Off duty Cop

Be Thankful!!!....

The only reason you did not get a BEAT-DOWN is due to all of the new Technology, Cell phones and video cameras and such.

To Protect (your own) and Serve (up lies).

If it were me, if was in New Zealand (the number 1 country the world) I would be writting away and telling somebody my side of the story. Sounds to me like you were found guilty because he called his buddies, Here if you think you have recieved a ticket and there is a reason for to either get off, or there is a reason for doing the crime, we can have somebody else look at it without going to court.

So write away, make up a good story and see what happens, as Juggernaut says "To Protect (your own) and Serve (up lies)."

I never argue, or give them too much imformation at the sceen, becuse they write lots down and then refer to the notes when you write in, so we should keep our mouths shut.

Some of the responses to the OP really have me wondering about our society. The OP admitted that he caused the accident. End of story.

But no. Some of the members on this site think everything is a conspiracy and that THE MAN is out to get everyone. Get real.

I wonder, if GadgetGuy2008 has safety cameras on his GPS, because in my book these are the same as trying to get off a ticket, it don't matter what speed you're doing each side of the speed camera so long as at the speed is correct when you pass it. So in my humble opinion if we were to just accept all fines because we broke the law then speed camera alerts should be gone from this site, then we all would have to obey the law. Yeah right.

So why shouldn't we try to get off a ticket, it's up to them when they review the ticket what they do, I wouldn't spend anymore money on it.

There's no harm in a review.

^^Yeah, we should all take advice from someone who advocates lying and breaking the law.

According to the company I work for "there are NO blind spots on a vehicle".

When did the "public safety" officers become "law enforcement" officers? The first implies keeping everyone safe. The second implies shoving down the city hall's whim down your throat.

"To protect and to serve"? These days, it's more like "to control and to govern."

I'm just aghast at the lack of civility on the part of THE MAN.

Oh really... It sounds to me like the 'officer' was just as guilty of undue care and attention. How many cops drive that way, on or off duty? They know better, or should.

Any vehicle pulling a trailer is a red flag as far as knowing the driver may have a blind spot IMO.

The cop started screaming? How professional of them...

I think you're too busy defending the cop, and not seeing the whole story.

Cops do lie. End of story.

PS: I wonder if his tinted windows are legal in that state.

The cop should know how to drive. He wasn't doing it defensively because he put himself in the vulnerable position.

a wonderful place to live when the indians owned it.

Most cops that I know or have known are frustrated criminals.
This is just my opinion, I repeat it is just my opinion.

Reminds me of the off duty cop being shot at by on duty cops 41 TIMES !!!!!
He's dead Jim

Were you hanging out in the left lane for a long period of time? I don't wait very long before I pass someone on the right as I am already driving in the right lane. I see no need to slow down or wait behind someone in the left lane as they almost never move over, even though their right side of the vehicle has a much larger blind spot. This makes driving more dangerous of course, but there is nothing I can do to get people to move over, so it is what it is.

Lesson learned I suppose, move over as soon as possible to avoid a situation such as this.

Disagree with the treatment, but agree with the judgment.

When I first read this I was tempted to respond, but now I see additional replies and I feel I ought to respond. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a retired deputy sheriff. (And I realize that according to glwilbert, that means I assault people and Juggernaut I am a liar!)

Anyway, if this had happened to me, certainly the agency I work(ed) for would NOT investigate this, but rather another agency would respond, probably the Minnesota State Patrol. For Alrom45, are you upset that he called law enforcement? Would you have preferred that there be no police involvement? I am just curious.

As I read your second paragraph, that certainly reinforces my opinion that another agency should have been called. That is certainly not required in every jurisdiction, but it just happens to be how it would be dealt with in many areas.

As far as speculation about tinted windows, it varies by area. In Minnesota, where I live, tinted windows are allowed, but Minnesota regulates how much tint is allowed, etc.

GadgetGuy2008 hit the nail on the head here. Some people do think everything is a conspiracy and that THE MAN is out to get everyone.

Jery, I looked at your location and then it made sense to me. Is Chicago really that corrupt? I guess I am very glad that I am not one of the cops you know!

Anyway, alrom45, I would highly encourage you to take this to court and get a hearing. I certainly don't know if you are guilty of what you are being charged with, but you if feel like you were treated unfairly or charged with something you are not guilty of, please get a hearing.

I am also realistic, and I know that the likelihood of you taking it to court is slim for any number of reasons. Court is not convenient for most people. It is adversarial by nature. Often times it is not near where we live or work. Many times people have to take time from work to appear.

I think what you really want to do is vent. Hopefully this forum has given you a chance to do just that. You are absolutely correct, that life is not fair. I sometimes tell my two sons, when they complain about something being unfair, that they are absolutely correct, that life is not fair.

