Don't talk to the police

[Xerrot]

Question! So last night I got stopped for speeding (ticket says 85 in 55 highway), changing lanes without signal and not having the newest car license with me on the spot. So I went to Google to see what I could do to get out of that $200 speeding fine and found that I should go to court and ask for this:

a.Copies of manufacturers names, including makes, models and serial numbers of all radar/laser guns in use by the Town/City/State Police Department.

b. Copies of manufacturers recommended maintenance for all of the above stated radar guns.

c. Copies of any manufacturer literature as it relates to the correct use, including but not limited to mounting, aiming, weather and traffic limitations, for all radar guns in use by the Town/City/State Police Department.

d. A copy of the past six months' maintenance records for all of the above stated radar guns, including, but not limited to, calibration specifications.

e. A copy of the Authorized Certification of Training, issued to the Officer who gave you the ticket, in the proper use of all radar guns in use by that Town/City/State Police Department he/she works for.

Seems fair, if he cannot bring all that info (which I'm 100% sure he can't), I can make a case that the radar wasn't correctly calibrated and/or the cop didn't meet the requirements to operate the radar. Better yet if he doesn't shows up.

Think I might be able to pull this off?

P.D. I got pulled over at 3am in the highway - the thing is almost fucking empty and he appeared from the nowhere behind me.

[Erumaron]

Originally Posted by Dr.Knockers

Preach it. Got stopped turning into my friends neighborhood just this weekend driving home from downtown Miami. I was the DD and it wasn't my car, so no chance I was taking a chance on speeding, seat belts, or anything that could get us in trouble. We get stopped at around 3am and then the bullshit begins.

I can immediately tell he was hoping for some blatantly drunk fuckwit; Unfortunatly, I was completely sober (yeah completely - loosing the rock,paper,scissors with my friends means your ass isn't drinking AT ALL) so he was shit out of luck. The guy goes back to his car and starts fishing for something - anything - to legitimize this stop. When he comes back he hits me with the "Move Over Law".

The law basically says a driver needs to move over a lane from an emergency situation. Apparently my cop thought 'emergency situation' meant stopped cop car with lights off hoping for DUIs. Never mind the fact that I was making a right turn, and he happened to be stopped off in the grass to the right. He tells me the proper procedure would have been to turn from the middle lane, and at this point I give up because it's late and I know I'm not winning. So he hands me my 200$ ticket and we go about our merry way.

Go cops!

Holy shit that's fucking retarded. What a douche.

[Arbitrary]

I'd go to court over it.

[Hachima]

Originally Posted by Dr.Knockers

Preach it. Got stopped turning into my friends neighborhood just this weekend driving home from downtown Miami. I was the DD and it wasn't my car, so no chance I was taking a chance on speeding, seat belts, or anything that could get us in trouble. We get stopped at around 3am and then the bullshit begins.

I can immediately tell he was hoping for some blatantly drunk fuckwit; Unfortunatly, I was completely sober (yeah completely - loosing the rock,paper,scissors with my friends means your ass isn't drinking AT ALL) so he was shit out of luck. The guy goes back to his car and starts fishing for something - anything - to legitimize this stop. When he comes back he hits me with the "Move Over Law".

The law basically says a driver needs to move over a lane from an emergency situation. Apparently my cop thought 'emergency situation' meant stopped cop car with lights off hoping for DUIs. Never mind the fact that I was making a right turn, and he happened to be stopped off in the grass to the right. He tells me the proper procedure would have been to turn from the middle lane, and at this point I give up because it's late and I know I'm not winning. So he hands me my 200$ ticket and we go about our merry way.

Go cops!

If there was an emergency situation at the location, there will be a report for it that he can present to the court right? If he can't then it proves he was making crap up and you win.

[brekk]

Originally Posted by Phelps

I can't imagine why, since they are protecting people similarly to, say, firefighters.

I have the utmost respect for Firefighters.

Cops do not server and protect. If someone breaks into your car, house, etc. They'll say they can look into it , but won't ever find anything or catch anyone. Not to mention the ways they try to stretch the law.

