Cop Haters...

[subie cop]

Just wondering what your opinion is on this.
this happened a few years ago to me.

i was riding with 2 friends all of us on motorcycles. It was starting to rain so the road was a bit slick my friends GF was following us on her bike she was a new rider and ended up grabbing a handful of front brake and crashed. Not even sure how she crashed. So we turned around she was real shaken up ambulance was called ect and a cop showed up. I guess another lady that was driving pulled over and stopped. Saw the cop talking to her and the officer then walks up to us and asks us if we where doing wheelies.... I had a passenger on the back of my bike and explained to him that under no circumstance would I ever do a wheelie with someone on the back of my bike. The girl that crashed was on an old ninja 500 you can't even bounce those bikes up...I'm unsure if my friend actually did a wheelie because he was behind me.I told the officer that as well i was 100% honest with him. I guess this lady told the officer we all where doing wheelies. I ended up getting a careless driving ticket out of it. Had to goto court 2x for it. First time i had to request a formal hearing because you can't really fight a ticket at an informal from what i hear. My friend got a lawyer we ended up getting a 65 in a 60 no point ticket but like a $150 fine, and 10 hours community service out of it. This happened on john R near big beaver road wasn't on a highway.

I didn't even want the lawyer to make a deal for me but she did.. funny thing is she was giving me shit about representing me for free and I didn't even ask her to.. I think she was afraid my friends would of paid for her and i would of gotten off with nothing. I don't think the eye witness could of even said what color my bike was let alone that my front tire was off the ground.

I guess my question is it normal or even legal for a bystander to tell a police officer they saw something and the officer issue a ticket for it? specially for a ticket as serious as careless driving? My insurance company would of dropped my motorcycle for that ticket. I had a spotless record at the time.

Thank you for your time!

I always give police officers a ton of respect thats a very hard job to do. Thank you for your service!

Yeah, we get calls like this all the time. What usually happens is driver A does something stupid like cutting off driver B. Driver B then gets mad and flips driver A off (or something along those lines) at which point driver A calls the police and says that B is driving recklessly and cut him off. All just BS.

One of two things happened. The witness got u guys confused with some other motorcycle group somewhere or your friend may have done something that you didnt see. Im guessing the only reason a ticket was issued is that an accident occurred.

If this ever happens again where a witness causes a ticket to be written and it goes to court, make sure they are at court when it goes to a hearing. Without them there it will be very difficult for your "charges" to stick and it may get dismissed.

 

[subie cop]

I have not had any traffic tickets in the last 15 years until 3 weeks ago. I got pulled over for going 6mph over in a 45mph posted area. I was extremely polite to the officer and even did not move until the officer could see my hands and even spoke to him in advance before reaching for my license and insurance.

Before going to his car he asked me how my driving record was and I told him spotless for the last 15 years.

He ended giving me a ticket for 6mph over with a note that stated that in the comment section.

I am not mad about the ticket or being polite to him because that is how I would like to be treated.

I am mad about him asking me about my record and then giving me the ticket.

So if I had tickets on my record he would of given me a break? See my issue with his question? Why even ask the question, "How is your driving record?".

Hopefully I will get a chance to ask him in person soon.

SOB Cop, do you know why a officer would ask that question? What's the benefit?

Steve

I usually ask the question just because I want to see if you are being honest. I usually dont write you if you have a good driving history depending on the violation. That being said I sometimes dont even write you if you have a crappy one either.

I dont know why you were stopped for 6 over unless there have been numerous complaints in that area of people speeding. Our radars are calibrated with a +/-5mph variance which is why I wont stop you unless its 15mph+ over. Now maybe he used a laser or maybe the radars now are getting more accurate but that seems rather odd.

I take into account several things when I write a ticket. Attitude is most important along with honesty. Driving history, nature of the violation and weather your a resident also play a part in weather you get a citation.

Its always hard to say why someone else wrote you a ticket without being there watching what happened and then speaking with the Officer involved. I can only really guess and tell you what goes into my decision hoping that will shed some light on it.

 

[lethalss]

City of Troy -

I turned a corner pretty fast and sped up to 45mph, but did not go over it (posted speed limit 45). At the time, the cop kind of gave me a break, but not really. He was a real jerk to me, and I was nothing but nice. He said my car was loud (he was an old fart) and that I should sell it because he didn't like it...ya...ok. Wrote me up for 10 over & a loud exhaust fix-it-ticket. I took the ticket and left avoiding more trouble. I later looked at it and was pissed, because I was NOT speeding, sudden acceleration, ok, I can deal with that, but he wrote it for speeding.

