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Conduct unbecoming of officer

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J

johnwz

Guest
What is the name of your state? FL

I was riding my motorcycle. I passed this suv he was going 15 miles under the speed limit. Yes it was a double yellow line. This suv then started chasing me at a high rate of speed, he was less than two feet off my bumber. I stopped at the red light and turned right. I was not sure who this idiot was, I took off, he pursed me at a high rate of speed, I was trying to get away, I did not know who this dude was. Came upon a stop sign, he started yelling and using foul language. I turned left and took off again to get away. I pulled in to walmart. He also did. He got out of this vehicle and showed his badge. He then called a code red over his radio. 6 other cruisers showed up and asked what he needed. He said a ticket? The looked at him with disgust and left. He threatened to take me to jail and take my license away. He gave me a ticket for crossing that line, which is ok, I did. Then he gave me a ticket for agressive driving and reckless op. At no time did he ever indicate to me that he was an officer, he had 2 times he could of, the red light and the stop sign. He was also off duty, I personnally think he was drunk. What can I do about this. I feel his conduct was unbecoming of an officer. I have to go to court at in a couple of weeks
 


K

krispenstpeter

Guest
Go speak with an attorney now. You also should have IMMEDIATELY filed a complaint with the officer's superiors and gotten the numbers of the other vehicles that had responded.

But go now to an attorney. You will still have to answer for the ticket but (IF your post is accurate) this type of behavior is unnecessary and NOT representative of most police officers.
 

JETX

Senior Member
I disagree with Krispy on this one.

By your own post....
- You crossed a double-yellow line. Strike one.
- You then tried to outrun a pursuing vehicle. Though I don't condone the conduct of the officer (based solely on YOUR VERSION), your conduct would clearly be in violation of several laws. Strike two.
- And finally, your belief that he "may have been drunk" is clearly NOT supported by the actions of the officers in the other "6 cruisers", and clearly is NOT relevant or factual. Strike three.

Next time, you might learn that if you break the law and a vehicle starts to pursue you, simply head to the local police department or a busy shopping center, gas station or store where there are other people. Your decision to break the law in trying to escape was NOT justified or smart.

Now, you certainly have the right to file a complaint with the officers supervisors. You also have the right to defend yourself against the charges in court. And you also have a right to talk with an attorney about the officers conduct but, simply, that will do nothing as there is clearly more to this story than you are suggesting. For example, your post says that when you finally stopped the officer "called a code red over his radio". Though it is possible, it is unlikely that an off duty officer would have a 'two-way' on him or in his personal vehicle.
 
J

johnwz

Guest
TO Jetx

I do agree with you that I should not have sped off. I felt threatened and especially when he was yelling at me. He had a perfect opportunity to acknowledge that he was an officer on two different occasions. The officer had a nextel and that is how he alerted the other officers. The other officers did not stay long enough to tell if he was drunk. They threw a book of tickets to him and left. Should I have sped off, no - but I feel he left me no alternative at the time. His conduct was unacceptable.
 

JETX

Senior Member
Then I repeat my post:
"Now, you certainly have the right to file a complaint with the officers supervisors. You also have the right to defend yourself against the charges in court. And you also have a right to talk with an attorney about the officers conduct but, simply, that will do nothing as there is clearly more to this story than you are suggesting."
 

mcedronron

Junior Member
Similar situation a few years back

Miami, Florida

There are bad apples in every police department and I agree with the poster's action on refusing to stop for an unmark vehicle.

I would had done the same in his case. I went thru a similar situation a few years back here in Miami, Florida.

I had left a bowling alley at about 3 am. My uncle rode with me in my car. Driving east-bound on SW 40th Street (Bird Rd) on the center lane, as a Cargo Van (no windows) with a brown tag (unheard off here) pulled out of a restaurant's parking lot and almost hit me as he was unable to stay on the right lane. Inmediatelly, it appeared to me that whomever was driving, was drunk. They proceeded to change lanes, behind my car, to which I reacted by speeding up to loose the "drunk driver" behind me.

Two blocks later, the van still behind me, starts flashing blue lights from within. Since it was an unmark vehicle, I refused to pull over, specially in a dark area.

The van pulled up next to me, and the person in the passenger seat, pointed a flashlight towards his uniform.

I had "911" already dialed on my cell phone.

I pulled into a gas station, so did the van, and soon after, a state trooper and a county unit in response to a call for back-up from the unmark vehicle.

The officers proceeded to ask for my DL, insurance and registration. They were acting in a very rude way until, during questioning, found out I worked for one of the munipalities in the area. At which point, they calmed down and let me go.

As far as I am concern, I did nothing wrong. Even if I broke the speed limit, I did so running away from the car that almost hit me.

In my opinion, they had been drinking.

Anyhow, whichever the case might be, I REFUSE TO PULL OVER FOR AN UNMARK CAR. IF IT HAPPENS TO ME AGAIN, I'LL SIMPLY DIAL 911 AND REQUEST FOR THEM TO SEND A MARK UNIT AND WON'T STOP UNTIL THEN. We have all heard about cases of "fake cops".
 

JETX

Senior Member
Fascinating story. The only problem is that it provides NO legal facts relevant to this thread.:D
 

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