FWIW: Last summer I was cruising along the highway keeping pace with everyone else and got a ticket for 82 in a 55. I honestly didn't realize that we were going that fast but I was. In VA this is a misdemeanor reckless ticket.

I lawyered up and on his suggestion took an all day Saturday bad boy class hoping to get it reduced to simple speeding. On court date, he met with the prosecutor and got it reduced to "Defective Equipment" - not even a moving violation.

It helps to have a clean record..

 

I couldn't agree more. Credibility is very important to me. When you have several court appearances a month, judges catch on very quickly. Personally, I didn't like pace clock tickets or moving radar tickets. When I issued a ticket, I wanted to make sure that it was a good, solid ticket. Judges in our area would move around from traffic court to criminal court. When I became a detective I didn't want the lack of credibility or preparation to follow me on a criminal case. I'm a very meticulous person and always made notes about a violation on my copy of a traffic ticket.

Some of the comments that have been posted here are almost humorous. A vast majority of the public has no idea or concept of what is involved in being a police officer, with the exception of what they see on television or in the movies.

I became a police officer in 1970 after returning home from Vietnam and getting out of the Marine Corps. After serving in the military I learned that I couldn't save the world, but I wanted to make a difference in the community I grew up in. When I pinned on my badge it had 2 words on it. Police Officer. I didn't have perfect, invincible, Rhodes Scholar or anything else on it. I made a number of mistakes over the years because I'm human. I also tried to treat people with dignity and respect . . . until they gave me reason to do otherwise.

A vast majority of police officers are honest, decent, hard working people who put their lives on the line every day for you and me . . . even if they call us "dicks" or other names. I don't think any police officer on this forum would deny that there are bad people in law enforcement, but don't lump us all into one group. There are two things I will be proud of until the day I die . . . being a United States Marine and a police officer. When I die I'll know I've made a difference in thousands of people's lives, and that's what it's all about.

 

Wow some very un-knowledgable people on this thread. This police officer could have been going to any call or to assist another officer and can legally exceed the speed limit, period. You have no idea what he was doing. The fact that he isnt using emergency equipment (lights or siren) is irrelevant. In fact many time officers must respond to calls without lights or siren because a stealth arrival is required. That could include responding to a request for backup from another officer, an alarm, a violent crime in progress. It is the officer's discretion whether to use lights or siren.
Secondly, when you blatantly break the law wiith other people around in traffic in front of a marked squad car you dont give him much of a choice but to stop you.
Just pay the ticket and move on.

 

Maybe in your department there is no such thing as a quota but there are quotas at lots of departments. Ours was 40 per month. That is two a day. Some guys wrote 5 a month and some wrote 200 a month. Depends on what your assignment was. When I was in traffic division I wrote lots of tickets and arrested at least 20 DUIs a month. When I was in TAC I never wrote a single ticket.

 

I assume the officer was referring to the loose nut behind the steering wheel? 82 mph and had no clue?

 

DevilDogII .. thank you for your service in all areas !

 

This is a fact. Do a little research.

Edit- I did some for you, feel free to do some more:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/...-shot/5988729/

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/23...g-traffic-stop

http://www.wtsp.com/video/1051897910...g-traffic-stop

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/p...r-officer.html

 

You do not have a leg to stand on. Its not entrapment. The law does not state to drive at the flow of traffic. It has a sign with a number on it and you must not exceed that number. Also only 1 out of 5 priority levels of police response require lights while 3 allow the exceeding of speed limit. You should slow down and obey the law or silently pay the tickets.

 

This could not be more untrue if he had added that they pay off your car as well. In reality the ticket clinic (I know the founder) only goes to court to see if the officer doesn't show. If he does show they will get you out of the points but you still pay the fine. They do not win 95% of the cases. They plea 95% of the cases to a "no contest".

 

I will come right out and call you a liar right now. Attorneys are pure human feces and you take the cake. PROVE the local departments are very corrupt or STFU lawyer.

 

This is why I have a radar detector. I NEVER run the speed limit on the highway or on trips out of town.
I've had no tickets in who knows how many years.

 

It's only a lie if proven otherwise. Care to debate religion and the implications in swearing to a god that most likely doesn't exist? I've witnessed cops lie, prosecutors lie, lawyers lie, witnesses lie, even judges. So to me it's fair. The legal process is just a game. You can either fight or lay down. I owe the money so I make them earn it, or I get a better deal. So basically it's my money and I'll enjoy spending it whether it's dinner and a movie or playing "the system". I must be doing OK since I still have no points on my record

 

No you can't call that entrapment. Entrapment would have been like trying to race you and saying he wouldn't give you a ticket for it. Nobody forced you to speed. You knew the speed limit and you chose to go over it. Just because the cop was going fast doesn't mean you have the right to as well.

 

Bite me!

 

Cops are above the law. They get away with murder all the time. Doesn't mean you can. They aren't exactly the best role models, so just because they do something wrong doesn't mean that you should.

 

I have realized through this thread that there are some really ignorant people on this forum. I always pride myself in having integrity and honesty in everything I do especially my job as a Police Officer I swore these things when I became one and I take it very seriously. Yes there are some that don't but that is in every profession not just Law Enforcement. But don't lump me in with them. Thanks to those who support Police and those that are Officer's themselved or retired. Thank you for your support and your service also to those that were/are in the military. I will no longer be reading/following this thread due to the ingnorance of some.

 

That's quite a bit of a stretch between "all the time" and four times. I do understand where you're coming from, though. There is always a chance something bad is going to happen.

 

While I agree there are many LEOs who are honest and decent, there are also plenty who aren't. Enough to make one question whenever having to deal with one, is this an honest, decent one or not? Unfortunately, the bad ones ruin it for the good ones, and you never know which one you've got until the encounter is over . Some are on such power trips and have outsized egos that my philosophy is to try to just avoid all LEOs at any cost. This would include not following a LEO, whether he's speeding or not.

 

Funny, I felt the same way about the thousands of people I dealt with over the years. I dealt with people from every walk of life during the 3 1/2 decades I was a police officer, but I always tried to be open-minded. I've had countless negative experiences with just about every profession imaginable, but I would never "lump' all of those folks into one group. I'd wager an educated guess that many of those same professions are represented here, but personally I'd never categorize an entire profession because of my experiences with a few.

Police officers are a product of our society. Just like teachers, doctors, nurses, bankers, plumbers, carpenters, firemen, etc., they're no different than anyone else. I'm not foolish enough to deny that there are bad apples in law enforcement. There are a number of people on this forum who are critical of police officers. Since they seem to be quite knowledgeable about the workings of law enforcement and have a work ethic that is beyond reproach, perhaps some of them should consider a career change. I'd come out of retirement to supervise a group of police officers who'd give 110% every minute of every day, never make a mistake, and who never issue a traffic ticket that didn't leave the recipient smiling and feeling good about it.

I, like Ferg03 Z06, am out of here.

 

As soon as I see a thread like this pop up I close it. Too many ppl are roadside attorneys and haters. I have no time or patience for either.