Oakroadsteve

Sitting on the far left lane with a red left turn arrow in front I decided to go straight on on the 4 laner rather than wait 10 minutes for the arrow to cycle green. I cut in front of the car at the lite going straight when it turned green. A citeable offense for sure and I am ticket free over the last 5 years by the way but there was a sheriff hiding in the gas station flanking the light. He tried to come out after me with his yuletide lights ablaze but the traffic behind me kept him at bay and unable to leave the gas pumps. I made a fast right into a cul de sac and sat there for a couple of minutes. Upon leaving he pulled in as I was pulling out. Shockingly he did not come after me.

Don't know why he let me go....FYI it is a felony to flee here is South Florida and if he had made it on to the road behind me I would have pulled over and taken my medicine..

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

He cant really get you for fleeing since he didnt get behind you with his lights on. How would you know if he was after you otherwise?

Italiano

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

good save lol

NJ SHAWD

Well, you'd be done sir

Sideswipe

FYI - fleeing or "eluding" a police officer is a felony in all 50 states.

I should know. Back when I was 18 a cop tried to stick me with an "eluding a police officer" ticket in court. His reasoning for trying to stick it to me was because I lit up the tires as I exited the Chevron gas station. I was through the yellow light, on the entrance ramp, and half way down the highway before I saw his lights. Of course being--what--almost a half mile down the road and not actually behind my car he couldn't prove that he was actually pursuing me. After I explained what happened the judge looked at me for two seconds, pounded the gavel and dismissed the ticket. The cop was made to look like a complete fool.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Thats my favorite part about court.

CH46ESeaKnight

That is a incorrect statement.

In Mississippi eluding/fleeing by default is a misdemeanor. Only in extreme cases where reckless endangerment or extreme disregard for human life are factors can it charged as a felony.

I'm sure Mississippi is not the only state like this.

CH46ESeaKnight

Suprised he did not try to write you for the original infraction...

Knock on wood, you got lucky! Score!

Sideswipe

That's a nice tag you have, GoogleKnight. Though, do you think you could change the name from Emerson Fittipaldi to Willy T. Ribbs? I think my driving style is more like Ribbs' than Fittipaldi. Seriously, though.

As for your attempt to troll every thread you see my post in the near future--you're wasting your time. It's too bad you feel so vengeful that you've reduced yourself to being a vindictive Sideswipe fan. Next time don't fall for the carrot on the stick before you intrude into a thread nose opened, eyes closed and uninformed. Case in point:

MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972
As Amended

In other words, the said defendant does not have to demonstrate extreme disregard for property or human life to be considered felonious in his or her actions. The said defendant only has to demonstrate WILLFUL disregard. If the police officer/state trooper signals the said defendant by the book and witnesses enough willful disregard for human life from the defendant afterwards, then the officer is within his or her rights to ticket the defendant as such. Excessive speeding alone can count as reckless driving, which is willful disregard. Being witnessed by a police officer, especially an officer with an on-board video camera is more than enough evidence to put a person away if that person has demonstrated enough willful disregard. There was no such animal as an officer with an on-board camera back in my day. It is then up to the presiding judge in a court of law as to whether to act upon the officer's evidence and charge the defendant with a felony.

CH46ESeaKnight

I won't argue with you swipe. It does not matter who posted it. It just so happend to be you. The fact is that in Mississippi it is a misdemeanor to flee or elude a police officer. Sub section 1 states that. Now of course there are degrees of severity in charges as sub section 2 states. But the bottom line is that to say that it is a felony in all 50 states to flee or elude is inccorect. The default charge in Mississippi is misdemeanor. In the OP's situation it would be hard for the officer to prove that the op saw and knew that he (the Police officer) was targeting the OP. But none the less in the OP's situation (if he was in Mississippi) he would have been charged with a misdemeanor for his actions. Yes i know he was in Florida where the law clearly states it is a felony.

He is the Wyoming law on the subject.

31-5-225. Fleeing or attempting to elude police officers; penalty.



