Can you do anything about crooked cops?

[napaguy99 0]

So the other day as I was driving to the DZ I got pulled over for supposedly running a red light. The light was yellow as I passed under it, but whatever.

I parked the car and reached to unbuckle my seatbelt to get my insurance paperwork from the glovebox. As soon as I unclipped my belt, I realized the cop might think that I had not had it buckled in the first place. I quickly re-buckled it.

The cop gets to my window and we do the "You know why I pulled you over" thing, yadda yadda yadda. I give him my license and politely inform him that it's expired. I'm active duty military with an Ohio license and we aren't required to keep it current per Ohio law. I thought he knew that military were exempt from having a current license, but boy was I wrong.

He then says to me, "Yeah you have to have your seatbelt on also." I then explained to him what I mentioned earlier; about putting it back on for just that reason. He says, "No, you didn't have it on at the light." Now, this is complete and utter bullshit. I ALWAYS were my seatbelt, even if its just to move the car from one parking spot to the one next to it.

Long story short, he comes back and tickets me for having an expired license and not wearing my seatbelt. Both of these are bogus charges. I plan on going to court and explaining my case, but I know the judge is just going to say it's my word against his on the seatbelt. Is there anything I can do, or has the system screwed me?

Oh, there was a speed trap on the other side of the highway and he was clearly turning around to get back to his money making routine. I'm curious if everybody he ticketed that day "wasn't wearing a seatbelt."

"Let the misinterpretation and attacks begin."

[GravityJunky 0]

You can file a formal complaint with the local municipality, for whom the officer serves and/or the state capitol, under which he/she serves.
Or in the future you could just keep a box of dunkin' donuts in the glove box of your car, in order to distract / persuade the officer to something other than harrassing you.

*My Inner Child is A Fucking Prick Too!
*Everyones entitled to be stupid but you are abusing the priviledge
*Well I'd love to stay & chat, But youre a total Bitch! {Stewie}

[airtwardo 7]

A good mouthpiece should be able to get those dropped.

Especially the old , you can see inside of a moving car at what distance...can I see a copy of your current medical with the eye exam TESTING that attached?

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[BIGUN 1,328]

JAG.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[Darius11 12]

I think u have to see it from the cop point of view. He sees u putting the belt on what's he going to think. Most people bullshit and lie when they get pulled over. Now understand I am not saying u were but I can see why the cop gave u the tickets.
Ur best bet in court would be a lawyer. The cops word is always takin over yours. Kind of sucks but we can't expect a grand jury for traffic violations.
Good luck

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[napaguy99 0]

He never saw me do anything. I reached down to the buckle before he even got out of the car. He never could have seen that from his car. I never let the seat belt move more than about 3 inches from the buckle. He just came up and told me a bold face lie trying to make more money for the city.


Bigun- have you ever had any experience with a JAG? I have no idea who to contact or how any of that works. Any advice?

"Let the misinterpretation and attacks begin."

[Scoop 0]

I understand where your coming from but I dont get why people think cops get a hard on for raising revenue. Its not like they see any of the money.

The seatbelt thing is awkward but you could probably get someone to fight that, as for the licence, well if your exempt then thats a matter of fact. That will be dismissed.

[masterrig 1]

Take it to court! You don't know unless you try. You might be surprised to find-out that this particular cop has been writing too many tickets and the court has a 'question' about what he's doing.
Example: In a 10-day period, several years ago, I recieved 3-tickets, from the same cop in the same location on 3-different occasions. All 3- tickets were for 58-mph in a 55-mph zone. After the 3rd. ticket, I called the JP. His instructions to me were, to tear the tickets up, he 'would' be talking with the officer. Seems as though, I wasn't the only person to have that happen to them. Good luck.


Chuck

[BlueSkiesKel 0]

hey adam..
he's wrong about the expired license...
i keep my ohio residence but when i was stationed in FL it went expired..its valid.. the law just says you have to renew it when you return to ohio..
so as long as you arent stationed in ohio you're ok..you should be able to contest that one.. next time keep the card in your wallet.. theres a card the dmv will give you that says your license is valid with your military id.. the cop was as ass..i'm sorry

p.s. see you in a few days (yay!)

• Quote

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

I understand where your coming from but I dont get why people think cops get a hard on for raising revenue. Its not like they see any of the money.

They do, despite repeated claims otherwise, have quotas to meet. Or if the city is being cute about it, minimum performance requirements.

[D22369 0]

They do, despite repeated claims otherwise, have quotas to meet. Or if the city is being cute about it, minimum performance requirements.
***

here in Yakima the quota's are called 'recommendations'...

same story, same bullshit. Two of my friends are officers, one state patroll, the other is county sheriff, both are urged to issue a recommended amount of citations...

Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.

[Gawain 0]

You can file a report if you want, but I would first ensure that you take the ticket to court. You might want to talk to JAG too, before you file a complaint. They may have an ongoing list of "complaints" etc.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[kallend 2,034]

Quote

They do, despite repeated claims otherwise, have quotas to meet. Or if the city is being cute about it, minimum performance requirements.
***

here in Yakima the quota's are called 'recommendations'...

same story, same bullshit. Two of my friends are officers, one state patroll, the other is county sheriff, both are urged to issue a recommended amount of citations...

Roy

One of the good things about the Illinois State Police is that they don't have quotas. The local cops do, however.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Gawain 0]

Quote

One of the good things about the Illinois State Police is that they don't have quotas. The local cops do, however.

You can believe that if you want. The state police in every state anticipate a certain amount of revenue from fines due to traffic infractions etc. It's "quota" with another flavor to it.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[airtwardo 7]

One of the good things about the Illinois State Police is that they don't have quotas.

