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General Site Info => General Discussion => Topic started by: team39763 on June 28, 2010, 10:09:15 pm
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I took my truck out to the gas station for some gas today and passed an off duty state trooper. He didn't say anthing, but watched me go down the road(slowly I don't think I went over 20mph...the truck is just loud). Anyway, after putting gas, I was parked at a friend's shop from 10:45 until around 3:30. After that I slowly putted home. Around 3 or four hours later a cop pulls up where my truck was parked(since 3:45) and turns on the red'n'blues. They tell me they got 2 emergency calls about my truck racing through town just minutes ago. They also tell me an off duty trooper witnessed me do a burnout through the middle of town and racing a buddy(that Camaro I beat in the videos I posted). I let them touch my cold motor and they still insist that the state trooper wouldn't lie about it. The trooper shows up and starts accusing me and threatens me that he can chemically match my tires to some marks on the road. He tells me my truck isn't legal and I need to go buy my own land to drive on. They wouldn't believe anything I said no matter what I showed them...I even had 40lbs of loose tools in the cab with me...so I wouldn't be racing anyway. I was also on my 10 year old, dry rotted street tires...while my $2000 race wheels/tires where at home nice and clean....so why would I race on these piece of crap tires. Either way, I wasn't racing and wasn't even on the road when the calls went in. I do know for a fact it was my buddy in the Camaro because he called me after he ran through town at full throttle. He's my buddy, so I didn't want to snitch on him. The cops wanted to take the truck, but they didn't for whatever reason. It's crazy. What sucks is that I didn't have any way to prove that I didn't do it other than the tools in the truck, cold motor, and phone records showing I was talking to someone at the time, and witnesses who saw my truck parked for hours. This sucks. That trooper is gonna be keeping an eye on me now and I'm on the cops "poop list" now....over something I had no part in.
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I would call the trooper office and complain to the man in charge.
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I was in a similar situation 4 years ago. A friend in an black truck was jumping his truck over the highway(getting up to speed on the dirt road and going over the street and landing on the other side). It got called in and I got pulled over because I had a a black truck. I was told I was gonna get a ticket whether I did it or not. He said if somebody calls in a black truck, I know it's you. I called the office and the receptionist told me that some officers have the authority to do that. The sherriff said he was too busy to bother with it. So I don't think it'll do any good to talk to his superior.
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Talking to the supervisor will do something. To the OP, it sounds like you had enough proof to back your innocence. Thats why you DIDNT get busted. They would have taken you in if they knew it was you. If I read correctly, they got calls about a Camaro, but they stopped at your truck? Was your buddy actually showing off in front of a truck similar to yours? Is there anything illegal about your truck?
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There is no way they can give you a ticket without proof that it was you. They are jerking your chain. They would have to have your tag or caught you in the act. Saying a black truck did xxxx and them showing up at your house with a ticket is harassment, next time have a recorder and inform him that you are going to record the conversation so you can have him discuss it with you lawyer. He would have to disprove all the black trucks in the area and as they said they are going to be too busy to bother with that.
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They claim they got calls about a truck racing through town. They first went to my buddy's house and checked out his truck which was broke at the time(it's a huge brown monster truck that can't be mistaken for mine). I asked them to bring their witnesses that can ID me or my truck(knowing this town they probably could get someone to say that crap). I also offered to give them my tire for chemical analysis. It just really bothers me that a state trooper would lie as much as he did and treat me as if I'm a guilty liar before he has any concrete evidence. I smoked that Camaro on a legal track....I have no reason to race him for the third time...especially not on the street. On top of that, I have his nitrous bottle here at my house waiting to be refilled, so it wouldn't even be a race worth wasting gas on.
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. I was also on my 10 year old, dry rotted street tires...
Not to take sides,but I would replace those tires before you get a ticket for them.
Many many years ago I tore through town in my camaro and the cops showed up at my buddy's house to talk to him about it (his Camaro was the same color). I still thank him for taking the fall (no ticket or anything, he just got the same deal you got "we know it was you, don't do it again).
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My truck will see maybe 2 miles of street driving per year, so these old tires should work fine. They have decent tread, they're just old. I rarely go over 20mph when driving this truck besides racing. The only thing "illegal" about the truck is the open exhaust(with fake mufflers). Even with open headers it's quiet compared to a bunch of cars, trucks, and bikes around here. I plan to see our count judge and let her know about these bullying tactics.
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heres the deal even if they can prove it was your truck they cant prove it was you. unless you say it was you or the witness points you out. like those red light cameras even tho its your truck and your are supposed to pay the outside company for catching you run a redlight they are easy to beat. to think of it its kind of like blackmail if you don't pay this tick we are charging you then we will report you to the courts.
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the thing is, they can't prove anything because it wasn't me. I picked up my daughter from the babysitter nextdoor and my truck has been parked in the same spot for hours. Also the bank I stopped at has me on camera during the time the trooper says he saw me doing a burnout on a road I wasn't on. I'm just blown away that I could have gone to jail or lost my truck over something I didn't do. I think the cold motor convinced them. But what if I had just moved the truck and it was a little warm...I would've been cooked. I'm asking around to see what I can do to keep from being fingerd for something I didn't do.
