Advice on ticket

[50blackout]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on this to see if I'm looking at this issue correctly and objectively.

I was driving to work and at a part of the road where the lane ends and merges into one lane, a motorcycle police officer pulled someone else over (right at the end of the merging lane) and was writing a ticket. I was in the merging lane and when the car in front of me (large Van) changed lanes to avoid the police officer, is when I first saw that the merging lane was occupied. So obviously I slow down and look to change lanes as well but there was a vehicle next to me so I had to slow down further. At this point I say to myself "Jeez couldn't they find a better place to pull over!" (word for word) Because my windows were down the police officer heard this and pulls me over a few miles down!!!

He gets to my window and I ask if anything was wrong and he tells me to "shut my mouth." He then goes on to tell me he doesn't need me to tell him how to do his job, and that he can pull over anywhere he wants and writes me a ticket for impeding traffic. When I finally speak, I tell him that I slowed down because he took the only merging lane available and that there was a vehicle next to me so I HAD to slow down. He then said " well... but you do admit you said something to me right?" (WTF?) I told him at this point ""I don't know what you heard but i was not talking to anyone ", and that I will probably take this to court and maybe further such as going to file a complaint.


Would you guys fight this ticket? Ive always had great experiences with police in my area, and this came as a shock. If any police officers are on this forum that would be nice to get their opinions too, as well as everyone else too.

 

[VA-Mach1]

Yes, I would go to court on this one. I would ask his in court why he gave you a ticket for creating the traffic problem that caused the unsafe situation and what he heard or thought he heard you say. Maybe the judge will think it's bs and drop it.

 

[me32]

File the complaint too

 

[ldylkegt07]

In my experience the prosecutor has not shown up and it came down to the judges decision... I have had the ticket dropped or just DD. I would stand your ground.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

In my experience the prosecutor has not shown up and it came down to the judges decision... I have had the ticket dropped or just DD. I would stand your ground.

In your experience, the prosecuting attorneys have not shown up???

 

[GRUSE]

Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on this to see if I'm looking at this issue correctly and objectively.

I was driving to work and at a part of the road where the lane ends and merges into one lane, a motorcycle police officer pulled someone else over (right at the end of the merging lane) and was writing a ticket. I was in the merging lane and when the car in front of me (large Van) changed lanes to avoid the police officer, is when I first saw that the merging lane was occupied. So obviously I slow down and look to change lanes as well but there was a vehicle next to me so I had to slow down further. At this point I say to myself "Jeez couldn't they find a better place to pull over!" (word for word) Because my windows were down the police officer heard this and pulls me over a few miles down!!!

He gets to my window and I ask if anything was wrong and he tells me to "shut my mouth." He then goes on to tell me he doesn't need me to tell him how to do his job, and that he can pull over anywhere he wants and writes me a ticket for impeding traffic. When I finally speak, I tell him that I slowed down because he took the only merging lane available and that there was a vehicle next to me so I HAD to slow down. He then said "[COLOR="#FF0000C"][/OLOR] well... but you do admit you said something to me right?"[COLOR="#FF0000"][/COLOR] (WTF?) I told him at this point ""I don't know what you heard but i was not talking to anyone ", and that I will probably take this to court and maybe further such as going to file a complaint.


Would you guys fight this ticket? Ive always had great experiences with police in my area, and this came as a shock. If any police officers are on this forum that would be nice to get their opinions too, as well as everyone else too.

Most defiantly take this one to court.Perhaps he needs his supervisor to remind him how to do his job.There are two sides to every story but this LEO sounds like he's burning out from the job,it happens.
Last time I checked free speech was still legal.
When you see him in court he'll hopefully apologize,say he was having a bad day.Judge dismisses the summons,shake hands and move on.
GL

 

[jshen]

I can tell you from experience Officers do not like to pull people over where they stop in a traffic lane as it puts the officer and stopped veh's occupants in danger. Just as you did not see him until the veh in front of you moved, others do the same and the officers know that. I have tried telling the stopped veh to move to a parking lot or off the road and some people are so friggin stupid they don't comprehend what you say. So that officer is already at risk, knows it and he does not need any comments-whether intentional or not and I would explain that to officer and court and I would apologize to him in court, recognize the difficulty and dangerous nature of what he was doing. But that's me. NO good to you will come from filing a complaint...none.

 

[DGladhill]

Was an uncalled for move on his part -BUT- he has little to do with where the person he pulled over stops. I see idiots all the time stop in a turn lane or something rather than pulling another 100ft ahead into a parking lot. Turn on your hazards, maybe point in the direction you're going and I'm fairly certain most officers will get what you're doing and appreciate it.

 

[RedRocketMike]

Was an uncalled for move on his part -BUT- he has little to do with where the person he pulled over stops. I see idiots all the time stop in a turn lane or something rather than pulling another 100ft ahead into a parking lot. Turn on your hazards, maybe point in the direction you're going and I'm fairly certain most officers will get what you're doing and appreciate it.

Flawed logic, the officer has control over where they stop by when he decides to flip his lights on.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

Flawed logic, the officer has control over where they stop by when he decides to flip his lights on.

Not all the time. I've encountered motorists who (through inattentiveness or whatever) who will not stop in the location chosen by the officer, instead choosing the most moronic location to pull over (had some stop in the traffic lane before). When this occurs, there may be a short time until the location can be moved to a safer spot.

On the flip side, I have known some officers who get tunnel vision and choose idiotic locations to stop people.

 

[DGladhill]

Flawed logic, the officer has control over where they stop by when he decides to flip his lights on.

It's not flawed logic at all. You're taught in driver's ed and in driver improvement courses that you don't need to stop dead in your tracks and pull over. The last time I was pulled over ( first time in almost a decade ) I drove a few hundred yards before I stopped to get to a point where I felt was less dangerous and was thanked for it. I guess it depends on whether they're having a bad day, but if I'm being pulled over I'm making sure it's as safe as it can be for everyone involved.