(a) Any driver of a motor vehicle who willfully fails or refuses to bring his vehicle to a stop, or who otherwise flees or attempts to elude a pursuing police vehicle, when given visual or audible signal to bring the vehicle to a stop, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The signal given by the police officer may be by hand, voice, emergency light or siren. The officer giving the signal shall be in uniform, prominently displaying his badge of office, and his vehicle shall be appropriately marked showing it to be an official police vehicle.



(b) Every person convicted of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer shall be punished by a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or both.

Here is the statue for Idaho.

49-1404.Fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer -- Penalty. (1) Any driver of a motor vehicle who wilfully flees or attempts to elude a pursuing police vehicle when given a visual or audible signal to bring the vehicle to a stop, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.


Nevada has pretty much the same thing as Mississippi.

So it is not a felony in all 50 states to flee/elude.

Just facts.


Swipe I have a history of calling BS when i see it. Its not just you. A false statment from someone who does not do thier research bugs me. Someone who presumes to know a subject and makes unfounded statements gets on my nerves.

Thats why I try to own everything i say. If I'm not sure I find out the facts or I won't speak on the subject.

I've been a Federal LEO for 9 years and I see it all the time, people who presume to know the law are the ones who spread missinformation and give the worst leagal advise.

You can respond if you like but I will not turn this into another pissing match.

I wash my hands of it.

Sideswipe

Only in extreme cases?

What part of OR do you not understand? The O or the R?

I'm not even going to waste my damn time re-copying and re-pasting what I already posted because your pride, ego, and spirit have been supremely damaged.

Are you a judge? No you are not.

Even if you are a judge you are only one judge. Therefore, you are in no position to say that all judges will treat the same case(s) resulting in misdemeanor ruling.

Sideswipe

If Nevada's laws are the same as Mississippi's, then you've saved me the time of researching Nevada's law code. I've got a lil' time to drop this piece:




Judge sets bond at $5,000 for man charged with eluding police in two-state chase

Lawrence County Journal | Posted: Friday, August 20, 2010 3:30 pm

DEADWOOD -- Lead police officers have accused Joshua Carl Holtquist of felony eluding, and misdemeanor reckless driving, discharge of a firearm in a moving vehicle and possession of a firearm while intoxicated. Holtquist appeared in court Friday and was scheduled for a preliminary court appearance Thursday Sept. 16, in Deadwood and was in the Lawrence County Jail as of Thursday afternoon.

Holtquist, 25, Rapid City, is being held in the Lawrence County Jail after a two-state pursuit from Central City to Wyoming and back into South Dakota. According to court files, the incident unfolded at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday when a motorist reported a driver was following him and firing gunshots from his vehicle.

He allegedly escaped on foot in Custer County, then turned himself in to Custer County authorities Wednesday morning. Holtquist's request to get his bond changed to a clerk's bond was denied in court Friday.

"The state is very concerned about the entire situation," said Lawrence County Deputy States Attorney Amber Richey.
Fourth Circuit Judge Randall Macy set his bond at $5,000 cash or surety and ordered Holtquist, as conditions of his bond, to not consume alcohol, not possess a firearm, and participate in a program in Rapid City where he is required to get tested in the morning and at night as to whether he has been consuming alcohol. He had not posted bond as of Friday afternoon.


Posted in News, Local, Crime-and-courts on Friday, August 20, 2010 3:30 pm

You're nothing special, GoogleKnight. I've dealt with issues ranging from lawful use of force to leash law cases, to habitual offender cases to marriage and family counseling etc. for over 15 years. The only bullshit flowing through this thread is coming from your posts. Let it go. Walk away while you still have a shred of dignity.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Awww not this shit again

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

here we goo lol

CH46ESeaKnight

Nope not going to guys!

