Ticket for Legal Turn

[alpacasoup]

I was ticketed by a Delaware state cop for making a left turn on red, from a one way street, onto another one way street. This is legal if they are both one way and certain other conditions are met, all of which were. This is clearly stated in the Delaware drivers manual. I stopped at the red light first, let traffic pass, and then made the turn. The cop was behind me in traffic, saw me do it, and then proceeded to pull me over and tell me that it is NEVER legal to make a left on red, under any circumstances. However the ticket he gave me, is for "failure to stop at a red light" Which is not true. I did stop first before making the turn.

Tomorrow is the arraignment, which I intend to plead not guilty, and my understanding is that I will then be issued another date to come back and actually plead my case. I have pictures of the intersection that show that the turn was legal, but no way to prove that I did not just flat run the red light.

How do I file to obtain the incident report from this ticket, or is it too late since arraignment is tomorrow? I would like to know if the cop detailed the actual details of the report, or if he will be able to win simply by saying I ran a red light, no turning involved.

Also, do I have any recourse as a citizen, for false arrest? I was stopped for no legal reason. What is to prevent the police from stopping anyone, for anything, just because they feel like it? Can I file a complaint with his superiors, and how do I do that? Not to mention my loss of time and wages to make not one but two court appearances...for obeying the law!! I suspect I am simply SOL on that one. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[FlyingRon]

They can't stop people because the "feel like it." They have to have reason that you have committed an infraction. If they testify that you made a left on red in a manner that was in fact legal, then they were just mistaken. Cops are allowed to make mistakes.

Did you come to a complete stop? That means all movement of your vehcile must stop PRIOR to entering the intersection (crossing the stopline/crosswalk/intersecting road edge).

 

[alpacasoup]

Yes. I came to a complete stop, enough time for maybe a dozen cars to pass. The light had just turned red as I was approaching the intersection. After the cars passed, I looked to my right to verify that the intersection was now clear, then made the turn. My left turn signal was on the entire time.

I realize cops make mistakes. However I do think it's appalling that I know the driving code better than those who's job it is to enforce them! His reason for stopping me was not valid. The ticket he issued me, does not even match his reason, and it is also completely false! I didn't make an illegal turn, and I didn't run a red light. But I'm also not sure how to prove that in court.

Any ideas how I file for an incident report? I've been searching the DE court websites but I really don't know where to start.