Odd Cop Stop. Thoughts from Lets Runners?

Crocodile Lover wrote:

Dude, you we’re wearing crocs. Clearly he was making a move on you and you are too pre-occupied with yourself and didn’t notice. Stop giving off gay vibes if you don’t want to be hit on by cops.

Wearing crocs is like getting a BJ from a guy. Feels really good. Really comfortable. But then you look down and realize you’re gay.

Here’s the deal: most cops are professional, but like any other occupation, they have their poor performers. Some are just jerks or like exerting the power. I was once pulled over for going 59 on a freeway where the limit was 55, and got screamed at for two minutes by the cop when I said, “Seriously, you pulled me for going four over?” I just let him rant and in the end he let me off with a warning after I swallowed my pride and apologized.

Some are going through divorces, their dogs get hit by cars, and their kids have trouble in school. Just like the rest of us. Some are just having a bad day, and some are true bad apples. Best advice is to be polite, use “sir” or “ma’am” a lot, answer the questions and do what they tell you. Don’t smart off, start talking about your rights, or telling them you’re going to video the conversation. Yes, it feels like groveling sometimes, but you aren’t going to do anything but mess up your life if things start spinning out of control. Nobody ever said life was fair.

Yeah, it seems likely that if the OP had answered the officer's questions and provided any requested documentation, he would have been on his way in about 10 minutes and without any tickets. Instead, he brought in a lot of drama and escalated the situation.

Internet quarterback strikes again. The burden is on the poor guy driving after an accident at home at 3AM to act PERFECTLY to not irk the cop... even a little? The cop of has ALL the power here and should act to descalate these situations, not needle the victim into making a minor misstep. OP you did nothing wrong, the insurance ticket will get thrown out and you can likely get the obstructed view ticket as well. The speed one is tougher but if you're going to contest the other two, might as well try.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

Yeah, it seems likely that if the OP had answered the officer's questions and provided any requested documentation, he would have been on his way in about 10 minutes and without any tickets. Instead, he brought in a lot of drama and escalated the situation.

He was definitely trying to make it seems like you were refusing ALL tests, which would be grounds for arrest. If I am not mistaken, you do not have to perform the field sobriety tests and can ask to skip straight to the breathalizer. That is why he asked if you were refusing ALL tests, which he would claim included the breathalizer even if you were only responding about the field sobriety tests.

And for those who blindly back the police officer, shame on you!

Following up because I say a video today that reminded me of this.

Classic cop tactic: give the detainee ambiguous instructions (e.g. "keep your hands on the wheel" followed 2 min later by "hand me your license"). It's easy to escalate things and aggressively arrest someone for "violating lawful orders" if you put the poor person in zugzwang. The best part is that cops are trained to put people in situations like this. Policing in America is broken and needs to to rebuilt from the bottom up.

Thought #1 - you are incredibly long-winded. If you were that long-winded with the cop, you annoyed and frustrated him at 3am.

Thought #2 - according to my cop friends, driving slowly (well under the speed limit) is a good way to get pulled over for suspicion of drunk driving. Lots of drunk drivers drive very slowly at 3am to avoid breaking any laws (although they are by driving too far under).

Thought #3 - To all the "police are out to get you, man" people... give me a break. In my long driving career (all over the country), I've been pulled over a dozen or more times, resulting in 4 tickets and a couple of warnings. I've been pulled over by sheriffs, state patrol, local yokel small town cops, and big city cops. And, while there have been some rude ones along the way, they were are doing their job, they did it well and I was able to move along relatively quickly.

This whole victimhood stuff needs to stop. Good grief. Have your documentation readily available for law enforcement, speak respectfully and keep it brief and simple. It ain't that hard.

Finally, enough with the excuses. It doesn't matter what your excuse is if you broke a law - even if it's 1 mph over the speed limit. Just get on with it; no need to go apes--- to protest and have a conniption.

Really nothing to see here other than a klutz who loves to get the last word in and complain and over explain everything.

Stop voting too.

So cops can hold all the cards AND be assh*les with zero accountability. If policing was a private business most of these guys would be fired for just being ****heads within a month. Sure we can shut up and accept it but why should we have to put up with such nonsense. If your daughter got groped by a cop I'm sure you'd be asking "well... did you have your registration readily available sweetie :)"

Lame post. Nobody said "out to get you". OP said he was worried and his mind was racing after the cop screamed at him. You hear stories, see videos about cops abusing their power all the time. OP said he was driving just under at night on a turn and didnt know what the cop was doing behind him. OP called the cop "sir", followed directions and had his documentation. Plus he gave the other cop credit for being nice. OP doesn't sound anti-cop. If the story's true, who cares if it's long-winded. Story sounds legit. Cop sounds shady AF.

If you're so anti-excuse, stop making them for cops. 1 MPH over? GTFO of here. Anybody who says they would happily take a speeding ticket for going 46 in a 45 is a liar or a tool. Cop shouldnt just give a guy tickets for a guy frustrating him. If someone treats you like trash, you're not a weak victim if you call them on it. Obv don't flip out on a cop. Thats dumb, but your philosophy of just taking it from a cop after the fact with a smile, "they were just doing their jobs and did it well even if they were rude and I was going one mile over " is beyond weak.

Roll over. Sit. Stay. Good dog.

And stop voting? No surprise. You sound exactly like someone who doesn't want people to vote.

Jf98765 wrote:

Lawyer here. Your license would be gone under implied consent if you refused. Suspended or the penalty greatly exacerbated by so doing (or not). He can probably stop and ask questions but he shouldn’t have taken his anger at not pr’g out On you.

You should stick to practicing in the state where you are licensed and familiar with the laws because this would be horrible advice in my state. You do not have to comply with the field sobriety test. You do not have to take the roadside breathalyzer. Neither of these will result in any legal or administrative sanction (such as loss of license). Implied consent only kicks in at the point the police officer has taken you down to the station for the breathalyzer test there. Of course refusing the field sobriety or roadside breathalyzer may prolong your inconvenience and make it more likely you will be taken to the station, but it also places the burden on the officer to develop probably cause without you volunteering anything.

Of course it is up to the driver to know what the law and his rights are in his state. The police officer is not going to volunteer to respect your rights or educate you on what those are.

Licketysplit wrote:

And let's all bear in mind while reading OPs story that this cop probably has a 12th grade education (so like 9th grade reading comprehension level - local PDs have no standards) and couldn't break 30 minutes in a 5k even if he was chasing a donut down a mountain.

Ticket dismissed at pre-trial conference and you're not far off with the reading comprehension thing, as it turns out.

DA assistant (or whatever title is) offered reduced, no points non-moving violation with $150 fine. I thanked them, said I appreciate the offer but was hoping to to request dismissal of charges today. The cop wrote ticket for citation for statute that didn't apply on the type of road this happened on. He didn't read other statutes that statute referred to. Had he done so would have let him know, that statute only applied to controlled access highways i.e. freeways/interstates.

Judge and DA assistant exchanged looks of "WTF" and asked me "who wrote this?", "where did this happen?". I told them the stop was actually only 300 ft (not a full tenth of a mile as I thought) inside the 55 MPH zone on a state road, not on a controlled access highway, the DA assistant shook his head in disbelief and judge, with DA assistant blessing, dismissed it out right. No trial. No need to even bring anything up about spotlight. The whole thing was done in two minutes.