I have been in a situation where a cop asked to take a look around my car and I told him, "No." He proceeded to try and tell me that saying, "No," gave him probable cause as I wouldn't say it unless I had something to hide. I went off on him on how that made no sense, and he was blatantly trying to ignore my rights. I told him I wanted his badge number (they are legally obligated to provide them) and he changed his tune in a hurry. If a cop tries to use the tone of a superior with scare tactics, don't back down. Make it clear you know your rights, and usually they'll back off, especially if they've already tried to pull something that would get them in trouble with a judge. ("No" being probable cause can earn a cop a citation on their record.) Its legal for them to skirt the laws, and your rights, but if they outright lie about what your rights are they are fucked.

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Originally Posted by Arbitrary

Blame for the failure of community-oriented policing programs and officer PR is not on the shoulders on the community.

Blame is fucking stupid. It always lies on both sides. Arguments usually are all about figuring out the percentages...and are always a waste of time. Zero in on the problem and fix it. If the problem is one of trust and cooperation, then both sides need to do something about it.

And considering there are no sides in this particular problem...

Victimhood is a disease that needs a vaccine.

[Arbitrary]

Last week my grandmother was walking her little rat terrier at the park adjacent to the subdivision she lives in. A pitbull/mix something got away from it's owners, ran up, and attacked her dog.

She calls my mother who drives over and the dog is moderately fucked up and then calls the police. Grandma gives a statement and there is a witness, the neighbor to the owners of the other dog. The next day both my mother and grandmother go to the police station and an officer calls the home of the other party.

The woman who picks up the phone claims that they own no dog, have never owned a dog, she accuses the officer of harassment. Oddly enough, the day before she came to my grandmother's house and told her she would pay any vet bills. Now she doesn't have a dog.

The cop goes "well, it's your word against theirs so..."

"No, it is not our word against theirs. We have a witness. She saw the whole thing and is their neighbor. She's seen them with the dog before."

"Well, I'm going to go ahead and turn this back over to the officer who filed the report."

That it. The end.

My 80 year old grandmother with high blood pressure is put into hysterics as a pit bull mix thing breaks from its leash and mangles her ten pound dog in a public park and nothing happens. The same people were out walking their dog a day after.

Meanwhile, Dr. Knockers is getting a 200 dollar ticket for being the designated driver.

[spronk]

I've always wanted to be a cop, except for the part where you can get shot by some fucked up people, seems like a pretty awesome job - everyones scared of you, you get a free gun you can carry everywhere, you can pull over hot chicks and get their digits, and if some punk ass isn't respecting your authority you can haul him into ass-pounding jail.

oh re: speeding tickets, go into the speeding court and see how things play out. In my area, you can file to contest the ticket and you are assigned a date. When you go in on this date, the judge is just processing a ton of people. He tells you that its your right to contest the ticket, in which case you'll get a "full" trial in a few weeks/months, or if you plead no-contest right then and there he'll change the ticket to a non-moving violation and cut the fee by 50%. A non-moving violation doesn't show up on your DMV records and won't count as points, so I always take this. I've had a few speeding tickets and always have chosen this option, I could have fought it but its a lot more time involved whereas this way involves just 30 minutes or less and $100 or so usually, with no hikes in car insurance. It varies from county to county though so go figure out what exactly your county does, or find out from neighbors/friends/co-workers.

[Fog]

Originally Posted by Xerrot

Question! So last night I got stopped for speeding (ticket says 85 in 55 highway), changing lanes without signal and not having the newest car license with me on the spot. So I went to Google to see what I could do to get out of that $200 speeding fine and found that I should go to court and ask for this:

*arcane radar stuff*

Seems fair, if he cannot bring all that info (which I'm 100% sure he can't), I can make a case that the radar wasn't correctly calibrated and/or the cop didn't meet the requirements to operate the radar. Better yet if he doesn't shows up.

Well, I don't know if you can get away with it or not, but at least admit that no, it doesn't "seem fair." How could the courts ever convict anyone of anything if you applied that standard?

If you kill a man, and his blood is all over your pants, do you get to ask for peer-reviewed research on blood typing methodology as well as documentation for the procurement and maintenance of all their crime lab equipment, as well as the training schedules of all their forensics experts? Fat chance.