Jacobpockros

iTrader: (1)

I would post the Michael Jackson popcorn picture again, but 97BlackAckCL would ban me

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

that pic was hilarious jacob

CH46ESeaKnight

Speaking of Cop Encounters, I got pulled over last month by Memphis PD for going about 63 in a 45. Thank god I was in uniform. The police officer took one look at me then said to his partner "Man... he's all badged up". That was it, not another word. All he did was laugh and walk back to his car. His partner walked over to the drivers side from the rear passenger side to take a look and just laughed, and said "whats up, have a good one". I thought I would at least get a ass chewing. I deserved it! I felt like an ass after that. Just glad my wallet did not take a hit on it.

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

^ are u a cop too?

richardparker

iTrader: (7)

It's the moving violation that give you the points/infractions that take's away your licence.
Not the fines.
You know that thou.
I think leniency should not go to police officers for anything.
You are the one's who back the laws.
There for breaking the laws should not get them any leniency.
This would be a way to wean out the police good/bad.
I can only imagine who many shitty officers been covered up for so they will not get in trouble.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Hes not a cop. Im betting hes in the Marines by his screenname.

But getting out of a ticket because your in the service (or even if you are a cop) is bullshit IMO. I read this on almost all of my forums. Guy does something stupid, gets pulled over. Cop sees he's in the military and lets him off, occasionally with a warning.

And Im not attacking you personally, but put yourself in a civilians shoes and do the same thing. You'd get a ticket and most likely berated for going 18mph over. In some places that would even get you a reckless driving ticket. Thats a fun one when insurance gets wind of it.

CH46ESeaKnight

No I'm not a cop, I a federal officer for US Customs. I have had a few tickets here and there. But I have never told a cop that im an officer to get out of an ticket when I'm in plain clothes. (AKA badging) But when I'm in uniform theres no hiding it and its up to the police officer to make his own mind up as to wether he will write a ticket.

If anything I think it is just a professional courtesy (when it comes to a simple traffic violation, not things like DUI)as a federal LEO I am obligated to stop and assit any law enforcment officer I see that appears to be in destress. Professional curtesy. In fact I just found out a fellow officer and friend in NY got popped for DUI, he lost his entire career, went to jail. And will have a very hard time finding any govt. agency to take him.

I agree with Parker that we as officers should be held to a higher standard, and we are. But to say a cop is a "bad cop" because he spead is not right. Thats like saying that your darker then leagal window tint (im not saying you parker, just in general) makes you a career criminal. Parker, also I was not worried about the points, I just did not want to have to pay the fine. I have nowhere near the 12 points in the last 12 months to even worry about the points. Had he wrote the ticket I would have had to pay just like everyone else.


Civic I know it was not a personal attack, and neither is this. Just my thoughts on what you said.

AS far as cops giving service members or other LEO's a break or a warrning, well, they give civilians breaks all the time also. Maybe they are more likely to give on to a service member or an officer, but thats just the way it is.
And yes you are right, I was in the Marines.

richardparker

iTrader: (7)

I see, your not the guy who's going to lock someone up for nothing.
But,you are the guy to get the hook up on a couple kilo's of the shiznizzle.
just kidding man.

CH46ESeaKnight

LOL, made me laugh!

Actually I work for US Customs and Border Protection, so we do lock up people but not for moving violations! Anything to do with crossing a border is our jurisdiction. People, cargo, drugs. If it comes in or goes out of the country thats us, including terrorists.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

No offense to your friend, but good.

Not on the same scale. A civilian can do 5-10 over and get off, or at the least get a lesser fine. I guarantee you that any civilian being caught for 18 over is not getting off with a warning. And thats where I take issue. Cops want to be treated like normal people doing a job - which I have no problem with. Its when they pull over other officers and let them off with warnings for blatant infractions that it shows how skewed the system is. But its not limited to just LEOs and service members. Politicians are guilty of it too. There was an accident in NY a few years ago involving the DA of Nassau County IIRC. He was late for court so he had his off duty detective (they are allowed to protect politicians while off-duty) speed through surface streets with emergency lights on. They ran a red light and struck a vehicle. Guess what happened to the officer or the DA? Nothing. Even though they are most certainly not supposed to use emergency lights in a non-emergency situation.

