Off duty cop chased me

[DeviAnt32]

Last night I after I went to the gym i decided to take the bike on some back roads to open it up a little bit. The road I chose is very low traffic and good visibility with some short turns. As I turned on the road, I was behind a car doing approx. 30-40 mph. The stretch that I ride is around 6 miles long, so I decided to pass the vehicle on a straight away so I wouldn't get stuck doing 35 the entire way. I continued to pass him and enjoyed my 6 mile drive. I was going approx 65 in a 50 zone without any cars around. As I came to the stop sign at the end of the road i noticed a car behind me real close beeping the horn and a guy in it yelling at me. I stopped for a second to try to understand what was going on when i heard him yell "police". I considered driving off, since the car was just a typical chevy cobalt and had no lights or any sign of being a undercover cop car. The guy continued to scream at me out his window telling me to pull over. I realize that I didn't have to but still pulled over to comply. As I pulled over the guy ran up to me screaming at me and ordering me to turn off the motorcycle. He briefly flashed his badge and told me he was the town police chief. Then he asked me for my license which I handed over to him. He explained that it was him that I passed approx. 6 miles back and that he estimated my speed around 60 mph (which is fairly high, i would estimate it from 45-50). He then asked me if i was a student, which i am not and demanded that he see me in his office the following day. Today I took a hour of time off of work to go see him as he requested, he refused to see me when i got there and had another officer hand me 2 tickets. One being for unreasonable speed and the other for a traffic lane violation. The part that gets me upset is that he actually chased me down in a unmarked personal vehicle and basically forced me to come in on my own time so he could give me 2 tickets. As he gave me my license back he said "You better show up tomorrow", isn't that somewhat of harassment? I complied with everything even though I did not have to... what do you guys think?

 

[ozzieboy]

Last night I after I went to the gym i decided to take the bike on some back roads to open it up a little bit. The road I chose is very low traffic and good visibility with some short turns. As I turned on the road, I was behind a car doing approx. 30-40 mph. The stretch that I ride is around 6 miles long, so I decided to pass the vehicle on a straight away so I wouldn't get stuck doing 35 the entire way. I continued to pass him and enjoyed my 6 mile drive. I was going approx 65 in a 50 zone without any cars around. As I came to the stop sign at the end of the road i noticed a car behind me real close beeping the horn and a guy in it yelling at me. I stopped for a second to try to understand what was going on when i heard him yell "police". I considered driving off, since the car was just a typical chevy cobalt and had no lights or any sign of being a undercover cop car. The guy continued to scream at me out his window telling me to pull over. I realize that I didn't have to but still pulled over to comply. As I pulled over the guy ran up to me screaming at me and ordering me to turn off the motorcycle. He briefly flashed his badge and told me he was the town police chief. Then he asked me for my license which I handed over to him. He explained that it was him that I passed approx. 6 miles back and that he estimated my speed around 60 mph (which is fairly high, i would estimate it from 45-50). He then asked me if i was a student, which i am not and demanded that he see me in his office the following day. Today I took a hour of time off of work to go see him as he requested, he refused to see me when i got there and had another officer hand me 2 tickets. One being for unreasonable speed and the other for a traffic lane violation. The part that gets me upset is that he actually chased me down in a unmarked personal vehicle and basically forced me to come in on my own time so he could give me 2 tickets. As he gave me my license back he said "You better show up tomorrow", isn't that somewhat of harassment? I complied with everything even though I did not have to... what do you guys think?

I think that driving his own personal car with no lights or sirens at the same speed you were riding is more dangerous than what you were doing. Most certainly more dangerous to others. If you come off, you probably won't hurt anyone but yourself. He'll kill people if he gets it wrong. The argument will be that he is trained to drive like that. B.S.

Should've just kept going. Some shmo calling out that he's a cop and honking his horn etc:Flip:.

Did he quote a speed on the ticket? Is his car speedo calibrated and does he have documentation to prove it? Has he modified the car and put different rims on etc? Pretty hard to clock someone accurately if your gear isn't accurate. Someone may be able to help you out better than me with that stuff.

 

[nextfriday]

I weep for citizens who have town cops like this. At the very least he should have used more professional courtesy than he gave you. I wouldnt have pulled over in the first place, not until i saw lights, or a road block. He could have been some nut job high on meth as far as you knew at the time.

 

[08fz6]

Personally if it was me I would go after his badge, an apology and the money missed from time off from work.... That's just me. I noticed your in vestal. I would give the Broome county sheriff's office a call and see what they have to say.

 

[RJ2112]

I think I would take that one to court. Depending on your situation, it may be worth your time to challenge the whole thing. If you are 'points free', I wouldn't bother if you can go to traffic school to avoid the dings on your license.

As has been pointed out, the odds are very, very good that Mr. Police Chief hasn't been formally trained in traffic control in a number of years. The fact that he had someone else hand you the tickets seems to indicate (to me) that he may not be the citing officer.... you have a right to face your accuser....... The additional points of contention concerning how he judged your speed are worthy; but I'd want a lawyer doing the debate.

That would cost you a fair amount of money.