I'm all for cheating the law. God knows the law cheats us often enough. But if you're speeding and you get off on some bizarre ridiculous technicality, don't pretend that you're in the right.

[Snugglebear]

Originally Posted by Arbitrary

Last week my grandmother was walking her little rat terrier at the park adjacent to the subdivision she lives in. A pitbull/mix something got away from it's owners, ran up, and attacked her dog.

She calls my mother who drives over and the dog is moderately fucked up and then calls the police. Grandma gives a statement and there is a witness, the neighbor to the owners of the other dog. The next day both my mother and grandmother go to the police station and an officer calls the home of the other party.

The woman who picks up the phone claims that they own no dog, have never owned a dog, she accuses the officer of harassment. Oddly enough, the day before she came to my grandmother's house and told her she would pay any vet bills. Now she doesn't have a dog.

The cop goes "well, it's your word against theirs so..."

"No, it is not our word against theirs. We have a witness. She saw the whole thing and is their neighbor. She's seen them with the dog before."

"Well, I'm going to go ahead and turn this back over to the officer who filed the report."

That it. The end.

My 80 year old grandmother with high blood pressure is put into hysterics as a pit bull mix thing breaks from its leash and mangles her ten pound dog in a public park and nothing happens. The same people were out walking their dog a day after.

Meanwhile, Dr. Knockers is getting a 200 dollar ticket for being the designated driver.

If you joined the police force to protect and serve, and you had to spend an entire shift dealing with some old lady whose dog was bitten by another dog, how would you feel?

[Quineloe]

Originally Posted by Snugglebear

If you joined the police force to protect and serve, and you had to spend an entire shift dealing with some old lady whose dog was bitten by another dog, how would you feel?

Maybe if he weren't such an incompetent and/or lazy sloth, he'd not be dealing with old ladies and her bitten dogs

[Believe]

Um, Arbitrary. Take pictures of the bitch walking her dog, get the neighbor to act as a witness and take her to small claims court. Not really sure what you expect the police to do. They can't force her to pay the vet bills.

[Quineloe]

Originally Posted by Believe

Um, Arbitrary. Take pictures of the bitch walking her dog, get the neighbor to act as a witness and take her to small claims court. Not really sure what you expect the police to do. They can't force her to pay the vet bills.

I'd expect them to go over to the house and shoot that uncontrolled killing machine in the head. Fuck pitbulls.

[Arbitrary]

Many people become police officers to bust criminals and make a difference. They are saddened when they realize the amount of bullshit and paperwork they have to do. A dog bit a dog in the park. Awesome. I can't wait to fill out this paperwork.

I understand, I'm sympathetic.

That said, at least get the fuck up out of your goddamn chair.

[Dr. Funkenstein]

After an arrest is made; after papers are filled; Guess whose job it is to do the leg work on gaining information concerning any legal actions you wish to partake? YOURS. Getting pissed because the cops won't arrest your neighbors is a waste of emotion. Get a lawyer, collect every bit of information you can and file a complaint with the local court system. The police don't give a shit because it isn't their job to investigate crimes. It's their job to protect people from them.

Or you can look for your local Ace Ventura.

Originally Posted by Fog

Well, I don't know if you can get away with it or not, but at least admit that no, it doesn't "seem fair." How could the courts ever convict anyone of anything if you applied that standard?

If you kill a man, and his blood is all over your pants, do you get to ask for peer-reviewed research on blood typing methodology as well as documentation for the procurement and maintenance of all their crime lab equipment, as well as the training schedules of all their forensics experts? Fat chance.

That's how it works. If you're in court and the other side has a thorough lawyer, you better dot all your "i"s and cross all your "t"s. A misspelled word or a forgotten piece of paper can mean the difference between innocent and guilty.

And chances are, depending on the precinct, all that "arcane radar stuff" is taken care of and you'll just be wasting your time. Do you think no one has done all that before? It's cheaper for them to make sure all their paperwork is done than to lose revenue by losing court cases on technicalities. You might get lucky, but rarely...and rest assured that if you bring all that stuff up and lose, you ain't gonna get the minimum fine.

...and your car will probably be put on a hit list for future ticketing.