I think I jinxed myself last week when I posted on someones thread that I hadn't had a single interaction with police for nearly 10 years... :/
I was driving south on I-5 passing through downtown Everett yesterday, and I must have passed an undercover, unmarked Dodge Charger because I was lit up before I knew it. I'm typically very aware of who I'm passing, and I always eliminate each american made car as a police vehicle (or not) before I come up on them, but I was listening to comedy and talking to my son at the same time, so my attention could've been a little more focused. Anyways, he pulled me over (the first time in 9.5 years!) and said he pegged me at 78 mph AND also tacked on a "following too closely" ticket just for fun. Why not, right?
Ever since I've become aware of what my rights are I've not had to use them, luckily, but if I were ever to be pulled over and get a ticket I've secretly hoped it would be by an unmarked, illegal police vehicle.... and this one was! Lucky me. Haha. I say that because I've known for years that the undercover, unmarked police vehicles are illegal. This unmarked charger has no obvious lettering on the sides of the vehicle, no green state agency sticker, and no "exempt or WSP" marked on his license plate. This car didn't even have a single antenna on it. There was no way to distinguish this charger from any other charger on the road, which is a concern for public safety because of police impersonators, which is why there is a law about it in Washington state.
When he came up to the window I was sure to roll it down only about 2 inches- just enough to give him my paperwork. I had my ID and insurance in hand and held it out for him as he walked up. He first asked me if there was any reason I was going 78 and following too closely? ...I was thinking to myself- Is there any reasonable answer to this question that could get me out of a ticket!? Of course not, its a trap for you to admit guilt! So I remained quiet and just stared at him as I continued to hand him my paperwork. He then asked me to roll down my window more because he couldn't hear me (even though I wasn't saying anything). I said, "The window is fine..." He took my info and said he'd be right back.
A few minutes later he came back with my ticket and I asked him, "How close is too close to follow?" He told me he couldn't hear me, over and over again, so I reluctantly rolled down the window for my own sake. He told me I was following at one car length (which I wasn't- although he was before I passed him), and that its generally 1 car length for every 10 miles per hour... so essentially if you're going 60 it should be 6 car lengths. Most every car in traffic was closer than that! I then again asked him what the legal limit was then, and he mumbled and said something to the effect of , "There is no legal limit, its just based on whatever is deemed to be "unsafe". So basically whenever he feels like writing someone up for it he will! Anyways, I then asked him if he was aware that his patrol vehicle was illegal. He denied it and told me to look at the RCW. I told him I am very aware of the RCW and his state issued vehicle is illegal. I asked him if he had a green sticker in the right bottom corner of his rear window or if he had an exempt license plate and he said, "No." He still insisted his car was legal and I insisted that it was not, and that I will 100% see him in court. I then told him I was going to get out, so that I could take a picture of his vehicle without the appropriate markings and he said, "No you're not." I said, "Why not, is that illegal?" His answer was, "Because I will arrest you and put you in handcuffs..." and I said, "For?". His response was, "For trespassing on the highway." At this point we stared each other in the eyes for like 20 seconds... I just know he was thinking... try me dude. Haha. I stayed put cause my son was in the passenger seat, but I really did want to get that picture of the back of his car! After he got back to his vehicle he backed it up about 50 feet, so it was real tough for me to get a good photo of his car. I was however, able to get his admission to not having either form of identification on my voice recorder on my phone, so that is a plus. ;)
The last 3 times I got speeding tickets (10-13 years ago), I contested the tickets, subpoenaed the officers notes and for the offier to show up to court, and all 3 of them were no shows, so the infractions were all dropped on the spot. Pretty fortunate for me those times because if the officer showed up I had no case. But that was my plan for them not to show up and it worked. If I did happen to see the officer sitting in the court room my plan was just to walk out and go pay my ticket at the front desk, so I didn't have to make a fool of myself... The way I see it is if they did show up I would've at least wasted a little bit of his time having to wait around in the courtroom while I had already left the building. With these new infractions though, I have an actual defense if he does show up, which I hope he does, so he can once again answer my questions (on stand) regarding RCW 46.08.065, and how his vehicle is indeed operating illegally. I have a gut feeling however, that he won't show up because I know they handed out a crap ton of tickets that day- they had people pulled over all up and down I-5. If he knows his car is actually illegal I think he will "let this one slide" but I truly believe he thought he was right, and that he is just ignorant about it because his supervisor never made him aware of such a ridiculous thing. The problem is that the people who are breaking the laws are also the ones who are suppose to uphold them, so of course nothing is going to be done about it if they can continue to get away with it and make $$$ for the state. Why would they press charges on themselves!?
If I wasn't 100% sure I was right I would've never argued with him in the first place. If his car was a marked police vehicle I would've not said a single word to him and would've been on my way. But everyone who has been issued tickets from this vehicle have not been legal! Its just disgusting they're getting away with it. My car was clean and I wanted to flex my rights. Someone has to...
I encourage you all to read this court brief which someone spent a lot of time preparing for anyone to use in its complete and unaltered form, as evidence in anyWashington State legal case involving unmarked police vehicles! This is EXACTLY what I was looking for to help me in my court appearance.