I ended up setting up a court date, in which I brought some evidence to help me out. He said he clocked me going 65 in a 45, turning from a light, just past a gas station. He wrote it for 10 over. I used google maps (lol) to get a top-down view of where I started 'speeding' and where he stopped me. I did some physics math to prove there was no possible way my car could have sped up to 65mph, and slowed down to 0mph in the distance that was on the ticket. He pulled me over 1 street past the gas station, and it was a small station. Anyways, I brought all this to court with me. We were supposed to go in front of a magistrate. Before this happened, I went up to the officer and was polite, and tried to explain what I had in front of me, ect ect ect. He was still a cock gobbler. He said "if you bring that into the court room I'll change the charge to reckless driving...good luck". I was like...wtf?

Can he even do that?

I ended up not bringing my stuff in, pled guilty w/explanation, and paid my fines. At that point I really just did not want to deal with him or the ticket anymore.

I then had the pleasure of dealing with those assholes for the loud exhaust, I had it fixed, took it up there, back to stock, and they said it was still too loud...yeah...lame. I ended up having to take the car to Utica police, and they wrote it off.

 

[8540cs]

Are ticket quotas still in effect in Michigan? Due to state cut backs and losses of funding. Thanks and keep it safe out there.

 

[CableGuy]

I have not had any traffic tickets in the last 15 years until 3 weeks ago. I got pulled over for going 6mph over in a 45mph posted area. I was extremely polite to the officer and even did not move until the officer could see my hands and even spoke to him in advance before reaching for my license and insurance.

Before going to his car he asked me how my driving record was and I told him spotless for the last 15 years.

He ended giving me a ticket for 6mph over with a note that stated that in the comment section.

I am not mad about the ticket or being polite to him because that is how I would like to be treated.

I am mad about him asking me about my record and then giving me the ticket.

So if I had tickets on my record he would of given me a break? See my issue with his question? Why even ask the question, "How is your driving record?".

Hopefully I will get a chance to ask him in person soon.

SOB Cop, do you know why a officer would ask that question? What's the benefit?

Steve

I honestly think that is just a B.S. question. It doesnt matter either way.

You answer its good, they dont say anything.

You says its bad, they said well do you know why I pulled you over? Maybe with that record of yours you should not do stuff like that.

 

[cjmatt]

my question is...

Does the system you look up driving records on show all traffic stops or just tickets on someones record?

It seems that people who have a clean record always get let off, while people with a couple tickets, always get zapped with more and more tickets and never get any good grace. Is there any way to tell if someone just gets pulled over once a week but let off because of her clean record?

Also, why do Cops pull people over based on their past record? This question based on the fact that in my 12 years of driving an automobile, Ive driven a car in my name for 3 years, then a car in my dads name for 3 years, then a car in my brothers name for 3 years, then a car in my name for 2 years, then a car in my grandpas name for a year. My dad, brother, and grandpa all have clean records. I do not. I have only ever been pulled over when the car was in my name. I cant even say the car was profiled, because on 2 of the occasions, My dad registered my car in his name.
I just dont understand how the same driver in the same car would go from getting 3 tickets iin one summer, to going 3 years with not even a pullover, when driving habits didnt change and i was in the same friggin car

 

[Wizeguy]

Subie Cop.....what department do you work for?

x2

 

[Steve O.]

I usually ask the question just because I want to see if you are being honest. I usually dont write you if you have a good driving history depending on the violation. That being said I sometimes dont even write you if you have a crappy one either.

I dont know why you were stopped for 6 over unless there have been numerous complaints in that area of people speeding. Our radars are calibrated with a +/-5mph variance which is why I wont stop you unless its 15mph+ over. Now maybe he used a laser or maybe the radars now are getting more accurate but that seems rather odd.

I take into account several things when I write a ticket. Attitude is most important along with honesty. Driving history, nature of the violation and weather your a resident also play a part in weather you get a citation.

Its always hard to say why someone else wrote you a ticket without being there watching what happened and then speaking with the Officer involved. I can only really guess and tell you what goes into my decision hoping that will shed some light on it.

Subie Cop,

Thanks for your input and thoughts. I appreciate your time.

Steve

 

[subie cop]

City of Troy -

I turned a corner pretty fast and sped up to 45mph, but did not go over it (posted speed limit 45). At the time, the cop kind of gave me a break, but not really. He was a real jerk to me, and I was nothing but nice. He said my car was loud (he was an old fart) and that I should sell it because he didn't like it...ya...ok. Wrote me up for 10 over & a loud exhaust fix-it-ticket. I took the ticket and left avoiding more trouble. I later looked at it and was pissed, because I was NOT speeding, sudden acceleration, ok, I can deal with that, but he wrote it for speeding.

