I was 16 and a black cop gave me a speeding ticket and he clocked me at 24 mph. I’ve hade a few more bump-ins over the years, black, white, it doesn’t matter. I’ve NOT been a huge fan of police over the years because I echo the prevailing feeling that police abuse their power from time to time and they should be held accountable. That said, the police put their lives on the line for me and every single one reading this with REAL consequences to them.... not us, and for that I am grateful. The thin blue line is in the process of getting thinner tonight in Atlanta. I pray this doesn’t get out of control tonight. It’s time we recognize the good our police do from someone who doesn’t alway agree with them.
My first run in with the law
- Thread starter Shamoan
- Start date
You shouldn’t have been so reckless on Manning Way. Lucky you weren’t beaten and pelted with red solo cups
Good post, Godspeed on its survival before someone comes to tell you how big a 17 you are.... my personal opinion, do what cop says, things tend to go ok....
I used to give LEOs the benefit of the doubt until my first run in with them.
I was in a busy parking lot minding my own business when a large group of officers started getting aggressive with me.
They kept yelling things like “Why are you waving that sword?” and “Why are you naked?” and “I can’t catch him, he’s covered in baby oil”.
Just thought they could’ve handled things a little differently.
I was in a busy parking lot minding my own business when a large group of officers started getting aggressive with me.
They kept yelling things like “Why are you waving that sword?” and “Why are you naked?” and “I can’t catch him, he’s covered in baby oil”.
Just thought they could’ve handled things a little differently.
There are a lot more good policemen than bad. Absolutely agree that the bad ones need to be held accountable. But the good ones need our support and our prayers. It's a tough time to be a police officer, and we need them badly.
BTW, you beat my record. I got a ticket for doing 32 in a 25 zone about 8 years ago. I almost laughed in his face, but held back and paid the ticket. The court costs were more than the fine.
BTW, you beat my record. I got a ticket for doing 32 in a 25 zone about 8 years ago. I almost laughed in his face, but held back and paid the ticket. The court costs were more than the fine.
It was in front of JA at about 7:15-7:20 circa 1999. Technically a school zone despite it being on ridgewood road and zero children in sight. Not even close to a drop off zone. I remember the year because I had to attend court and got sentenced to driving school the day we played auburn with the late comeback that jump started our season. I attended class at some ******** motel on the west side frontage road of I-55 near the old drury inn, got off around 12:30 and sped home to watch the end of the second half of the game. I was driving way faster than 24 on the way home, I can assure you of that.
driving school: reformed [not reformed]
driving school: reformed [not reformed]
There are bad cops, there are bad teachers, there are bad doctors, there are bad politicians. But no matter what percentage are bad, politicians obviously a bit more, that doesn’t make them ALL bad. That is true in every profession. Let’s get a grip and not make the entire class miss recess because one kid talked in class.
When I was in college I was stopped on the Natchez Trace for doing 55. Guy said, "You do know the speed limit is 50 don't you son?"
Its a job where you see the worst of humanity on a daily basis. Not many "happy" calls they respond to. That has to effect your psyche. Not sure how they get up to go to work each day.
For those who want to defund law enforcement I would tell them to be careful what they wish for. Dealing with bad cops every so often is still better than having no cops to deal with.
For those who want to defund law enforcement I would tell them to be careful what they wish for. Dealing with bad cops every so often is still better than having no cops to deal with.
There are also cities that tell policemen to issue marginal tickets to increase the coffers, particularly at the end of the month. And there are quotas that have to be met.
I have a friend who's an ex-cop and he refused to write a ticket for 'normal' speeding. His reasoning was that he drove the same way.
I have a friend who's an ex-cop and he refused to write a ticket for 'normal' speeding. His reasoning was that he drove the same way.
Of all the talk about cops and tickets.... I never hear about Justice Court judges. Now THERE is the racket.
I never contested a ticket I ever got where I was in the wrong. But I got one in Monroe County on 45 where it was obvious the trooper clocked another vehicle.
I got the trooper to confirm it was at night, drizzle conditions, heavy traffic both lanes, he had to turn around and it took 4 miles (Including some distance to find a spot to turn around) for him to spot me in the right lane and pick me out as the person on radar.
Claimed he could tell it was me by the headlights. I moved to dismiss after all of that and bringing up the fact you can’t see a car’s headlights from the rear. Judge said he had to agree with the officer.
went after the radar records. He didn’t have any. Moved to dismiss again. Judge let him get them faxed in. Moved for dismissal again as the originals were available and he introduced a copy. Judge denied.
Introduced a Federal Appeals court ruling that ruled in a case that original evidence had to be provided if available instead of copies and that ruling threw out the evidence submitted in that case. The judge actually replied that he didn’t KNOW if federal law applied to Monroe County Justice Court. Not that it didn’t, not that it did, he said he didn’t know. Of course he followed that up by refusing to dismiss.
