Is this legal??

[butterfly-13-PA]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

Ok, here goes. My friend and I decided to go to see his relatives in an apartment building in a small town. We parked in the back and went in to visit for a few hours. An hour and a half later while smoking in front of the building the small town cop pulled up and motioned my friend over. The cop stated that he had passed up earlier and had been looking for us since. (Driving around the small town.) He motioned me over and said that I had ran from him and hid in this apt. building and called me a criminal. He said the car was un-inspected and that I had made tire marks on the road while fleeing from him. He insisted we give him our names and addresses and he said there would be a citation in the mail. The conversation was no more that 4 mins. He was really ****y and short. Demanding that he had seen us in the car. Turns out my license is suspended for other reasons and my inspection had ran out. Can he cite/fine me after so much time had gone by and after not actually catching me behind the wheel or in the car?? If he can, what for exactly? Any advice would be sooo appreciated.

 

[mdljhu]

Here's a simple question...did you run from him? There are two types of charges in PA concerning this, §3733) Fleeing or attempting to elude police officer and §3734) Driving without lights to avoid identification or arrest. In both cases, an officer must make either a visual or audible signal instructing you to pull over (siren, flashing lights, voice, hand signal if he's standing in the street, etc) in order to be charged with this.

In any event, if he had reason to believe you fit the description of someone he was looking for or had seen driving by (though how can he see you drive by and recognize you visibly without your car), he certainly has the right to ask you for identification. If you volunteer this info to him, and it shows your license is suspended, then he can certainly write you a ticket for it. However, he will have to prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt that you were in fact the person he saw driving earlier, which may be difficult to do.

 

[butterfly-13-PA]

Did not run

Of course I did not run from him. It was a 35mph zone I was driving through in a small town when he "allegedly", passed me. The stratch of road is only a quarter of a mile and he could have pulled me over if he wanted to. There was definatly no signaling on his behalf because I would have definately been aware I had passed him. So there, no running, no chasing, no signaling. My main concern is if he had a camera in his car. Is it state law in PA for all police to have a camera on their front dash on at all times? If so he may have proof, if not, how can he prove that I was in that car? He can't. Any question he asked me he wrote the anwser down on a little notepad. The whole thing was so ridiculous. Does anyone know the possible charges he could file? Or what he can/could fine me for?

 

[mdljhu]

No, all police cars in PA do not have cameras, and even those that do are sometimes only active during a stop (when the lights are on). However, this is not to say that there aren't cars with cameras that are running regularly.

As far as violations, it's not really worth trying to speculate, but you can probably see what he "could" issue you based on his claims. Until you actually receive something, I wouldn't lose sleep over it. If you're that worried, you could also call and try to find out on your own.