As an aside, I retired from civil process at the end of last year. I am sure that many of the people that I evicted because they were delinquent on their home mortgage blamed me. The reality is, I didn't force any of those people to get a mortgage, nor did I prevent any of them from paying on time. Trust me, I would have much rather been doing "real police work" as many residents suggested. The reality of it, at least for me, was when you have a job, you sometimes have to do tasks you don't necessarily like.

Anyway, I wish everyone here a better day tomorrow than today. And, since this is a POI forum, I would encourage everyone here to try something new with their GPS that they haven't done before. Look through all of your features and try one that you haven't used before, you just might learn something new and have fun doing it.

I didn't say you were a liar; I said 'cops lie'. I've seen it, and testified to it. That doesn't mean all do.

However, I have lost my previous opinion that they are impartial under oath, or otherwise. IMHO, many have chosen to undermine their integrity to make a conviction; even small traffic 'offenses'.

So, while you may be a man of honour sir, I have found that many are not.

If you are, then, I applaud your decency in not caving to the status quo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwofL_gF0Wk

Sure was. When some one did something wrong, they would tie him to a tree, open up his belly, drag out a length of gut and tie the end to a stake. That way the person could relax and watch the coyotes eating his guts.

Care to cite instances of wrong-doing? I'm curious of the 'charges', as it were.

Of course different tribes considered different things as wrong doings that were punishable by death but here are a few examples:

Theft of sacred religious relics

Unauthorized person learning religious secrets

Widespread deviation from general norms of conduct so frequent as to offend Spirits

Theft from dead or graves of dead

Arson-frequent burning of individual or public property

Just a few samples, but you could find many more if your curiosity is enough for you to search for them.

I think you will find that Indians had the death penalty for many things that we now would consider misdemeanors, and the method of death often would make what we consider "cruel and unusual punishment" look like a kiss on the cheek.

Take it to a lawyer see if he can help then contact local news to get some support.

Back in my country I can just write to local news and they will contact the party involved.

Unfortunately the OP was changing lanes and there's no proof that the other vehicle was passing on the right. The OP couldn't know either, since this was in the OP's admitted 'blind spot'.

That makes the OP automatically at fault and, as a result liable for a ticket for driving without due care. It doesn't matter whether the other driver was a cop or that he was driving a souped up VW.

And yes, some cops DO massage the truth a bit in order to make quota, but the reality is that aside from the angst of watching the old boy network in action, the consequences were not affected.

I know that if I had been hit I'd be upset, full of adrenaline and yelling at the other driver like an idiot. Cops are often blessed with elevated testosterone levels and get even MORE upset when bad stuff happens to them personally, so his reaction is understandable.

So now you've vented.

Pay the ticket and the increased insurance premiums for the next few years and move on.

You are welcome.

You can eliminate most "blind spots" by proper adjustment of your rear view and outside mirrors. I adjusted mine properly and, except for the spot below the top of the trunk and below the nose of the car, I have no blind spots anymore. I was amazed at how simple it was to eliminate them by adjustment of the remote mirrors. Simply lean your head as close to the driver side window as possible; then adjust the mirror so you can just see the edge of the body of your car; then do the same for the passenger side mirror. I don't know if you can eliminate them in all makes and models, but it sure helps.

Sorry to hear about your story, but I completely agree with others in saying that it could have been much worse. I have heard much worse stories.

What do you base that statement on? You know nothing about what happened except what the OP said so why are you so fast to charge the police officer with the intent to commit crime? Look at what the OP said, he was at fault. He changed lanes without proper clearance between his vehicle and the other one. He caused the wreck.

This day and age when ever there is a wreck or something happens to you it is always the other guys fault. People don't drive defensivly like they use to. the mentalility nowdays is I'am on the road I have the right of way so get out of my way. To bad but that's how it is.

YOU are solely responsible for your actions, period. What if this car had been someone on a motorcycle and your clip ending up killing the driver? Would you be more inclined to accept a $400 ticket rather than vehicular manslaughter charge? Count yourself lucky. You could have easily killed someone.

Reluctantly John, I have to agree with you. Driving style has radically changed in the years I've been driving, and not in a good way.

I have often heard of adjusting mirrors using this method, but have not yet tried it. I guess I'm too comfortable with my mirrors the way they are now, and don't mind turning my head for a quick moment to ensure no one is there.

How long has it taken you to get used to this adjustment?

I've set my mirrors like this for a few years now (I think I read about it in a AAA magazine). Doesn't take long at all to get used to the difference.

The officer should not have had his co-workers "investigate" and assign fault. Doing so was a corrupt act, there is no debate about that.

But in the USA a Misdemeanor not committed in the presence of the officer that wrote the ticket, is an illegal ticket.

But hey what do I know?

The off-duty guy was passing on the right. The OP had his turn signal on. The guys buddy wrote the ticket. I believe a judge would dismiss the ticket.