Just my

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Only reason to be a cop or any position of power is to abuse your power. Plain and simple. All the cops do where i live is look for speeders and dui, and the cops speed more than anyone else. I see cops all the time using their siren to get around cars, traffic, etc. Once they get past they turn the siren off and go back to driving normal(speeding). Also being hypocritical is part of human nature, we all do it. Cops look at it as ok to speed themselves, just noone else can do it. Its that infamous double standard and will always be this way(until we cant drive anymore and all there is is public transit).

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

True for 80% of them, sadly.

Sideswipe

Yep.

Which leads me to my next cop encounter.

In the interest of keeping this post as brief as possible I'm only going to cover essential information. Years ago I was driving through southern Georgia around 5am. A local sheriff pulls out from the median and begins to follow me. I was driving the speed limit and my car was in check, so there was no reason for him to be following me. He pulls me over and says: "I pulled you over cause' you wondered over to the center line."

My driver's side tires did touch the line for a couple seconds because I was reaching for a CD but that was a lame ass excuse to pull someone over. When he asked for my I.D. I took my wallet out, pulled out my card and my reinstatement letter from the Alabama state department with the state seal, the whole nine yards. What caught his eye was he saw my AL detective badge from my job working loss prevention. He confiscated my badge and hauled me in.

After keying me in the system he saw that I had prior tickets in Florida and Alabama. He started heee hawing with another deputy while he was processing me like he had single handedly captured Saddam Hussein or Manuel Noriega. He faxes Both Florida's and Alabama's state department with bogus info with the intent to have me extradited over a prior traffic ticket. He decides to slap me with a "habitual offender" rap even though he had nothing on me in the state of Georgia. In Georgia habitual offenders do hard time but there was no way in hell that was going to happen to me. I posted bail and was in and out before the ink dried on the fingerprint sheet. But before I left I talked with a couple guys that was already wearing jump suits. They were doing jail time for similar traffic misdemeanors but couldn't afford the bail. Lives were ruined, jobs and homes were lost over a simple misdemeanor.

Three months later I'm in the D.A.'s office in some sleepy town in South Georgia discussing the charges. After a long conversation and a few laughs the D.A. reduced the charges to "Failure to show a valid D.L." I signed some papers and proceeded to the court room. While I was waiting to be called before the judge a sheriff escorted in about a dozen inmates all chained to each other. Three of the guys were the same guys I talked to three months ago. They were all still doing time and awaiting to be sentenced. The judge calls me up to the bench and asks me how do I plead for failure to show proper I.D. at time of arrest. I said yes, showed him my new D.L. and the reinstatement letter. All I had to pay was court cost and I was out the door. There's no telling how many people's lives those redneck South Georgia sheriffs have ruined due to profiling and sticking people with bullshit charges because they get a high off of screwing people with limited resources and no legal wherewithal to circumvent fabricated charges.

CH46ESeaKnight

What was the officer's actuall charge against you when he initiated the arrest? He had to have a reason to arrest? Otherwise he violated your rights. They can't just haul you in then decide what to charge you with after checking NLETS.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

From the sounds of the story, the Sheriff arrested him for driving without a valid license. At least thats why I got out of it.

Sideswipe

Exactly. Through all that bullshit he didn't even have a charge on me. There was no speeding ticket because I wasn't speeding. There was no reckless driving ticket because I wasn't driving recklessly. I wasn't intoxicated, so there was no DUI charge. My license had already been reinstated in another state, so he couldn't hit me with a driving while suspended ticket. You can't give anyone a ticket for running over a reflector on the highway--they're designed to be run over. He was ignorant for even thinking he could have gotten me extradited for a damn speeding ticket, which is why neither Florida nor Alabama responded to his so-called urgent fax. He was ignorant for thinking confiscating my badge would do anything. He had to return it to me when he found out it was legit.