For a non-trained lawyer I thought I, at times, put the trooper and the judge on the ropes with their reasoning and explanations. But of course.. Justice court is partially there to rubber stamp revenue.
The trooper turned out to be that one busted for domestic violence. I had a beer and a laugh at that Karma.
I never contested a ticket I ever got where I was in the wrong. But I got one in Monroe County on 45 where it was obvious the trooper clocked another vehicle.
I got the trooper to confirm it was at night, drizzle conditions, heavy traffic both lanes, he had to turn around and it took 4 miles (Including some distance to find a spot to turn around) for him to spot me in the right lane and pick me out as the person on radar.
Claimed he could tell it was me by the headlights. I moved to dismiss after all of that and bringing up the fact you can’t see a car’s headlights from the rear. Judge said he had to agree with the officer.
went after the radar records. He didn’t have any. Moved to dismiss again. Judge let him get them faxed in. Moved for dismissal again as the originals were available and he introduced a copy. Judge denied.
Introduced a Federal Appeals court ruling that ruled in a case that original evidence had to be provided if available instead of copies and that ruling threw out the evidence submitted in that case. The judge actually replied that he didn’t KNOW if federal law applied to Monroe County Justice Court. Not that it didn’t, not that it did, he said he didn’t know. Of course he followed that up by refusing to dismiss.
For a non-trained lawyer I thought I, at times, put the trooper and the judge on the ropes with their reasoning and explanations. But of course.. Justice court is partially there to rubber stamp revenue.
The trooper turned out to be that one busted for domestic violence. I had a beer and a laugh at that Karma.
Required qualifications to be Justice Court Judge in Mississippi:
JUSTICE COURT JUDGEQualifications: A qualified elector, a resident of the county two years preceding the day of election, a high school graduate or its equivalent, and completion of a course of training required by law within six months of the beginning of the term of office.
https://www.sos.ms.gov/Elections-Voting/Documents/CandidateQualifications.pdf
JUSTICE COURT JUDGEQualifications: A qualified elector, a resident of the county two years preceding the day of election, a high school graduate or its equivalent, and completion of a course of training required by law within six months of the beginning of the term of office.
https://www.sos.ms.gov/Elections-Voting/Documents/CandidateQualifications.pdf
If you have a decent defense to a traffic ticket, NEVER try the case in Justice Court. Plead nolo, pay the fine (it's your appeal bond) and appeal to county court (if the jurisdiction has a county court) or circuit court. Real judge. Real chance at dismissal.
you know what? You just filled in the question I have had since then as to “how do you appeal one of these things”? I will definitely remember that.
I've personally had very good luck going to court on various violations. Think I've had 3 thrown out over the years. Every one I've attempted, I believe, now that I think about it. The only ticket I got in the past 5-6 years I went to court to ask for driving school to keep my insurance perfect and turns out the JPD officer that got me at 74 in a 60 on the interstate(right lane of course) hadn't signed the ticket and the judge threw it out from the bench. Happy day.
Cops do profile -- and they wouldn't be doing a very good job if they didn't. There was a point in my life that I was driving a real beater and they basically followed me around waiting on me to screw up. I got pulled over for all kinds of trivialities in that profile. Upgrade the vehicle and never been fooled with again.
Cops do profile -- and they wouldn't be doing a very good job if they didn't. There was a point in my life that I was driving a real beater and they basically followed me around waiting on me to screw up. I got pulled over for all kinds of trivialities in that profile. Upgrade the vehicle and never been fooled with again.
I still contend that Hinds County tag is probably cause on the Madison exit. The older the car, the more likely it gets pulled over.
Years ago, while I was in the service, I had to make a parts run. The government issue Dodge Dart skidded in the snow in a curve and I hit a phone pole. Seattle PD arrived, made out a report and then gave me a ticket for 'Inattention.' I asked "what is this for" and the cop replied "we give this to anyone who hits a fixed object." So I decided to take my case to traffic court there in Seattle. Court day came and I put on my best full dress uniform and went on down to traffic court. For about an hour I sat there after and watched that judge find everyone guilty and made them all exit through the door marked 'cashier.' I figured my *** had had it. My name was called and I went up to the podium and got ready to make my case, futile as it seemed. The judge says "the officer that issued the ticket isn't here. Case dismissed!" I was one happy camper. I believe I was the only one that day that he let off.
Side note: If you ever find yourself going through Golden Meadows, LA, DO NOT exceed the speed limit by even 1 mph, especially if you have out of state license plates. 1 mph over the speed limit will cost you $100. With each 10 mph increment over the speed limit will cost you an additional $100.
Side note: If you ever find yourself going through Golden Meadows, LA, DO NOT exceed the speed limit by even 1 mph, especially if you have out of state license plates. 1 mph over the speed limit will cost you $100. With each 10 mph increment over the speed limit will cost you an additional $100.