Enjoy!
http://ift.tt/1Kq0czq
I was driving south on I-5 passing through downtown Everett yesterday, and I must have passed an undercover, unmarked Dodge Charger because I was lit up before I knew it. I'm typically very aware of who I'm passing, and I always eliminate each american made car as a police vehicle (or not) before I come up on them, but I was listening to comedy and talking to my son at the same time, so my attention could've been a little more focused. Anyways, he pulled me over (the first time in 9.5 years!) and said he pegged me at 78 mph AND also tacked on a "following too closely" ticket just for fun. Why not, right?
Ever since I've become aware of what my rights are I've not had to use them, luckily, but if I were ever to be pulled over and get a ticket I've secretly hoped it would be by an unmarked, illegal police vehicle.... and this one was! Lucky me. Haha. I say that because I've known for years that the undercover, unmarked police vehicles are illegal. This unmarked charger has no obvious lettering on the sides of the vehicle, no green state agency sticker, and no "exempt or WSP" marked on his license plate. This car didn't even have a single antenna on it. There was no way to distinguish this charger from any other charger on the road, which is a concern for public safety because of police impersonators, which is why there is a law about it in Washington state.
When he came up to the window I was sure to roll it down only about 2 inches- just enough to give him my paperwork. I had my ID and insurance in hand and held it out for him as he walked up. He first asked me if there was any reason I was going 78 and following too closely? ...I was thinking to myself- Is there any reasonable answer to this question that could get me out of a ticket!? Of course not, its a trap for you to admit guilt! So I remained quiet and just stared at him as I continued to hand him my paperwork. He then asked me to roll down my window more because he couldn't hear me (even though I wasn't saying anything). I said, "The window is fine..." He took my info and said he'd be right back.
A few minutes later he came back with my ticket and I asked him, "How close is too close to follow?" He told me he couldn't hear me, over and over again, so I reluctantly rolled down the window for my own sake. He told me I was following at one car length (which I wasn't- although he was before I passed him), and that its generally 1 car length for every 10 miles per hour... so essentially if you're going 60 it should be 6 car lengths. Most every car in traffic was closer than that! I then again asked him what the legal limit was then, and he mumbled and said something to the effect of , "There is no legal limit, its just based on whatever is deemed to be "unsafe". So basically whenever he feels like writing someone up for it he will! Anyways, I then asked him if he was aware that his patrol vehicle was illegal. He denied it and told me to look at the RCW. I told him I am very aware of the RCW and his state issued vehicle is illegal. I asked him if he had a green sticker in the right bottom corner of his rear window or if he had an exempt license plate and he said, "No." He still insisted his car was legal and I insisted that it was not, and that I will 100% see him in court. I then told him I was going to get out, so that I could take a picture of his vehicle without the appropriate markings and he said, "No you're not." I said, "Why not, is that illegal?" His answer was, "Because I will arrest you and put you in handcuffs..." and I said, "For?". His response was, "For trespassing on the highway." At this point we stared each other in the eyes for like 20 seconds... I just know he was thinking... try me dude. Haha. I stayed put cause my son was in the passenger seat, but I really did want to get that picture of the back of his car! After he got back to his vehicle he backed it up about 50 feet, so it was real tough for me to get a good photo of his car. I was however, able to get his admission to not having either form of identification on my voice recorder on my phone, so that is a plus. ;)
The last 3 times I got speeding tickets (10-13 years ago), I contested the tickets, subpoenaed the officers notes and for the offier to show up to court, and all 3 of them were no shows, so the infractions were all dropped on the spot. Pretty fortunate for me those times because if the officer showed up I had no case. But that was my plan for them not to show up and it worked. If I did happen to see the officer sitting in the court room my plan was just to walk out and go pay my ticket at the front desk, so I didn't have to make a fool of myself... The way I see it is if they did show up I would've at least wasted a little bit of his time having to wait around in the courtroom while I had already left the building. With these new infractions though, I have an actual defense if he does show up, which I hope he does, so he can once again answer my questions (on stand) regarding RCW 46.08.065, and how his vehicle is indeed operating illegally. I have a gut feeling however, that he won't show up because I know they handed out a crap ton of tickets that day- they had people pulled over all up and down I-5. If he knows his car is actually illegal I think he will "let this one slide" but I truly believe he thought he was right, and that he is just ignorant about it because his supervisor never made him aware of such a ridiculous thing. The problem is that the people who are breaking the laws are also the ones who are suppose to uphold them, so of course nothing is going to be done about it if they can continue to get away with it and make $$$ for the state. Why would they press charges on themselves!?
If I wasn't 100% sure I was right I would've never argued with him in the first place. If his car was a marked police vehicle I would've not said a single word to him and would've been on my way. But everyone who has been issued tickets from this vehicle have not been legal! Its just disgusting they're getting away with it. My car was clean and I wanted to flex my rights. Someone has to...
I encourage you all to read this court brief which someone spent a lot of time preparing for anyone to use in its complete and unaltered form, as evidence in anyWashington State legal case involving unmarked police vehicles! This is EXACTLY what I was looking for to help me in my court appearance.
Enjoy!
http://ift.tt/1Kq0czq
For anyone that gets pulled over by an unmarked police vehicle....
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