Can a police officer harass someone?

A

amtrak23

New member
I'm clearly in violation of no front plate and window tint, and I will happily pay the fine. I just don't totally agree with this one guys tactics.



In my neck of the woods these aren't that big of a deal. They generally tack stuff on like that with other traffic violations, etc. This one officer keeps pulling me over for it though.



I have been stopped 2 times now by this guy. The first was last spring about 20 minutes after I pulled my car out of storage for the winter, then again today while on a two minute drive to get some milk.



Last year we were stopped at a traffic light opposite of each other. As the light turned green and we passed each other he lit them up. Then today at the same spot while I'm following a white RX8 that had just turned onto the road in front of me. He sped off, had no front plate, and had very dark tint compared to mine. The speed limit is 35mph and the RX8 was clearly speeding. He flys by officer, I go by driving by under the limit and he pulls out and lights them up. I'm thinking he is going to get the other guy for sure.



I don't have a record, don't do drugs, don't speed (clean driving record for 4 yrs now), don't have a riced out car, no loud music/exhaust, and am generally a quality citizen. I even called in a drunk driver last Saturday night. Meanwhile, several riced out, loud pieces of junk drive by while I'm pulled over. I never see these guys get randomly pulled over while they are abiding by all of the other meaningful traffic laws.



I just don't get who this guy thinks I am, what he thinks I did, or why he doesn't like me? I haven't ever been pulled over for either of these in about 10 years of driving now around here? If I was speeding and he wanted to tack them on, fine, but I have hardly been moving when he gets me? It boggles my mind that he is wasting his time on something like this, and not keeping an eye out for other suspicious activities instead.
 
I keep waiting to get pulled over for tint too. I've only got 15% on everything, but at night it's black. I always hate sitting next to them at stoplights. Nothing so far.
 
I hear you man. I think some cops just like to mess with people cuz they have power. its pretty disgusting. Im just waitin to get pulled over for my loud truck one of these days....
 
If you've been pulled over by the same guy for the same thing twice, you might want to consider removing your tint and putting on your front plate.



If I was the cop that gave you the 1st ticket, then saw you again with no change, I'd pull you over again too. Don't give him ammunition and reason to pull you over again and again. Just fix it and be done with him.
 
tod071 said:
If you've been pulled over by the same guy for the same thing twice, you might want to consider removing your tint and putting on your front plate.



If I was the cop that gave you the 1st ticket, then saw you again with no change, I'd pull you over again too. Don't give him ammunition and reason to pull you over again and again. Just fix it and be done with him.
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I have known someone since kindergarten who is a cop. He told me a story about how one night he was "observing the flow of traffic" and he pulls over this kid who has a headlight out. The kid starts giving him a ration of shoe shine about how he can't give him a ticket for that, who his father is, etc.



About a half hour later the kid comes back from the other direction, headlight still out. My friend pulls him over again, gives him another ticket for the headlight, the kid goes ballistic, my friend tells him he can't drive the car in that condition, that he has to get it fixed or not drive it.



So, I have to agree, it's time to put that plate on and go with a legal tint....there's sometimes you can't beat the system.
 
I think he's messing with you because you're ignoring him. Unfortunately a lot of cops take things a little to personally sometimes and he probably feels you're being disrespectful by driving around without fixing the problem.

Wait a second, come to think of it if I was a cop I might pull you over too actually, if I see you over and over again, until you get that plate mounted :) Your car is probably pretty easy for him to remember at this point so he's going to continue dude. If you don't want to drill your bumper get some velcro tape or straps or get it mounted in the lower air duct.
 
I built this and drove it for two summers on the street.

WRC_Focus.jpg




I got stopped 18 times the result being 26 tickets for things like car too low, modified engine intake, exhaust too loud the best though was "Being a distraction to other motorists.". I fought every ticket in court and everyone was tossed out. It just got embarrassing to drive the car and always get stopped for something.



The car was 100% road safety and emissions legal but everywhere I went I would either get a thumbs up from the cops or they would pull me over just looking for anything they could ticket me for.