Quote

No...they get to write as MANY as they can!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

• Quote

[kallend 2,034]

Quote

Quote

One of the good things about the Illinois State Police is that they don't have quotas. The local cops do, however.

You can believe that if you want. The state police in every state anticipate a certain amount of revenue from fines due to traffic infractions etc. It's "quota" with another flavor to it.

A friend in the ISP who spent his career patrolling the IL tollway system assures me that he was never under any pressure to write tickets, so he only did it in egregious cases. The evidence of my own eyes is that the state troopers pretty much ignore speeding until it gets above 80mph.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[freefallpaul 0]

Good luck in getting JAG involved in any type of traffic violation. I have had some of my Soldiers in the past get tickets and JAG would have nothing to do with them. I was told JAG doesn't represent the Soldier, it represents the Government. If I were in your situation I would seek civilian legal counsel.

[AggieDave 6]

Quote

They do, despite repeated claims otherwise, have quotas to meet. Or if the city is being cute about it, minimum performance requirements.

Quotas are illegal, no matter what form they take.

Officer performance reviews typically involve the following: Calls for service taken, reports written, traffic stops conducted, arrests made misdomenor and arrests made felony. Then you have "total activity" which is the added up number of all the totals.

False arrests gets the officer in deep water, if not sued and fired. Making a lot of "lame" arrests gets the officer in deep water (i.e. petty BS arrests), if not fired. Making traffic stops with out probable cause for the stop gets the officer in deep water, if not fired. Seeing how by law traffic stops are recorded by video and audio for the prevention of profiling and those tapes are kept on hand for a length of time (and reviewed by supervisors regularly), those sorts of things pop up.

Am I saying that every cop is perfect? Nope, they're people, they can and do make mistakes. Am I saying that the majority of officers out there have a reasonable amount of training and are trying to do their job as best they can? Yeah. Do officers recieve any sort of kick-back for traffic citations? Nope.

You can always contact the department with questions. If you don't want to do that, then you can always talk to your lawyer. If you don't want to do that, every state out there have their laws (traffic, penal, etc) posted on the internet. Go reading and educate yourself. They all have some sort of "Code of Criminal Procedure" which spells out in black and white what officers are able to do and not do. Sometimes its a section within a different code for the state, sometimes its its own document. Some searching on the internet will yield answers, as will a trip to your local library.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Skysurfer_Rob 0]

I had a cop pull me over once for speeding (36 in a 25). I gave her my license and insurance, and was also in uniform. She looked everything over, looked me over, and said I should be wearing my seatbelt (which I clearly was). She handed me back my documents, and wrote me a $10 dollar ticket for not wearing my seatbelt, but no ticket for speeding....moral of the story....maybe he was letting you off with a lesser charge.

With the driver's license deal, take proof of the Ohio law to the court or DA, and they should drop the ticket. If not, get civilian councel if you really want to fight it....military defense only represents against military charges, with civilian charges, your on your own (even with a DUI).

"Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil...For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing."
SR-71 hangar entrance sign at Kadena AFB, Japan

[masterrig 1]

Quote

Quote

They do, despite repeated claims otherwise, have quotas to meet. Or if the city is being cute about it, minimum performance requirements.

Quotas are illegal, no matter what form they take.

Officer performance reviews typically involve the following: Calls for service taken, reports written, traffic stops conducted, arrests made misdomenor and arrests made felony. Then you have "total activity" which is the added up number of all the totals.

False arrests gets the officer in deep water, if not sued and fired. Making a lot of "lame" arrests gets the officer in deep water (i.e. petty BS arrests), if not fired. Making traffic stops with out probable cause for the stop gets the officer in deep water, if not fired. Seeing how by law traffic stops are recorded by video and audio for the prevention of profiling and those tapes are kept on hand for a length of time (and reviewed by supervisors regularly), those sorts of things pop up.

Am I saying that every cop is perfect? Nope, they're people, they can and do make mistakes. Am I saying that the majority of officers out there have a reasonable amount of training and are trying to do their job as best they can? Yeah. Do officers recieve any sort of kick-back for traffic citations? Nope.

You can always contact the department with questions. If you don't want to do that, then you can always talk to your lawyer. If you don't want to do that, every state out there have their laws (traffic, penal, etc) posted on the internet. Go reading and educate yourself. They all have some sort of "Code of Criminal Procedure" which spells out in black and white what officers are able to do and not do. Sometimes its a section within a different code for the state, sometimes its its own document. Some searching on the internet will yield answers, as will a trip to your local library.

_____________________________________

Well said, Dave!


Chuck

[warpedskydiver 0]

One of the good things about the Illinois State Police is that they don't have quotas. The local cops do, however.

[Lucky... 0]

Quote

Quote

One of the good things about the Illinois State Police is that they don't have quotas. The local cops do, however.

You can believe that if you want. The state police in every state anticipate a certain amount of revenue from fines due to traffic infractions etc. It's "quota" with another flavor to it.

Just as the Bacce case in the 1970's did away with quotas for racial admissions, hiring, etc...., now they have afirmative action. Police Departments don't have stated quotas, just infered ones.

Same garbage, different wrapper.

[warpedskydiver 0]

When it comes to the Illinois State Police that is true they do not have to give a ticket, however they are required to make so many stops in a month be it safety related, helping a stranded motorist, or just giving a warning.

They are truly one of the most professional police organizations that exist.

Local cops in Illinois are kind of worrisome.

[Andy9o8 2]

The title of the thread is misleading. A "crooked cop" is one who's corrupt, i.e., a thief, etc. Just because a particluar cop has an asshole attitude, doesn't make him a crook.

[jcd11235 0]

Quote

The title of the thread is misleading. A "crooked cop" is one who's corrupt, i.e., a thief, etc. Just because a particluar cop has an asshole attitude, doesn't make him a crook.

Agreed.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!