 

[Just_A_GT]

I agree with the posters who have said it's not entirely the officers fault that the individual he pulled over decided to stop in a horrible spot. BUT, the reality of the situation is that you were given a ticket that holds absolutely no merit. You were not impeding traffic in any way at all...you were merging, legally. He didn't like what he heard, and his ego got the best of him.

I'm sure being a cop isn't an easy job. There are a TON of stupid people in the world. But at the same time, this officer needs a reality check and you should definitely fight this one in court. I also second the notion to file a complaint. As I said, you were given a completely BS ticket that holds no merit...this cop needs to realize he can't just go around handing out tickets because he feels like it.

 

[NyteByte]

Assuming everything happened as described, I think even going to court over something like this is unnecessary.
I would call the Chief of whatever police dept the cop works for and explain the situation and see if you can just get the whole matter dropped. If the chief is reasonable, he'll do it. No need to waste your time and the court's time over a hot headed, aggressive cop who got his feelings hurt.

Of course in the future, ALWAYS record every interaction with a cop. A recording could have helped you greatly with this situation.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

Assuming everything happened as described, I think even going to court over something like this is unnecessary.
I would call the Chief of whatever police dept the cop works for and explain the situation and see if you can just get the whole matter dropped. If the chief is reasonable, he'll do it. No need to waste your time and the court's time over a hot headed, aggressive cop who got his feelings hurt.

Of course in the future, ALWAYS record every interaction with a cop. A recording could have helped you greatly with this situation.

Horrible advice, Mr. NyteByte... OP should fight the citation and file a complaint against the officer if things occurred as stated. For many jurisdictions, only the issuing officer can void a citation (prior to it being submitted for processing). In many jurisdictions, it would be illegal for a Chief of Police to interfere with the issuance of a citation.

 

[crfrider16]

Lol at you "saying to myself" whatever it is you said. You said something to yourself loud enough for a cop on the side of the road issuing a ticket to hear you inside of your car? C'mon man. I'm not saying that the cop acting like a jerkoff is ok, but at least be honest about what you did.

It seems to me that you were pissed off about the jam he was causing and yelled at him loud enough for him to hear it.

 

[ViperRed91GT]

Not all the time. I've encountered motorists who (through inattentiveness or whatever) who will not stop in the location chosen by the officer, instead choosing the most moronic location to pull over (had some stop in the traffic lane before). When this occurs, there may be a short time until the location can be moved to a safer spot.

On the flip side, I have known some officers who get tunnel vision and choose idiotic locations to stop people.

We also have the tools to tell the motorist to pull ahead further or continue to the next exit. I've had to do this numerous times, and I'm sure you have too.

Lol at you "saying to myself" whatever it is you said. You said something to yourself loud enough for a cop on the side of the road issuing a ticket to hear you inside of your car? C'mon man. I'm not saying that the cop acting like a jerkoff is ok, but at least be honest about what you did.

It seems to me that you were pissed off about the jam he was causing and yelled at him loud enough for him to hear it.

This. From the first time I read your post I knew there was a bit more. We get it, but at least be honest about what you said and how you said it. Motor officers don't typically remove their helmets, so you must have been talking fairly loudly "to yourself".

 

[THE_EVIL_TW1N]

Lol at you "saying to myself" whatever it is you said. You said something to yourself loud enough for a cop on the side of the road issuing a ticket to hear you inside of your car? C'mon man. I'm not saying that the cop acting like a jerkoff is ok, but at least be honest about what you did.

It seems to me that you were pissed off about the jam he was causing and yelled at him loud enough for him to hear it.

+1

I agree. Could be that the officer saw it differently. Could be he believed you stopped or slowed just to yell out what you did.

That being said, I've had people slam on the brakes and stop in the middle of a lane when being "pulled over". People do crazy things. Sometimes, due to officer safety, you just have to make do depending on how you feel about the stop.

On another note, I've had people yell out profanities at me due to being inconvenienced and some lanes have to be closed. It could be due to a fatal or major injury accident, or collecting evidence for some shooting or whatnot, people don't care. It happens almost daily and it makes absolutely zero sense to do that and solves nothing.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

We also have the tools to tell the motorist to pull ahead further or continue to the next exit. I've had to do this numerous times, and I'm sure you have too.

Sometimes those "tools" involve having to get out of a vehicle and approaching the driver to explain to them exactly what needs to be done. PA's cannot always be heard.

If a vehicle stopped in the lane of travel when you turned on your lights and as you went to tell the driver to move to a different location, you realized he was shitfaced, would you really allow them to continue to drive? Happened to me more than once...

We don't always deal in absolutes.

 

[Troponin]

Most defiantly take this one to court.Perhaps he needs his supervisor to remind him how to do his job.There are two sides to every story but this LEO sounds like he's burning out from the job,it happens.
Last time I checked free speech was still legal.
When you see him in court he'll hopefully apologize,say he was having a bad day.Judge dismisses the summons,shake hands and move on.
GL

Exactly what I was thinking. OTOH, I have found motorcycle cops to be a tough bunch. lol I think it's because their job is almost exclusively to give out tickets, and that gets really monotonous. Around here, if you are getting lit up by a motorcycle, you're absolutely getting a ticket. They don't give warnings.

 

[cbj5259]

As was stated in many of the previous posts...Police do not always control the exact location of the stop. You can try your best and wait for a good spot to light someone up and then they drive another 500 feet to a spot with no shoulder and on a curve...that being said, I would ask for a hearing and file a complaint with the department. If the story the OP is saying is 100% true, then it seems he was cited for nothing more than "contempt of cop".