Be thankful that all you got was a $400.00 ticket. Hope that your insurance rates do not go up. Check and see what was written in the accident report. Good luck.

So, people are now expected to bend over and just take it?

So much for the 'the land of the free, and the home of the brave'.

The same can be said towards ALL truck drivers

I took a defensive driving class for work about 10 years ago. The best thing I learned was this mirror adjusting technique. I think I might have my kids take a similar class when they start driving.

I'm sorry you had the collision (even though it sounds minor). I'm glad nobody was hurt. Good luck and safe driving.

Jim, thanks for sharing. I'm glad to see there are people within law enforcement like you. I grew up really looking up to cops... Unfortunately, I moved to the city and that view changed quite a bit.

I believe Illinois is a pretty rough place when you tangle with the cops. I know that some of the law enforcement officers take credit cards and can have your ticket paid on the spot. And while I have to wonder whether the OP was sitting on the left lane longer than he should have, what bugs me the most is the way the off-duty cop carried himself. I would've wanted to (but would've been too scared to) take his badge number and gone to court. But like so many others, sometimes you feel outwitted, out-manned and certainly out-gunned. I totally empathize with the OP's situation and hope they will try and move on from what seems to be a very slanted situation (based on what I read).

In metropolitan areas -- its a struggle to find a courteous, professional officer. To be fair, there is just way too much bad stuff that goes on for them to be like that -- much less compassionate -- but I digress. I believe its pretty clear that many cops take their privileges (law enforcement duties) as cops a little too far. How many times have we seen cops pull people over simply because they were pissed just to yell at them? Or how many cops speed on city roads, without lights flashing -- until they need to run a red light? Or how many times have we seen cops use the fact that they carry a weapon and you don't to intimidate you? Some of this is probably for good cause -- but I think here in the United States, people are taking notice that stuff is going on in some cases when it really shouldn't. And while many local and state police departments focus on speed traps and at the same time do these sorts of things, they don't realize they are really undermining the very fabric of our country's society. What I mean by that -- is a certain amount of trust is being pawned off due to the improprieties and malfeasance of some.

Anyways, an effective law enforcement in my opinion starts with a strong trust between the community and its local law enforcement. If that's not happening, everyone is in danger. The results usually mean that cops have a harder job to do (making them more vulnerable to the stress and rigors that make corruption plausible or just become lazy because the risks aren't worth it) and the citizens become less safe. Its a bad deal either way when cops fail to understand the implications of their actions.

Quite honestly -- I've been hoping that some TV news documentary would come out and just focus on police corruption here in the US. Don't misunderstand me, I think for the most part -- the police corruption going on here in the US is fairly minor stuff when you compare it to what some other countries are dealing with (i.e. Mexico). But, I also believe as a citizen of this fine country, we should strive for the higher standard in these types of positions. Unfortunately, people become cops for many reasons -- and some are definitely not good ones.

Anyone have a POI for police departments with good reputations (as honest, friendly, honorable) versus police departments that might have an attitude and likely to give you a hard time?

BZ to you!

Surely it would be OK in the USA to have someone to take a look at this case, without going to court, if an independant person were look at it and then decide the ticket stand then I would pay it.

From my point of view to have a accident, then call my mates and have them issue a ticket seems wrong. The policeman seems to be an in your face type, who his mates may not be able to say no to. He may even be their boss.

Get someone inderpendant to review the ticket, Put your pen to paper.

We only know one side of the story, give it someone who knows both sides.

In the US? the OP is from Canada.

Bugger, sorry, which is the nicer country?

you should pay the ticket...I don't know what kind of trailer you were hauling nor the vehicle used to haul the trailer nor how long you were in the left lane but I suspect there is more to this than one side...the other driver, no matter what he was driving, had every right to be on the road and you were the one who crossed lanes and clipped him. While that does not excuse his childish behavior it, likewise, makes him guiltless IMHO.

and hit their vehicle when you switch lanes? Interesting concept! A lot of you seem hung up on the "buddies" issue and give short shrift to the fact that the OP cut someone off and hit them...that gets a ticket from a cop that doesn't know anyone involved.

Law Enforcement, Maintaining Public Order and Public Service...every LEO is also a PSO and visa versa...for your further information, most of the laws enforced by the local police are state laws, not local ordinances, thus City Hall's whims are usually the last concern of a police officer and "ordinance violations" are typically used to cut someone a break and help them avoid a criminal charge where the offense is relatively minor.

use of turn signal does not give you the right of way it indicates your intent, but a little common sense and courtesy goes a long way, if you are traveling faster than the car making the lane change your going to overtake it, it wouldn't hurt to slow down and let them in.

There seems to be no common sense or courtesy on the road anymore. It is a "me first" attitude. I am in front of you now!