 

[Maverick]

Sounds like the Chief has a bit of a hate for bikers...

Did you remove your helmet? Can he accuarately ID you in court?

 

[FZ6-ZN]

I’ve got to agree with the guys on this one, he can judge your speed against his speedometer, but he certainly cannot without doubt prove you were speeding.

I’d challenge the ticket

FZ6-ZN

 

[DeviAnt32]

Sounds like the Chief has a bit of a hate for bikers...

Did you remove your helmet? Can he accuarately ID you in court?

I did not remove my helmet. So I highly doubt he can id me. I plan on fighting the ticket, I just talked to a judge that I know and he stated that a off duty cop can issue tickets, however the way that he conducted himself and wrote the ticket the next day was not right. So we shall see what happens. Oh by the way im in the middle of converting to streetfighter, I will post pictures and links to everything that i used, I bought a 2007 hayabusa headlight... should look nice.

 

[jstoof]

I was pulled over about a year ago by a cop who was on duty and i wasnt speeding but he said i was doing 50 in a 35 and i asked if he radared me and he said that he didnt? WTF? So i take it to court and apparently they are "Trained in judging your speed" So in other words its there word against yours but hey i still think you should take it to court cause he was still endangering other people by using his unofficial car to pull you over

 

[Andz]

Land of the free, huh? Thank God we don't have such crap here in the third world.

 

[sublime0713]

They make a big deal in DFW about not stopping unless you're sure it's a legitimate LEO. There have been several high profile incidents of guys posing as an officer and raping women who pull over for them. You are well within your rights to at least ride to a well lit and public area or police station if you are unsure. I would have taken off, but I would definitely fight the "chief" in court.

 

[blu04]

Definately not the way it should have been handled. I would not have stopped personally, too many unstable people out there looking to cause problems. Good luck on the fight and keep us posted.

 

[Mancolt]

Should've just kept going. Some shmo calling out that he's a cop and honking his horn etc:Flip:.

+1 Til you see lights or hear sirens, don't stop.

Personally if it was me I would go after his badge, an apology and the money missed from time off from work....

+1 again. This cop sounds like a piece of $hit...gets pissed off because you passed him because he can't drive at a reasonable speed. Screw him, make his life as difficult as possible for trying to do the same to you.

I just talked to a judge that I know and he stated that a off duty cop can issue tickets

Really? That doesn't sound correct to me, but what do I know. I don't see how cops could be allowed to perform their tasks while off-duty...just seems like too much liability for them to be allowed to.

 

[Mancolt]

Land of the free, huh?

Well...it used to be.

 

[Jez]

In this country he'd be hauled up before an inquiry. Off duty police officers are forbidden to carry out a pursuit, particularly in their own vehicle.

He has no way of measuring your speed. Has his vehicle had an official speedo calibration recently? Is he trained in traffic offences? Did he put your life in danger by not identifying himself as a police officer by sirens and lights and by pursuing you, putting you in fear of your life? Can he issue a ticket after the event in the absence of any evidence?

It's bull****.

 

[RJ2112]

<Really? That doesn't sound correct to me, but what do I know. I don't see how cops could be allowed to perform their tasks while off-duty...just seems like too much liability for them to be allowed to.>

A LEO is a private citizen with the same rights of arrest as anyone else.... off duty, he has the same powers to enforce the law as any other citizen in this fine country. Just so happens, this one is almost certainly 'packing', and knows he has authority over you. In that situation, he does not have the protection of the department he works for; up to the point where he flashes a badge.

If an individual gets in a fist fight with an off duty LEO, who has not identified himself as such..... the LEO has no more legal 'right' than the other party. At least on paper.

 

[joe1971]

<Really? That doesn't sound correct to me, but what do I know. I don't see how cops could be allowed to perform their tasks while off-duty...just seems like too much liability for them to be allowed to.>

A LEO is a private citizen with the same rights of arrest as anyone else.... off duty, he has the same powers to enforce the law as any other citizen in this fine country. Just so happens, this one is almost certainly 'packing', and knows he has authority over you. In that situation, he does not have the protection of the department he works for; up to the point where he flashes a badge.

If an individual gets in a fist fight with an off duty LEO, who has not identified himself as such..... the LEO has no more legal 'right' than the other party. At least on paper.

That what the books say but the truth is the judge is gonna back up the badge, you'll hear things like trained professional and a bunch of other crap that shouldn't matter but does, so your best defense is to take to a jury

 

[RJ2112]

That what the books say but the truth is the judge is gonna back up the badge, you'll hear things like trained professional and a bunch of other crap that shouldn't matter but does, so your best defense is to take to a jury

No argument, there.... witnesses would be critical. And truth be told, 90+% of the time, the LEO is correct in their enforcement, whether I like that or not. It's the p*ssy attitude that gets under my skin.

 

[spock]

Land of the free, huh? Thank God we don't have such crap here in the third world.

Completely agree with you dude :thumbup:

Cheers from Colombia, as you know another third world country

 

[Tailgate]

You're screwed. Take it to court and and judge will, no doubt, take the CHIEF OF POLICE's word over yours! You can't get a jury trial for those offenses either.