Posted on 11/23/2005 6:26:28 PM PST by rawhide
[rant starts]
I noticed a car headlights following me too closely last night while driving in the FAR right lane of a regular street, not on the freeway. After a while, I start to get paranoid so I start to slow down from 35 MPH to about 25 MPH. That car still tailgated me. I could practically see the headlights right at my tail. So I stepped on the brake a few times (no, I didn't SLAM on it, just tapped it so the brake light came on and off a few times). The moron still tailgated me, so I slowed down even more to 20 MPH.....a few minutes later, about 5 minutes or so, it turned out it was a cop's car and he now decided to turn on his lights to pull me over......
He gave me a ticket for "unsafe driving and travelling too slowly on the highway". I didn't agree with this, but I know it's my words against his so I quietly took the ticket and went my way.
Here's the twist.......After the cop left the scene, I followed him. It turned out after feeling satisfied with his evening ticketing quota, he decided to stop at a restaurant for his dinner. I called the police dispatch and gave the dispatcher the cop's car ID number and asked if he was still on duty. The answer was a sound YES.....
I waited in the parking lot for a good half hour when the cop finished his meal and left the restaurant. He drove away a block or so and decided to pull over and parked in an empty parking lot. I observed him for another good half hour. He stayed in his car and not moved for a good 45 minutes.......
I approached his car and stood in front of it waving my hands, making it look like I was in need of help. Nothing happened. I approached his car and knocked once on the driver side window. 4 seconds later, the window rolled down and the cop just got up from his NAP!!! Why I knew this? Because his seat was slanted backward and his shirt was unbuttoned down to about his belly, revealing his vest inside.
He asked me "What do you want?". I responded "Pardon me officer, but is it my eyes or you're sleeping?". He said "None of your biz. Anything else?". I said "No, but are you on duty sir?". He said "You need to take off or I'll arrest you!".....
Just then, I stepped away from his car and he got outta his car and YELLED at me "Turn around slowly and put your hands on the hood. You're under arrested!"
What should I do now?
[rant ends]
what a a whole both of them
Get a lawyer. And demand a jury trial.
>What should I do now?
Consider an insanity defense.
Sounds like the cop and the idjit both have WAYYYYYYYYY too much time on their hands.
Need we say more?
Write to the local newspaper and the city council. The best defense is a good offense.
What should I do now?
I suggest you turn around slowly and put your hands on the hood. This cop doesn't sound unreasonable to me at all. I mean, he let you consult us before he slapped the cuffs on you?
I would ahve got a picture of the bastard sleeping in his car with my cell phone, and upload to my site before I got arrested...
Agreed, and remember, this is the version written by the idjit himself.
"Arnold Rimmer" is the name of one of the main characters of a BBC comedy from the 80's called "Red Dwarf"
What should you do now? Buy a water pistol that looks like a handgun and take it into the court room. When you think everyone is not looking, pull it out and shout "you're not gonna put me in jail." You can count on the fun continuing.
What were the charges?
I think this is BOGUS as He77... What charge would he be arrested for? Additionally, most people have a cell phone, hence if someone was following me like that I would have made the call (911). Additionally, this goober should have been tazed for general stupidity.
Depends on how much weed you smoked before the incident.
What you do now is go to court without a lawyer and expect the judge to listen to you and bring the cop up on charges while you get an apology. :^)
File a civil action against the officer for harrassment. A reasonable person would have done the same thing as you described when being tailgated. The alternative was to speed. I don't see the crime committed by surveiling the officer as long as you didn't interfere with his duties... and unless sleeping is considered part of his duties, it doesn't sound like you interfered. I personally would not have followed him, but certainly would have challenged the tailgating bit in court.
I once was issued a ticket for driving straight through a left turn lane. I was experiencing transmission problems and saw a black and white across the intersection. I didn't turn left because I would have blocked a major street. When I pulled up to the police car he issued me a ticket for not turning left. When he issued the ticket I asked to see his supervisor. He gave me a smart alect answer when he named the Chief of Police, (this was in Dallas).
When I arrived at work I spoke with the company security officer who was a retired Dallas police officer. He advised me to plead not guilty. I appeared in court and after my plea I asked the Asst DA how to subpoena a witness. He went through the procedure and then asked who did I intend to subpoena. when I told him I intended to subpoena the Police chief, he gulped rolled his eyes and quickly ran up to the bench. 60 seconds later the charges were dropped and the Asst DA had some heated words with the traffic cop who had issued the ticket.
Be prepared to sue. Stranger things have happened and sometimes you just have to push back!!
But was he naked?
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