I ended up setting up a court date, in which I brought some evidence to help me out. He said he clocked me going 65 in a 45, turning from a light, just past a gas station. He wrote it for 10 over. I used google maps (lol) to get a top-down view of where I started 'speeding' and where he stopped me. I did some physics math to prove there was no possible way my car could have sped up to 65mph, and slowed down to 0mph in the distance that was on the ticket. He pulled me over 1 street past the gas station, and it was a small station. Anyways, I brought all this to court with me. We were supposed to go in front of a magistrate. Before this happened, I went up to the officer and was polite, and tried to explain what I had in front of me, ect ect ect. He was still a cock gobbler. He said "if you bring that into the court room I'll change the charge to reckless driving...good luck". I was like...wtf?

Can he even do that?

I ended up not bringing my stuff in, pled guilty w/explanation, and paid my fines. At that point I really just did not want to deal with him or the ticket anymore.

I then had the pleasure of dealing with those assholes for the loud exhaust, I had it fixed, took it up there, back to stock, and they said it was still too loud...yeah...lame. I ended up having to take the car to Utica police, and they wrote it off.

The short answer is yes, an Officer can amend a ticket at court. Now, in order to get you for reckless he would have had to prove "willful and wontan disregard for life and property". I dont know the whole story as there is always 2 sides. Your story and the way the Officer saw it.

Officers are sometimes wrong because we are human. Its is VERY RARE that we outright lie, its not worth the possible reprimands. If this were to happen again and you feel you have a good case in your favor, contact an attorney for some legal advice.

Does that help?

 

[subie cop]

Are ticket quotas still in effect in Michigan? Due to state cut backs and losses of funding. Thanks and keep it safe out there.

Let me say this, tickets obviously bring in money for the township/city...how much of the costs actually go there I have no idea.

Quotas by law are not legal.

Departments may look at how many tickets you write/dont write as a level of performance. They could use that as a way of getting around the actual "quota".

There is no reason that in an 8 hour day you cant find one ticket to write. I may see 700 plus cars during my shift and at least one of them will do something worthy of a ticket. I also may stop 15 cars in a day and not write anyone, I'm just not a fan of writing tickets in this economy unless it just has to be done.

 

[subie cop]

I cant say where I work.

Those of you who know me obviously know where I work and have kept that quiet like I requested. I'm not sure my administration would think highly of me posting some of these comments and I don't want to deal with the likely negative outcome if they did find out.

Plus I dont want people getting stopped in my city asking for "subie cop" all the time as that to would obviously attract unwanted negative attention from my supervisors.

I hope everyone understands.

 

[subie cop]

my question is...

Does the system you look up driving records on show all traffic stops or just tickets on someones record?

It seems that people who have a clean record always get let off, while people with a couple tickets, always get zapped with more and more tickets and never get any good grace. Is there any way to tell if someone just gets pulled over once a week but let off because of her clean record?

Also, why do Cops pull people over based on their past record? This question based on the fact that in my 12 years of driving an automobile, Ive driven a car in my name for 3 years, then a car in my dads name for 3 years, then a car in my brothers name for 3 years, then a car in my name for 2 years, then a car in my grandpas name for a year. My dad, brother, and grandpa all have clean records. I do not. I have only ever been pulled over when the car was in my name. I cant even say the car was profiled, because on 2 of the occasions, My dad registered my car in his name.
I just dont understand how the same driver in the same car would go from getting 3 tickets iin one summer, to going 3 years with not even a pullover, when driving habits didnt change and i was in the same friggin car

Currently I know of no departments that keep track of traffic stops when no citation is issued.

If your name is entered into a report or a citation is issued you will be in the "system" as a contact. It will state in the "system" what type of contact such as witness, reporting person, citation issued etc.

As far as stopping you because of your driving record...

I cant speak for every Officer, I can only speak for what I do as an Officer. I run plates/driving records all day long and see some doozies. I dont stop you for a poor record unless your license is suspended or you have warrants. There are so many other good stops and other things to occupy my time other than picking on a kid that has had "poor luck". I know that may not answer your question but its the best one I've got.

 

[wikdsvt]

Do you know of any police department, sheriff Dept or state police post that authorizes the use of a PIT maneuver in Michigan>

Is there a certain mph where the use of a PIT maneuver is considered deadly force.
Do they teach PIT maneuver's in the police academy?