This is one of the reasons why I went straight to their D.A. to iron things out. When he realized I knew the law and that I could have sued that whole county we simply shifted to shooting the breeze--sort of a 'let's forget this all happened' kind of deal. I could have made a big deal out of it but what the hell--it was in the middle of bum fuck Georgia and not worth wasting my time to properly pursue the issue. The State of Georgia has a long, long, long history littered with law enforcement abusing power.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Fucking

Sideswipe

I know other states may have similar issues with law enforcement's abuse of power but Georgia is particularly notorious for wrongful imprisonment, false arrest, and racial/vehicle profiling. back in my day, to an extent, many people just had to put up with whatever crimes redneck law enforcement committed against humanity outside Metro Atlanta but that is no longer the case. Now there are advocacy groups in Georgia that are dedicated to dealing with wrongful imprisonment and false arrest. Here's one law firm's version of advocacy:

G.R.S.M.B.
POLICE LIABILITY FOR FALSE ARREST, FALSE IMPRISONMENT
AND MALICIOUS PROSECUTION

Unlike most states, Georgia law provides that false imprisonment is an intentional tort, not a tort of negligence. Miller v. Grand Union Company, 250 Ga. App. 751, 552 S.E.2d 491 (2001); See also Brand v. Universal Hospital, 240 Ga. App. 24, 525 S.E.2d 374 (1999). AThere can be no such tort as negligent false arrest, negligent false imprisonment which of itself makes the defendants liable without proof of the invasion of some interest other than the bare interest in freedom from arrest and confinement. Corporate Property Investors v. Milon, 249 Ga.App.699, 549 S.E.2d 157(2001).

phee

iTrader: (5)

thats why i always have my 9500 and full volume and the police scanner playing through the radio

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

I would say 90% or more myself. Plus even the cops who go into the job with good intentions to start will get corrupted at some point during their career(same goes for politicians). I know im a negative nancy.

Sideswipe

Oh yeah. Since then I bought a Cobra and it literally paid for itself in two days.

The best thing about a southern Georgia now is they've put up guard rails or concrete barriers all the way down I-75. In addition they cut down a lot of those small hills in the median that most of em' were hiding on the other side of. Those improvements have all but killed any chance of an encounter with redneck, deputy dog sheriffs except for a couple overpasses.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

I was pulled over in Raleigh, NC on I85 two years ago in the middle of the day. My car had NY plates at the time. I wasnt speeding as Ive been through that area and know that the cops love to pull people over there. He pulled me over and the only thing that he mentioned was wrong was my tint may be illegal for NY (it wasnt). The rest of the time he just kept asking me what I was doing down there. Such a waste of my time.

Sideswipe

Damn, what an ass. The only thing worse than a cop that abuses his power is an off-duty cop that tries to abuse his power.

First off-duty cop encounter--the son of a beach was sitting at the intersection waiting to turn right on red--no oncoming traffic in sight--in his fuschia-colored stepside F-150 with pastel blue racing stripes but for some reason he sat there farting out of his ears. I decided to drive around him and drove on my way. He runs me down and tries to get me to pull over. I flipped him off and kept driving. Next thing I know he's behind me and turns on his red and blues hidden behind the grill. As I pulled over he jumps out of his effeminate truck and proceeds to run his mouth. "What you did back there was dangerous!!" Of course I told him to fuck off because he was impeding the flow of traffic--sitting there like he was brain dead. "You better be glad I'm off-duty!!" he says. I drove off. A couple weeks later I spotted him at the Wal-mart Supercenter helping a loss prevention detective arrest a shoplifter.

Second off-duty cop encounter--I'm minding my own business waiting for the light to turn green when next to me parked in an old S-10 is Barney Fife. He says: "Hey, you know that thing is no good against state troopers." He was talking about my Cobra--the same Cobra that saved me an estimated $1500 dollars in tickets within a year. The same Cobra that saved me on three different occasions from Palm Beach motorcycle cops that dismount their motorcycles and zap people with lasers from behind palm trees. "I'll just take my chances" I told the idiot. The light turned green and I drove off.

Jacobpockros

iTrader: (1)

I like the first encounter. By law, you didn't even have to pull over when he turned his lights on because he was unmarked, off duty, and most likely didn't have government plates on his truck.

I would have ignored him but that shit is funny reguardless. I hate lame cops like that