Can a COP do this?

[The Buddha]

In canada I have seen badges in novelty stores and other party supplies places etc... They were NYPD badges or LAPD ones .... but anyone can get a badge... OK so I am going to venture out and say... Fake cop... BTW no cop has ever flashed a badge ever so far, of course no off duty cops have ever tried to chase me... BTW this idiot was following me for passing him ... oh yea he was doing 10 in a 35 after runing a stop sign and turning right before me... and boy did I lead him all over town... BTW I was on my KZ - 65+mpg and he was in a Blazer... 20 mpg... and I sure cost him atleast couple bucks... Actually great help having decent mirrors.
Cool.
Srinath.

[jake42]

Ok so let me get this straight.

Lately on this board we've gone after people for their political affiliations, their religious beliefs, and now their occupations.

Try to remember folks before you completely bash the police and even lawyers that there some of these guys on our board.  

Have I run into cops that are assholes.. yes.
I've also run into engineers, programmers, english lit majors, and architects who are assholes too.

jake

[stephan]

Ok so let me get this straight.

Lately on this board we've gone after people for their political affiliations, their religious beliefs, and now their occupations.

Try to remember folks before you completely bash the police and even lawyers that there some of these guys on our board.  

Have I run into cops that are assholes.. yes.
I've also run into engineers, programmers, english lit majors, and architects who are assholes too.

jake

I agree, the difference being that lawyers and cops can really tinker with your life!  

Personally I think this whole thing is a huge over reaction.  People already think those who ride motorcycles are creeps, why do we have to keep on proving them right by our behavoir?   :dunno:

Just my opinion, take it or leave it . . .

[Rich500]

I was only a jackass due to the way this guy acted towards me. He was somewhat hostile, and so rude. I started calm, then got angry. Whenever I ahve been pulled over by a cop, I have been cordial towards them... as long as they show me the same respect. How can someone be expected to be polite, and restrained when they are being reemed out by some pompous duck? Bottom line, a cop is a normal person to me. If they are a jackass to me, they can expect equal behaviour back.
As for this incident, no cruiser showed up at my house yet. Im sure nothing will happen now, and if it does, I have a great lawyer.

[goggleman]

You could give someone a ticket in CA. It's just a citizen's arrest. You detain the guy and call the cops. Hell, in Kentucky you can kill the guy if he's trying to escape after committing a felony.  

[mwdbruno]

I, for once have taken a bit of offense to a post on the board.  Not at Rich...he and I have bantered about police officers and their positions before.  I'm sorry he had a sh*tty experience with some a**.  I do understand your human reaction to this ODO (off duty officer), but keep in mind Rich, cops have a great memory for things like insults and threats and it will only hurt you in the end my friend! I was going to quote jakers post, but I'm the last one to start a internet name war on here.  All I have to say if I hope you have done research based on fact for the statstics you speak of and really wish you could walk in the shoes of your local cops for a while to understand the totality of their job and life.
By the way...a cop is never "off-duty"-part of the oath he/she takes and lives to...look into it sometime and you maybe suprised at what all is required "off-duty"  Jakers I appreciate your freedom of speech and welcome your willingness to use it, just please don't state facts unless they are just that-facts.
Respectfully...

[Turkina]

I would have pulled into the driveway, parked the bike, and walked towards the front door.  If they guy walked onto your property, kindly tell him that he's not welcome and remove himself from your lawn  

My friends and I had a big discussion about cops last night, seeing as how a couple of my friends have some tarted up cars.  One of them gets routinely harassed just because of the way his car looks, and he rarely puts the hammer down or breaks the law.  Another one... well his family owns a diner, and currently he's managing.  Either the cops give him free license to drive fast by telling him where the friendly cops are, or they recognize him from stopping at the diner for a bite to eat.  

Don't be smart to the cops, even the off duty ones.  One way or the other, they can make your life painful if you push the issue.

[tkm433]

So I almost got in trouble from the law tonight. It was pouring rain, and I wanted to get home. I was at a stop light and spun my rear tire to get the water off it for something that resembled traction. It was that wet outside.
So, I ride off, hit about 100km/h, thats it. Speed limit is 90. NExt, Im riding up the hill that seperates my neighbourhood from the city, and I cross about 2 feet into the oncoming lane. There is noone else on the road besides me and this @$$hole tailgating me. I only cut in the other lane so I didnt have to make as severe a turn in the rain. I pull up at my mailbox which is down the street from my house, and some guy with his wife in their Patherfinder pull up beside me. He pulls out a badge. I tell him "Nice badge @$$hole". He got pretty mad. So this is what Im asking: He said that I comitted about 5 offenses, and that he could take away my license and fine me. I tell him "Try it Dickhead". He says nothing. I say "Your not on duty, you cant do shaZam!. Even if I did something wrong, you cant prove it." He proceeding to give me a lecture on respect, and I proceeded to give him the finger and ride home. So can he send me a ticket in the mail as he said? Or even do anything not being on duty?

