Illegal pullover?

[joelhell]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Idaho

I was pulled over in February 2009 by a City of McCall Police officer, and while approaching my car he stated, "don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong, I pulled you over because I know who you are and wanted to make sure you had taken care of everything" referring to a DUI I received on 6/1/08. I had taken care of everything as ordered prior to my sentencing date, but by doing so I fell into a loophole where I was not advised by the judge or transportation dept. to pay an additional $180 fine (the transportation dept. still to this day has not sent me the bill for the fine, however they HAD ALREADY sent me my reinstatement notice which states that all of my fines had been paid.) I went to court to fight the ticket I was issued for "failure to purchase" as there is no humanly possible way for me to know about the fine unless advised, and was forced to either pay the fine or hire an attorney (for approx. $10,000.00). Since I was not driving a vehicle that was registered to me at the time, there would have been no way for the officer to know anything prior to running my license from the pullover. I opted to pay the fine and be done, but my concern is over the legality of the pullover. I live in a small town, own a business, and am deeply concerned that my civil rights were violated and want to address it with the Police chief. Am I correct that being pulled over for no reason is illegal?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by joelhell

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Idaho

I was pulled over in February 2009 by a City of McCall Police officer, and while approaching my car he stated, "don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong, I pulled you over because I know who you are and wanted to make sure you had taken care of everything" referring to a DUI I received on 6/1/08. I had taken care of everything as ordered prior to my sentencing date, but by doing so I fell into a loophole where I was not advised by the judge or transportation dept. to pay an additional $180 fine (the transportation dept. still to this day has not sent me the bill for the fine, however they HAD ALREADY sent me my reinstatement notice which states that all of my fines had been paid.) I went to court to fight the ticket I was issued for "failure to purchase" as there is no humanly possible way for me to know about the fine unless advised, and was forced to either pay the fine or hire an attorney (for approx. $10,000.00). Since I was not driving a vehicle that was registered to me at the time, there would have been no way for the officer to know anything prior to running my license from the pullover. I opted to pay the fine and be done, but my concern is over the legality of the pullover. I live in a small town, own a business, and am deeply concerned that my civil rights were violated and want to address it with the Police chief. Am I correct that being pulled over for no reason is illegal?

**A: ok, so what else is new.

[tranquility]

Yes, you are correct.

However, the fact there is "no reason" has yet to be shown.

Besides, how were you hurt?

[joelhell]

It is clear because I HADN'T done anything wrong, was at a stop sign with my seatbelt on at 2pm waiting to turn left with my turn signal on, and the fact that the officer flat out said I hadn't done anything wrong. Although I never said it "hurt" me, it has cost me tons of money and time to consult with attorneys and appear in court (our courthouse is a 1.5 hr. round trip) in addition to the attorney fee to appear with me, not to mention that I was on my way to a business call when this occurred, causing me to miss my appointment and therefore lose the account. In addition living in a small town, I received approx. 12 phone calls from people who saw this take place, and several clients heard about the incident and expressed their concern. All in all it's been horribly unpleasant, and I'm happy to be the target for awhile to expose a corrupt, unethical and incompetent small town police force.

[tranquility]

The stop did not cause those damages, the fact you had not properly dealt with your legal issues did.

In a small town, an officer might very well know or have a "reasonable suspicion" that a person has not dealt with his legal issues. You get to know people and how they look.

don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong, I pulled you over because I know who you are and wanted to make sure you had taken care of everything

If he said that on approach, he did know you. If he had a reasonable suspicion that you had not "taken care of everything" then you were stopped legally.

Incompetent? It seems like they may have been very competent. Only if the officer's belief were unreasonable, would the stop be illegal. Only if no reasonable officer would have felt the stop were legal would there be a potential for compensation. Complain if you want, but the cop will say "I knew the guy and thought he had something from the DUI outstanding" and any complaint will be unfounded or exonerated.

[joelhell]

Now that makes a little more sense. I do understand that griping about a flaw in the system will get me nowhere, however it has created quite a stir since I did receive the reinstatement notice from the Transportation Dept. prior to being pulled over, and the transportation supervisor has assisted me throughout this process even to the point of offering to speak directly to the judge and point out the error on his/the prosecutors part. It is a small town, and the cop did know me... because he was there when I received my DUI. But, in digging a little deaper, I know for a FACT that he didn't know the fee hadn't been paid because the transportation department hadn't informed the police department yet either. He discovered it when he ran my license (as I've also been told by other officers) which is ironic because the ticket was for failure to purchase a valid license, which the officer was holding in his hand. It's unfortunate, but the reality is he was just fishing with nothing better to do. As for their competence... there's not enough memory in this CPU to tell the stories of recent happenings. Everything from the last Chief using his company rig to go hunting, lawsuits over mishandled evidence, officers allowed to drive home while DUI (witnessed by several people), multiple lawsuits against the city, illegal profiling, etc., etc.
I am not interested in money, I want to see the people involved simply follow the rules because in this little resort town, the more this happens, the less people want to come, and the entire town depends on tourism. An apology and willingness on their part to remedy the problem would satisfy me, however the Chief won't even call me back.

[tranquility]

An apology and willingness on their part to remedy the problem would satisfy me, however the Chief won't even call me back.

Don't hold your breath.

There may be an Idaho statute requiring an investigation within a certain time on a written complaint. (Many states have this.) Write it out and submit it.