nothing else.

But I guess swerving should be ok when he is on your ass with the brights on.

[whipped]

If I said no to the search, he probably would have gave me a ticket, to stick it to me... But I wonder how much the ticket would have been?

[Starlite528]

Probably like, 14 dollars.

[Shaun41178(2)]

yea plate light out would have been a fix it ticket. Not much. If you get it fixed and have a different officer right it off as being fixed, you pay like $8 or something stupid like that at the courthouse.

[DiggityBiggity]

Total abuse of rights... that shit sucks... welcome to the new America. At least he didn't plant anything in your car.

[stimpy]

Should have made him convince a judge that a nervous hello and a burnt bulb is probable cause for a search warrant. Fucking gestapo.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Early Fieros have a lot of nose lift/dive. He probably saw your headlights dip and thought that you were speeding and you'd gotten on the brakes.

Cops forget that the badge is a mark of public service, not a license to be a jackass. Their number one tactic is to establish social dominance through intimidation. If you don't allow yourself to be intimidated, you deprive him of his ability to control his interaction with you. Don't be rude, but do stand up for yourself.

After all, what's the worst he could have done? Given you a ticket for 7 over? That's a waste of a judge's time and judges don't like having their time wasted.

Something I just thought of that I need to do...
Take a buddy out to a sparse parking lot at night and have him pull his car behind yours about as far away as the cop was from you and turn his brights on. Adjust your mirror so that his headlights are shining right back in his eyes. Have him back up until he's not getting blinded anymore. Find a spot for the mirror that doesn't blind him when he's at a safe following distance, but does when he's right on your bumper. Note what you see in the mirror, and put a mark on your rear glass to center in the mirror if you have to.
If a cop does that again, point your mirror at the mark. Once you've pulled over, if he asks you why you did that, ask him what you're supposed to do when someone pulls up 6 feet off your bumper and turns on his brights. Until his reds/blues are on, he doesn't get to do anything that any other driver wouldn't be allowed to do.
If he gives you shit, whip out the cell and call his dispatcher. Tell the dispatcher that officer so-and-so is being rude and unpleasant. More than one cop has earned himself an ass-chewing because the person he was a dick to had a cell and knew how to use it.

Basically, don't worry about the ticket.
Don't be rude or uncooperative.
DO stand up for yourself and your rights.
DO call him on his bullshit so that he doesn't get away with being a dick to you.

Shaun, how did you get the training you mentioned? Did you want to be a cop in a previous life?

[Kohburn]

how are you supposed to know the dispatchers number?

[Mach10]

Call 911 and ask to be transfered to "Gary." :salute:

[The Dark Side of Will]

Call 911 and ask to be transferred (don't know if that will work)

If you do a little preparation, you can find the local station's numbers and program them into your phone ahead of time.

[stimpy]

I called the watch commander after my adventure with the Monterey County Sheriff's Dept tailgating me to give me a ticket for 5 over. They came back saying that he needed to be that close to me on the freeway to read my plates. Never mind that he probably couldn't see my plates when he was that close, and never mind that he was behind my car for a whole cycle of a red light before hand. It's bullshit. Next time I'll pull over and get out before they have a chance to light me up.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Just play their game by your rules. Feed them their own bullshit right back. The officer was tailing you for 5 over because 5 over is speeding and speeding just isn't safe and endagers everyone on the highway, dontcha know? Just tell them that the police officer following you that close isn't safe and made you feel endangered.

Same goes for whipped. If the cop ten feet off your bumper with his brights and red/blues on was on the verge of disorienting you or impairing your visibility, you could raise a serious stink at the station for endangering you or almost causing you to be in an accident... for having your license plate light out.

Seriously... don't let these guys get away with their bullshit. They'll only stop when people stop putting up with their shit.

[Shaun41178(2)]

Shaun, how did you get the training you mentioned? Did you want to be a cop in a previous life?

Yup.

[V8Mikie]

Seriously... don't let these guys get away with their bullshit. They'll only stop when people stop putting up with their shit.

Bingo! Not nearly enough people complain about these dick heads that work for US not the other way around. If more people complained things would get done but people have the "well thats how cops are" attitude. Fuck that.

Cops in Baltimore City are/were abusing the hell out of the overtime system costing the city like 30 million dollars a year yet we are on pace for over 300 murders and we are the second most dangerous city in the nation. To top it off they are so corrupt they gave some guy a full pension who transferred out of the department into another department even though he wasn't entitled to it. What a joke. Know what their answer is? Speeding cameras! To go along with their 300 red light cameras! It never ends...

[The Dark Side of Will]

And politicians will give cops almost anything they ask for because supporting the police is politically favorable (easily spun to be seen in a good light).

[BigRedDeckSpoiler]

Shaun, how did you get the training you mentioned? Did you want to be a cop in a previous life?

Yup.

Do you stalk them for not hiring you like you do R. Chee?

[The Dark Side of Will]

Something else that comesto mind...

If you don't mind getting your rear end a little dinged...

As he's racing up to you, pull your car down to 3rd or even 2nd and maintain speed. When he's close to settling in, lift off the gas sharply so you slow down sharply. Let him ding your rear bumper and then rake the department over the coals for unsafe driving practices, poor training, standards... and the insurance claim.

[whipped]

Something else that comesto mind...

If you don't mind getting your rear end a little dinged...

As he's racing up to you, pull your car down to 3rd or even 2nd and maintain speed. When he's close to settling in, lift off the gas sharply so you slow down sharply. Let him ding your rear bumper and then rake the department over the coals for unsafe driving practices, poor training, standards... and the insurance claim.

LOL

That kind of shit will get you tazered or maced!

:blah5:

[The Dark Side of Will]

Your brake lights never came on. You didn't hit your brakes...

The cop just misjudged your speed and his rate of closure.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.