So yes I think that if police officers can harass people.
 
BlueZero said:
I keep waiting to get pulled over for tint too. I've only got 15% on everything, but at night it's black. I always hate sitting next to them at stoplights..
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Heh heh, imagine how *they* feel sitting next to *you* at stoplights..."geez man, I can't see in that car. Hope he's not some paranoid icehead getting ready to wax me with an AK" :nervous: They can't tell that you're an upstanding citizen who just thinks the tint looks cool.



Every time a LEO gets shot approaching a tinted car, cops *everywhere* get a bit less accommodating about this one. And it happens all too often.



IMO the front plate issue is just getting tacked on because he can do it and he's already ticked off. Front plates are generally a "selective enforcement" thing; people who come across as law enforcement-friendly seldom get popped for not having them, but people that the LEO wants to mess with do get cited. No, it's not fair but that's the way it is.



Don't you have to take the vehicle in for an inspection to prove that you're now compliant? Here in Ohio you have to do that...



Heh heh, some LEOs make the following offer regarding tint: scrape some of it off here and now (right at the side of the road) so I can see inside the car, and no citation; refuse and you get cited (and have to get it removed/inspected)- your choice.
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, some LEOs make the following offer regarding tint: scrape some of it off here and now (right at the side of the road) so I can see inside the car, and no citation; refuse and you get cited (and have to get it removed/inspected)- your choice.
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I wish it was that easy. I'd opt for the ticket and keep my tint! :lol In Hawaii, it is considered an unsafe vehicle, so, while you still have 2 options, they aren't that simple. 1) scrape the tint and we'll call it even. or 2) refuse and we'll impound your car as it is unsafe to drive on the roads. It gets towed to the yard and you pay for every day that it sits there.:cry:
 
I did get pulled over once for speeding but as soon as I pulled over I rolled the window down all the way so they can see in. I have a friend that's a cop and it would scare me to death not knowing what was inside. We don't have any sort of inspection around here. Most people that get tint tickets have a certain amount of time to have it removed and go to the police station to show that it's removed. The scraping it off here and now would be a good idea. Our village president is an old gray haired guy with a lowered truck and tint so I think they go easy on us.
 
I know a few cops personally and I can tell you they do their job. Laws are laws!! If you think a law is stupid then write your local government and lawmakers. Cops are doing there job. If everyone on a road is speeding 15mph, he has the right to pull anyone of those cars over. If you happened to be the one getting pulled over, then you were just out of luck. I have been ticketed for speeding twice, and tint twice on seperate occasions. Sure i get mad, but after I calm down it boils down to being MY OWN FAULT. Some cops are nice a let you off with a warning then some are by the book. If you are breaking the law in anyway then don't whine about how cops are unfair. Do not have any reason for them to give you a ticket. Simple. :)
 
tod071 said:
I wish it was that easy. I'd opt for the ticket and keep my tint!
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Oops, I wasn't clear :o If you take the ticket you still have to get it removed but you also have to go through the hassle of getting it inspected to prove that you did that.



And yeah, getting a vehicle impounded would be no fun...think they're gonna treat it like Autopians would :grinno:



BlueZero- Heh heh, LOL about the village president and his tinted truck setting the tone for things in your area :D
 
Accumulator said:
Oops, I wasn't clear :o If you take the ticket you still have to get it removed but you also have to go through the hassle of getting it inspected to prove that you did that.
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I know. I don't have illegal tint anymore, but when I did, I always had a pic of the car BEFORE it got tinted. If and When I got pulled over, I'd have the pic to show that the tint is off. Now, I didn't mention that here, ok. :nixweiss
 
paul34 said:
Say, do I guess correctly when I say you live in California?
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No, Ohio. :usa



Setec Astronomy said:
I have known someone since kindergarten who is a cop. He told me a story about how one night he was "observing the flow of traffic" and he pulls over this kid who has a headlight out. The kid starts giving him a ration of shoe shine about how he can't give him a ticket for that, who his father is, etc.