 

[subie cop]

Do you know of any police department, sheriff Dept or state police post that authorizes the use of a PIT maneuver in Michigan>

Is there a certain mph where the use of a PIT maneuver is considered deadly force.
Do they teach PIT maneuver's in the police academy?

MSP can PIT but Im not sure what others can. Its more a question of cost than anything else. I know Southfield has a pretty lenient ram policy.

Example.
We have a driving unit that trains us once a year in pursuit, precision and performance driving. The instructors were trained by MSP, one of the best driving schools in the country. Our instructors were also trained in the PIT as well. In order to train our departments Officers an initial 30k would be needed to equip 2 cars for practice. Due to budget constraints this did not pass the board at this time. Once passed a policy would need to be written on the specifics of use before being implemented.

If your not trained in the PIT and use this method it would be considered "ramming", which according to our department policy is deadly force.

They may have demonstrated PIT in the academy using special cars but I dont believe they do it anymore. At least at Oakland Academy.

 

[wikdsvt]

what about the city of detroit?

 

[91Notch]

I'd like to try the PIT sometime :hugegrin:

 

[ItsAllAboutTheT&A]

I have two questions.

When do the points drop off your record?

Other question is can I get in trouble for carrying my firearm on my own property? The reason I ask this is because I live on 10 acres and my neighbors houses overlook my property clearly. Sometimes when I walk my property I have my AR-15 slung around my back, or pistol on my side. I never met my neighbors because they all seem to be hermits and never come out of their houses, but I do see them watching me out their windows from time to time. I dont believe any of them have seen me walking my property with my firearms, but am a little concerned that one day someone will peek out the window and call the police saying that there is a guy walking around with a machine gun. I never go on to their yards or act intimidating at all. Can the police come over and make me put my firearms away?

You seem like a really cool cop Subie. The force needs more people like you. Too many new young cops in my town that have a hard on for tickets. The older ones are relaxed, but the young bloods seem like they have something to prove. haha. Good thing I'm a excellent driver and never speed!

Thanks in advance.

 

[subie cop]

I have two questions.

When do the points drop off your record?

Other question is can I get in trouble for carrying my firearm on my own property? The reason I ask this is because I live on 10 acres and my neighbors houses overlook my property clearly. Sometimes when I walk my property I have my AR-15 slung around my back, or pistol on my side. I never met my neighbors because they all seem to be hermits and never come out of their houses, but I do see them watching me out their windows from time to time. I dont believe any of them have seen me walking my property with my firearms, but am a little concerned that one day someone will peek out the window and call the police saying that there is a guy walking around with a machine gun. I never go on to their yards or act intimidating at all. Can the police come over and make me put my firearms away?

You seem like a really cool cop Subie. The force needs more people like you. Too many new young cops in my town that have a hard on for tickets. The older ones are relaxed, but the young bloods seem like they have something to prove. haha. Good thing I'm a excellent driver and never speed!

Thanks in advance.

Points drop off in 3yrs but the info remains on your driving record for 7yrs (that the police can see).

Well you have every right to carry on your own property. You cant prevent your neighbors from being concerned or nosy...or even from calling the police about some "crazy guy" walking around with a gun. Its not something we see everyday as citizens and in todays world people get a tad worried about stuff like that. As an Officer I would just come and speak with you to see what the situation was all about. I may ask you to be more cautious so not to freak out your neighbors but I can't take it away simply for just carrying your gun around. If you brandish it in a threatening way to someone than thats a different story.

Thanks for the nice comments, its rare that I hear them.

You are completely right about the younger Officers being "hungry" for tickets etc. We all were at one point so I cant completely knock them for it. As a training Officer I try to teach them the right way of doing things in the hope to avoid the mistakes I made. Its not about the tickets and the new guys will eventually figure it out.

 

[Justindwright]

How about writing someone for drag racing... if you catch two cars on an industrial drive at 2am doing burnouts next to each other, but not actually racing?

 

[Nothinbutmud4me]

You are completely right about the younger Officers being "hungry" for tickets etc. We all were at one point so I cant completely knock them for it. As a training Officer I try to teach them the right way of doing things in the hope to avoid the mistakes I made. Its not about the tickets and the new guys will eventually figure it out.

Alot of training Officers PUSH "new boots" to write alot of tickets/make alot of traffic stops during the FTO program. Many will discourage the use of discretion, and focus on "aggressive" policing/enforcement. Alot of times, once the "new boot" is done with FTO, they are so used to doing things the way their training Officer wanted, that they just continue on until they see the light!