“Berry adds that Gonzalez likely had no idea whom he was pulling over. Yes, police typically run license plates before making a traffic stop, but they’re mostly checking to make sure a vehicle isn’t stolen. He’s skeptical that Gonzalez actually recognized Squires’ name. “
Not the way my cop friends say they do it. They definitely look at the name on the registration when they run the plates.
Then they check to see if the name/address of the driver matches. Otherwise they then want to know why you’re driving a vehicle you don’t own.
Not only that, but with their in car laptops, they’re not just pulling up a name and address but the owners photo ID. And given that the cop had met the owner in court, and lost, I’m sure he knew damn well who he was dealing with.