Over the years I've had 3 runs ins w/ law enforcement where there was an extended period of time of interaction and some others where there was just a traffic stop or a questioning period and I moved on. Not once have I ever not said yes/no sir, told anything but the truth, raised my voice, questioned authority or motive, etc. Not once did I get anything I didn't deserve, get threatened back, thrown around, etc. You may be in the wrong but getting into a pissing match on the side of the road, in a parking lot, etc is not the time to flex. Do what they say and if you must, you contest it later. Play by the rules and chances are great you live to tell about it and hopefully laugh about it like I can now at some of these. One of those I mentioned I was handcuffed to another person with 2 sets of cuffs w/ our arms around a large pine tree and left there while they pursued others into the woods. After probably 20 minutes of thoroughly being taunted and laughed at by many of our friends the cops returned, asked questions, and released us. We moved on and laugh at it now a lot. Had we made a scene, threatened them, fought, etc I have no doubt at the very least we would have ended up downtown eating snacks and drinking warm water provided by the county and more than likely more than our pride bruised.
People with different skin color have very similar stories with very different outcomes. For instance, it sounds like some of your friends may have ran from the police. What happened next?
When I was in school at Radford University, I lived off campus with some friends. We had a gravel driveway that went around our house with a private parking area. One night we were drinking on the porch and tossing rocks at the private parking sign (behind the sign was woods, so nothing that could be hit).
Out of nowhere, 3 officers run up on us all with guns drawn yelling "drop the rocks". They made us sit on the ground and asked a bunch of questions only to basically say "everything checks out" and walk off. One of those idiots with guns pointed at us could've easily ended up shooting us for literally no reason. The Radford PD is known for being terrible.
Out of nowhere, 3 officers run up on us all with guns drawn yelling "drop the rocks". They made us sit on the ground and asked a bunch of questions only to basically say "everything checks out" and walk off. One of those idiots with guns pointed at us could've easily ended up shooting us for literally no reason. The Radford PD is known for being terrible.
They were caught, taken downtown, charged with misdemeanors and later released. We didn't run, we told them that we didn't have any involvement in the matter at hand (which we didn't) and were released.
Not me, but a true story worth telling. I had a friend who was a Mississippi Highway Patrolman. One day he pulled over a man from Illinois who was speeding and wrote him a ticket. My MHP friend told him he would have to take care of the ticket before he left the state and that he would take him to the local Justice of the Peace, who lived way back in the sticks. They pulled up and the JP was sitting out on his front porch in his overalls. They had a little court and the JP fined the Illinois man. The Illinois man paid the fine and asked the JP for a receipt. The JP went into his house, tore a piece of paper out of a brown paper bag, wrote out a receipt and handed it to the Illinois man. My MHP friend said that the Illinois man stared at the receipt for a long time then said, "You know, I wouldn't take a million dollars for this."
My grandfather, a lifetime used car salesman and clever person, got pulled over for speeding on vacation out of state when my mom was young. The officer did the same thing as this MHP guy, said it had to be taken care of before they left the state. Well, my grandfather had passed all his cash to my grandmother prior to the cop walking back up, pulled out his wallet and showed him he didn't have any money, explained they were on the way back from vacation, and ultimately got out of it.
This is the same man who was out at lunch in the early 1970's in Jackson, saw Governor Waller eating at the restaurant, and picked up the governor's ticket so he could go back to the office and submit an expense report that said "lunch with the governor".
If you’re a bad doctor you lose your license, bad teachers...get fired, bad police get paid vacation. It’s not about there’s more good cops than bad it’s why aren’t the bad ones being held more accountable for their actions. Punish the kid who talked and let the others go to recess knowing what they got to lose.
This is the problem.
I used to date a girl and her brother was an officer that had repeat issues. He'd just go one county over and they'd hire him no question.
During my younger years I got many deserved speeding tickets. However, I was once pulled over about 2:00 AM in Pearl River, LA by city cops on the Interstate for going 60 in a 55, back when the speed limit was 55 on the Interstates. I had to follow the cops to the Pearl River PD where I was told it would cost me $45 for speeding. I asked what if I don't have $45, they said I could stay in jail until I got it. Needless to say I paid the money, never received a ticket nor a receipt. I basically paid a toll to get to work that night.
Was this guy a real judge or a justice of the peace? He doesn't sound like he was highly trained.
Was there something special about your headlights, maybe like the ones we occasionally see that are blue?
Yes, they definitely profile. US 27 east of Summerville, Georgia, is a 4-lane road but at the time the speed limit was 55 (it's been raised to 65, a more reasonable speed). I was driving on that highway in a Corvette, just taking my time, when a sheriff's deputy car pulled in behind me. I set my cruise control at 55, and he stayed behind me, for no reason, for several miles to the county line, then turned around and went back. He was certainly profiling and I'll bet I ticked him off by staying at the speed limit.
Sometimes a little bit of authority goes to their heads and you have abuse of power.
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