So this past saturday i got pulled over for doing 67mph in a 30. (dont ask). i'm not trying to deny that i was speeding, but how the cop handled the situation was very shady. tell me what you think.
After he pulled me over, i got my licence and insurance card ready. he came over and told me to get out of the car. he told me the speed i was doing then he asked if any of my passengers had their licenses. i said yes, but neither of them can drive stick. he told me that the reason he asked was that i was going to be detained! he then told me that the only way out of it is if i pay for the ticket right there on the spot. so i asked him how much it was going to be. he went back to his car and came back a few minutes later and told me it was going to cost 289.50. i tell him that i dont have that much money on me and that id need to run to the bank. he asks for my license and i give it to him. he looks at it and tells me to take the money in a money order to the police department. i say ok and ask for my license back. he tells me no, and that ill get it back when i go pay my fine. i tell him that its illegal to drive without a license and ask him whatll i do if i get pulled over again? he tells me to just tell them that officer *** has my license. (keep in mind that at this point he didnt ask for my license at the beginning, he never ran my license to check my record, he never asked to see my insurance card, and he never wrote me a citation. he seemed more interested in collecting the fine.) so anyways, i just say ok and head over to the bank and get the money. then i took the money to the store to get a money order. i didnt catch it at the time, but the money order they gave me was for 287.50 instead of 289.50. i didnt catch it until i was there at the police dept waiting. there was nobody there, just the clerk at the front desk. ( it was a saturday and its a small town). so the cop finally comes out and gets me, and he takes me to one of the back rooms. he asks for the money order and i hand it to him, and im trying to think of what to tell him regarding the incorrect money order amount because i know they wont accept a money order unless its the exact amount (ive been in that situation before with a previous ticket, and it was only like 40cents off, and they wouldnt accept it, it had to be for the exact amount). he looks at it, then he gets his ticket book and writes me my citation. he has me sign it. he hands me another paper to sign. i ask what im signing. he says its a plea of guilt. i tell him that i dont want to plead guilty, i want to plead no contest. he tells me no, and that if i want to plead anything besides guilty, he'll have to detain me. so i sign it and then he leaves with the ticket and the money order. he comes back with a xerox copy of the citation with a note written at the bottom that says "paid 289.50 7-31-10". he hands me that and my license. i never got a a legitimate receipt for the payment or the carbon copy of the citation, just the xerox.
so there were several things that didnt seem right about this whole situation.
i know i was speeding and i dont mind paying my fines, thats not the issue. the issue is whether that police officer did things properly. did he do anything illegal or that violated my rights? the whole thing seemed shady and i kept having the feeling that this wasnt going on the record and he may have possibly had the intention of just pocketed the money. So i wanted to ask, based on what ive written, if this officer did anything that was illegal or that violated my rights in any way.
1. Can cops really force you to pay right there on the spot under the threat of detainment?
2. Can a cop refuse to give you back your license and instead keep your license as "insurance" until you pay your ticket?
3. Can the cop conduct the actual transaction of paying the ticket, or is it the clerks who should do that? And shouldnt it be done someplace else besides alone in one of the back rooms where noone else can see whats going on?
4. Is it just me that thinks its odd that he didnt even care that the money order was for the wrong amount?
5.Is is normal to get just a xerox copy of the citation instead of the carbon copy? All the tickets ive ever gotten, i always get the carbon copy. Why wouldnt he give me the carbon copy, and what happened to it afterward?
6. Is it ok that there was no sales receipt, just a note hand written by that cop saying that i paid it?
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? I live in TexasWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
After he pulled me over, i got my licence and insurance card ready. he came over and told me to get out of the car. he told me the speed i was doing then he asked if any of my passengers had their licenses. i said yes, but neither of them can drive stick. he told me that the reason he asked was that i was going to be detained! he then told me that the only way out of it is if i pay for the ticket right there on the spot. so i asked him how much it was going to be. he went back to his car and came back a few minutes later and told me it was going to cost 289.50. i tell him that i dont have that much money on me and that id need to run to the bank. he asks for my license and i give it to him. he looks at it and tells me to take the money in a money order to the police department. i say ok and ask for my license back. he tells me no, and that ill get it back when i go pay my fine. i tell him that its illegal to drive without a license and ask him whatll i do if i get pulled over again? he tells me to just tell them that officer *** has my license. (keep in mind that at this point he didnt ask for my license at the beginning, he never ran my license to check my record, he never asked to see my insurance card, and he never wrote me a citation. he seemed more interested in collecting the fine.) so anyways, i just say ok and head over to the bank and get the money. then i took the money to the store to get a money order. i didnt catch it at the time, but the money order they gave me was for 287.50 instead of 289.50. i didnt catch it until i was there at the police dept waiting. there was nobody there, just the clerk at the front desk. ( it was a saturday and its a small town). so the cop finally comes out and gets me, and he takes me to one of the back rooms. he asks for the money order and i hand it to him, and im trying to think of what to tell him regarding the incorrect money order amount because i know they wont accept a money order unless its the exact amount (ive been in that situation before with a previous ticket, and it was only like 40cents off, and they wouldnt accept it, it had to be for the exact amount). he looks at it, then he gets his ticket book and writes me my citation. he has me sign it. he hands me another paper to sign. i ask what im signing. he says its a plea of guilt. i tell him that i dont want to plead guilty, i want to plead no contest. he tells me no, and that if i want to plead anything besides guilty, he'll have to detain me. so i sign it and then he leaves with the ticket and the money order. he comes back with a xerox copy of the citation with a note written at the bottom that says "paid 289.50 7-31-10". he hands me that and my license. i never got a a legitimate receipt for the payment or the carbon copy of the citation, just the xerox.
so there were several things that didnt seem right about this whole situation.
i know i was speeding and i dont mind paying my fines, thats not the issue. the issue is whether that police officer did things properly. did he do anything illegal or that violated my rights? the whole thing seemed shady and i kept having the feeling that this wasnt going on the record and he may have possibly had the intention of just pocketed the money. So i wanted to ask, based on what ive written, if this officer did anything that was illegal or that violated my rights in any way.
1. Can cops really force you to pay right there on the spot under the threat of detainment?
2. Can a cop refuse to give you back your license and instead keep your license as "insurance" until you pay your ticket?
3. Can the cop conduct the actual transaction of paying the ticket, or is it the clerks who should do that? And shouldnt it be done someplace else besides alone in one of the back rooms where noone else can see whats going on?
4. Is it just me that thinks its odd that he didnt even care that the money order was for the wrong amount?
5.Is is normal to get just a xerox copy of the citation instead of the carbon copy? All the tickets ive ever gotten, i always get the carbon copy. Why wouldnt he give me the carbon copy, and what happened to it afterward?
6. Is it ok that there was no sales receipt, just a note hand written by that cop saying that i paid it?
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? I live in TexasWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