About a half hour later the kid comes back from the other direction, headlight still out. My friend pulls him over again, gives him another ticket for the headlight, the kid goes ballistic, my friend tells him he can't drive the car in that condition, that he has to get it fixed or not drive it.



So, I have to agree, it's time to put that plate on and go with a legal tint....there's sometimes you can't beat the system.
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That is what I'm wondering. Could he theoretically sit there and do it over and over and over? At what point, if ever, would it be considered harassment of some sort? As long as he does once a year I'm fine, but if he starts going nuts I might start to fear for my life. :grrr



truzoom said:
What kind of car is it? What state?
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2001 Honda Prelude, Ohio. The law is no less than 50% on the fronts, I have 35% all around. Shouldn't have really mattered though since my windows were down? Getting pulled over for front pate only is weak IMO, then tacking on the tint is just salt in the wounds.



Yal said:
I think he's messing with you because you're ignoring him. Unfortunately a lot of cops take things a little to personally sometimes and he probably feels you're being disrespectful by driving around without fixing the problem.

Wait a second, come to think of it if I was a cop I might pull you over too actually, if I see you over and over again, until you get that plate mounted :) Your car is probably pretty easy for him to remember at this point so he's going to continue dude. If you don't want to drill your bumper get some velcro tape or straps or get it mounted in the lower air duct.
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I'm not ignoring him as he never "asked" me to fix the front plate in the first place. I just really enjoy the look of my car as is and don't want to change as long as the ticketing doesn't get excessive.



It is pretty annoying knowing that the Vettes, Jags, Benz, 1 Ferrari, and assorted other rice mobiles drive by him plenty and he does nothing about them. I counted somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 cars with no front plate that passed me during the 7 minute citation. Not including the speeding RX8! That guy must have been sweating bullets when he flew by him.



I would almost like to do some sort of psychological study on what trips their triggers for certain events. It would probably be interesting to see how they think they are being fair in their judgments, but probably lean towards one direction or another on certain items.



SpoiledMan said:
Actually it's that *you* can't continue to break the law.
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I'm in 100% agreement. There are just a few other things that I believe he should be worrying about more. ---> speeding RX8 in plain site:idea Doh! he could have got 3 citations with one stone.



RTexasF said:
Agreed..... Get compliant or get pulled over it's just that simple.:idea
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If it's so simple I'm so blatantly breaking the law, why has it not been a problem for anyone else in the last 4 years? I even got pulled over by a state trooper one night for speeding when I first got the car. He clearly should have tacked both offenses on, but didn't? That was end of month too.



Accumulator said:
Heh heh, imagine how *they* feel sitting next to *you* at stoplights..."geez man, I can't see in that car. Hope he's not some paranoid icehead getting ready to wax me with an AK" :nervous: They can't tell that you're an upstanding citizen who just thinks the tint looks cool.



Every time a LEO gets shot approaching a tinted car, cops *everywhere* get a bit less accommodating about this one. And it happens all too often.



IMO the front plate issue is just getting tacked on because he can do it and he's already ticked off. Front plates are generally a "selective enforcement" thing; people who come across as law enforcement-friendly seldom get popped for not having them, but people that the LEO wants to mess with do get cited. No, it's not fair but that's the way it is.



Don't you have to take the vehicle in for an inspection to prove that you're now compliant? Here in Ohio you have to do that...



Heh heh, some LEOs make the following offer regarding tint: scrape some of it off here and now (right at the side of the road) so I can see inside the car, and no citation; refuse and you get cited (and have to get it removed/inspected)- your choice.
Click to expand...



My tint is pretty light. You can see right through the car and out the other side. I think the 20% or lower stuff is dangerous. Even on back windows. It's just stupid to have to walk up to a car and not be able to see whats going on.



I thought for sure I would get one of those fix it tickets, but he didn't say anything about that. Just chuckled about ticketing me last year and said enjoy the fine. I was under the impression they made you remove the tint? Maybe next time he gets me I'll have to?



I think the Werkstatts Acrylic Jett made my car a shiny threat, so he figured he would be doing the town a disservice by not getting me off the road pronto!



I'll update the thread when I get tagged again.
 
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