1. A police officer is a police officer 24hours a day.  Yes, he only gets paid to work so many hours a week but that does not mean that he is to turn a blind eye when some one does soething wrong. If he has a means of doing his job he can do it.  It would of been better for him to use his cell phone and call it in and report your bad driving but maybe he figured he would try and give you a wake up call and approach you before he found you on the side of the road dead from riding like a fool.  

2. Now that you pissed him off in front of his wife he knows who you are or at least who the motorcyle is registered to , where you live and how to f%$k with you if he wants to.  All that you need to do is be seen by him while he is on duty and in his police car and he can stop you for just about any reason and just screw with you.  It is your word against his and usually the cop wins.  

3. Now if he decides to send you a ticket in the mail you are screwed because you have to still go to court and waste a day of your life telling the judge that he was mistaken but still he wasted your time and there is nothing you can do about it other than come and expect us to feel sorry for you on this board.  

Now if that happens to you again how about getting his tag number and calling the police and tell them the truth that someone that was in a unmarked non police type car stopped you and showed you a badge and told you he was a cop and that he could take your license.  Try and talk to a supervisor not just a desk worker and tell them that you did not feel safe with someone that might or might not be an officer stopping you.

Remember tell the truth because the officer is going to be asked what happened and if both of your stories match as far as who said what and and how it went down the supervisor will beleive that you did not feel comfortabel with an off duty office playing cop in an unmarked car and will most likely chew your officer a new ass.  Tell the supervisor that you did use some bad choice of words but again that was because cops that you know of do not drive pathfinders and you did not know if he was a cop of someone trying to take advantage of you.

[Rich500]

/\---Good points.
He knows approximatley where I live. He cant get into the neighbourhood most of the time though. Its gated off. He only got through last night by following me through. I think I would have been much nicer to him if he had been less of a duck. I saw him driving the Pathfinder today in the adjacent neighbourhood (where I assume he lives). He drove right past me, with no more than a passing glance. Im starting to doubt if he is even a cop. He didnt seem to have very good knowledge of demerits. I give most cops benefit of the doubt, but I still am not a fan of them. Perhaps its just a thing in Calgary: we have ass hole police. They are unfriedly, not helpful, and generaly pricks. At least they ahve been in EVERY situation I have ever witnessed whether it be me in the spot light, or someone around me.

[Diderich]

I couldn't resist responding to the claim that people keep making that the police have to prove traffic offenses beyond a resonable doubt.  Well, they don't.  Police officers are considered to be expert witnesses, and their word is evidence.  Its akin to having a psychologist say someone is insane or a doctor say that someone is incapable of doing such and such...The only way to counter it is with more evidence.

Something very similar happened to me where i was going 43 in a 40 but got busted for 43 in a 30.  The cop put block xxx of street yyy.  I got a deposition from the county that showed the speed limit on that stretch of road was 40 and they dismissed the ticket.

[Blueknyt]

Police officers are considered to be expert witnesses

Only allows their professional opinion be Voiced and entered in the Record. this goes for ALL expert wittnesses not just cops.


I just found this out,  Once Sworn in, a Law enforcment officer has atthority 24/7 in his juristiction.  Off duty incidents are frowned upon only for the fact that he/she has no ready backup, and in public eye doesnt see them as official, but wait, it gets better,   ONCE said LEO Identifies thierself as such with badge & voice they are to be veiwed as on duty regaurdless.  he can arrest you if he states you are so,(no he doesnt need cuffs) if you run, its evasion. you can try to plea it out in court it wasnt you, but fact is, for the time, he can still issue a ticket, and you must accept and respond to it.   remember, Cops are humans just like you and me, and frankly, i know im an @$$hole, only problem is, the cops have a badge.  Becarful. think before you act.

[Zarathustra]

yeah i think that's pretty much true.  your only other defense is if you say he was acting unprofessionaly (being overtly rude), and it was dark so you couldn't see the badge clearly, coupled with the unmarked car, so you weren't sure that he was a real officer, and weren't about to get off your bike and find out if he was instead a knife weilding maniac.  as someone pointed out earlier, fake badges are easy to get, and i think we've all heard the stories of people being pulled over by people with them, and winding up dead or missing.  so there's another slimey avenue if you need one (and probably the one i'd use, if you can prove he was acting unprofessionaly, and gave you reason to think you might be in danger).