My question involves a traffic ticket(s) from the state of: Texas
My question will require knowledge of my situation, so please bare with me.
I work, well used to work, for a rental car company in my small town. I was delivering a car for a customer to our tiny airport. Beside the airport is a park I regularly drive though which never has anyone in it. In this park there is one poorly paved and unpainted road, it has no intersections. On each side of the road is a baseball field or something. In the middle of the park road there is a stop sign just sticking out of the pavement in the middle of the road. As I was leaving the airport I decided to take the path which cuts through the park, it is much quicker. As I approached the random stop sign I recognized there was a grey Chevy Impala sitting at the stop sign for an extended period of time, for stopping at a stop sign, and drove around him to the left without stopping at the stop sign. I proceeded to turn onto the main road which takes me back to town, about a mile and a half or so. I began to notice the Impala seemed to be following me, I would change lanes, speed up, slow down and he continued to keep pace with me. I proceeded to get into a left turn lane towards a road less traveled hoping my assumptions about being followed were false. The Impala followed. When I noticed the Impala was still behind me I bailed out of the left turn lane and onto the main road again. At this point my blood really started flowing, I thought only two things: 1. This guy wants to fight 2. This guy wants to kill me. I was scared for my life. I then turned into a strip mall and slipped into the small alley behind the buildings hoping it would divert the Impala from following me. As soon as I was in a larger less cramped area behind the buildings in the strip mall I look back and there were blue and red lights flashing from the Impala's driver side visor. I immediately stopped and felt stupid. Seconds later a half dozen police cars pull up and two unmarked vehicles with officers in civilian clothing.
The officer in the Impala, who had been following me, asked me angrily if I knew that I flew past him at that stop sign, I told him I did now. He also said I was driving recklessly and he should take me to jail. I never got a chance to explain to the officer who pulled me over why I did the things I did. When I told some of the other officers they seemed understanding but said next time I should call 911 if I think I'm being followed. I never thought of calling 911, my blood was rushing and I just wanted to get away from who ever was following me.
The citations I received are as followed:
1. Ran Stop Sign (legitimate citation, I would pay for that)
2. Speeding 60 in a 45 (when i KNOW I was not doing more than 50)
3. Failed to signal lane change (when I bailed out of the turn lane attempting to get away from who ever was behind me)
The argument I feel I could make in court is that the officers actions in following me in such a manner caused me to fear for my life. When I was in fear for my life I did things I would not normally do. The Impala was a completely unmarked vehicle no exempt license plate, no police wheels, or odd antennas on the trunk or roof that are generally signs of an unmarked police car. The only glimpse I got of the officer driving the Impala was a red shirt, usually not an indicator of law enforcement.
My question is, could I bring my case to court on the notion of fear alone?
Are there any cases that may hold precedence to my situation?
Thank you all for your help, I cannot afford to even pay my court fees let alone all those citations.
My question will require knowledge of my situation, so please bare with me.
I work, well used to work, for a rental car company in my small town. I was delivering a car for a customer to our tiny airport. Beside the airport is a park I regularly drive though which never has anyone in it. In this park there is one poorly paved and unpainted road, it has no intersections. On each side of the road is a baseball field or something. In the middle of the park road there is a stop sign just sticking out of the pavement in the middle of the road. As I was leaving the airport I decided to take the path which cuts through the park, it is much quicker. As I approached the random stop sign I recognized there was a grey Chevy Impala sitting at the stop sign for an extended period of time, for stopping at a stop sign, and drove around him to the left without stopping at the stop sign. I proceeded to turn onto the main road which takes me back to town, about a mile and a half or so. I began to notice the Impala seemed to be following me, I would change lanes, speed up, slow down and he continued to keep pace with me. I proceeded to get into a left turn lane towards a road less traveled hoping my assumptions about being followed were false. The Impala followed. When I noticed the Impala was still behind me I bailed out of the left turn lane and onto the main road again. At this point my blood really started flowing, I thought only two things: 1. This guy wants to fight 2. This guy wants to kill me. I was scared for my life. I then turned into a strip mall and slipped into the small alley behind the buildings hoping it would divert the Impala from following me. As soon as I was in a larger less cramped area behind the buildings in the strip mall I look back and there were blue and red lights flashing from the Impala's driver side visor. I immediately stopped and felt stupid. Seconds later a half dozen police cars pull up and two unmarked vehicles with officers in civilian clothing.
The officer in the Impala, who had been following me, asked me angrily if I knew that I flew past him at that stop sign, I told him I did now. He also said I was driving recklessly and he should take me to jail. I never got a chance to explain to the officer who pulled me over why I did the things I did. When I told some of the other officers they seemed understanding but said next time I should call 911 if I think I'm being followed. I never thought of calling 911, my blood was rushing and I just wanted to get away from who ever was following me.
The citations I received are as followed:
1. Ran Stop Sign (legitimate citation, I would pay for that)
2. Speeding 60 in a 45 (when i KNOW I was not doing more than 50)
3. Failed to signal lane change (when I bailed out of the turn lane attempting to get away from who ever was behind me)
The argument I feel I could make in court is that the officers actions in following me in such a manner caused me to fear for my life. When I was in fear for my life I did things I would not normally do. The Impala was a completely unmarked vehicle no exempt license plate, no police wheels, or odd antennas on the trunk or roof that are generally signs of an unmarked police car. The only glimpse I got of the officer driving the Impala was a red shirt, usually not an indicator of law enforcement.
My question is, could I bring my case to court on the notion of fear alone?
Are there any cases that may hold precedence to my situation?
Thank you all for your help, I cannot afford to even pay my court fees let alone all those citations.
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