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nothing you can do to keep being fingered but like i said even if they see your truck that doesn't mean it was you they have to prove it was you, look at that guy who killed nat Holloway they knew it was him but they could never prove it and OJ "if the glove doesn't fit you must acquit"
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I know why I got accused....my buddy was lying. He was actually in his truck racing through town after he fixed a trans issue. The cops touched his truck's hot motor and he said he had just turned it on. So they went looking for the only other "hopped up" truck in town....mine which was stone cold when they touched it. I'm going to see the judge tomorrow to straighten this out. That trooper made up nearly every part of his story. He did kinda catch me and my buddy before we were about to race(both pulled to the shoulder) waiting for a car to pass....but that was 6 Years ago! I have witnesses during the times he said I was doing burnouts...I was caught on 2 different cameras and socialized with atleast 5 other people during the time he said I was doing big burnout in the middle of town.
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If he saw "you" doing burn outs he should of done something then
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Small town cops suck :)
Years ago I had a 72 Cutlass just the stock 350 (but it could powerbrake :) ) I went fishing with a cop from the next town had my car parked at the high school came back around 2 or 3 am I had a ticket for Racing in the Street (in Nj that is 6 points). My cop friend (really I was employee for BS work) told me to fight it since if I was doing that they would tow it. Went to court and he showed up and told the judge we were fishing and why was the car not impounded when found . Judge "reduced" the ticket to careless driving 2 points and 120 fine. After that when the cops would hit the lights they would just walk up and hand me a ticket never asking me for anything (ID reg or insurance).
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By law, they can not even ticket you if they did not witness it and ticket you at the time of the offense.
It is also against the law for them to come to your residence and threaten you with ticket, impound, and or arrest....
I would contact a lawyer to protect myself if I was you, from FUTURE harassment, and possibly to file charges against the local authorities for overstepping the law.
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I guess I don't really hold the cops at fault....they were actually pretty cool...but they had to trust the troopers word over mine. They couldn't explain how I had a cold motor less than 20 minutes after they claimed I was racing. Trooper flores was just mistaken about the burnout. He was 30yards from me when I stopped at a speedbump at a gravel salesman's house(dusty as crap). My exhaust is dumped towards the tires, so it kicked up a lot of dust along with the huge stall I have....it looked and sounded like a smokey burnout. But there aren't any marks anywhere. I'm headed over to the troopers house soon to talk to him and clear things up. Me and him were actually buddies...I respected him and he respected me...until this happened. Watch this video and picture the road fully covered in gravel dust....tons of smoke. In the vid I had full exhaust pipes, but yesterday I just had headers with my turndown mufflers pointed at the ground. When I looked back from the speedbump I actually thought I blew a headgasket because it was so smokey. Sorry for the long posts ya'll. I'll cut them shorter.
(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f143/team39763/th_100_0100.jpg) (http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f143/team39763/?action=view¤t=100_0100.flv)
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I guess you have to look at street racing from the lawman's point of view to understand why they were harrassing you..it's their duty to keep the streets safe at all costs. Looks like you were in their sites this time. you're right- it's basically just simple harassment. The cop knew he had no hard evidence to make an arrest, and it's just one of those things you're going to have happen- to take the fall for another guy's fun. . I guess all good racers become notorious on the streets. Looks like you made the list. :D :D
Congrads!
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LOL. I never really thought of it that way...kinda puts a positive spin on it.
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The Trooper just called and said he believed me the moment he touched the cold motor. Someone in town made a false complaint and mentioned my name and truck racing at a certain road around 7:00 however nearly 8 witnesses saw my truck parked in the same spot from 3:45 until 9:45. He told me to just be careful and that he's still cool with me and doesn't want to see me get in trouble over something stupid. The burnout he thought he saw was just a dust cloud from under my truck...the time he "saw" us racing was from 6 years ago, and the noise he heard was me trying to go up hills with this huge stall. He also mentioned that he knows my buddy was the one racing through town, but he just hadn't caught him in the act yet. Man I'm glad I got that cleared up...I was worried for a sec that I was gonna be labeled as a street racer and a liar.
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Glad to hear that you got this mess cleared up.
Keep in mind that while people mean well by giving legal advice about what the cops can and can't do, the law's vary from state to state.
I'm sure that SGTDEL and BEASTIE will agree with me on that.
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As a supervisor in law enforcement, I will say this; every law enforcement officer has a supervisor. And, when a complaint comes in against an officer, that officer is presumed guilty until proven innocent--I.A. must get involved and the officer must have his ducks in a row. What I mean is this, you can complain that what you experienced was harrassment. It sounds like it was. Big shot cops with power showing who's boss on the street. I've seen young officers do this all the time until they are put in their place.
Some cops take things like not catching someone in the act as personal. They will learn not to take anything from work personal or they simply will not last long in the field--take it from a 19 year veteran.
Keep a notebook. After a meeting such as what you had, record everything verbatim that was said with who said it and date and time. It sounds like you will fill up a notebook in no time...keep it in your glovebox. If the same cop is continually harrassing you, demand, as a taxpayer, to have a meeting with his supervisor. If you actually get a ticket that is nonsense by this cop, bring the notebook to court with you. Bring witnesses too, whatever.
Talking to a judge without any citation is a waste of time. Judges don't supervise police. They will not voluntarily become a "middle man" between a citizen and the Sheriff. The sheriff is elected, trust me, they want to get reelected which is why I said all officers' complaints againsts againsts them means they are guilty unless they prove themsleve innocent of the complaint from the citizen.
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Fitz is right, as far as the actual penal and traffic laws go. Search, seizure, detainment, and investigation all have the same rules in every state. I dont think he was trying to harass you, but I think he wanted to put a little scare in you (which i think he did) so that if you do think about showing off a little, you'll think twice.
Cali has real stiff penalties for convicted street racers and it really doesn't take much for a LEO to bust you on it. Even spectating is illegal, here, anyways. They can even stop you to inspect your engine without probable cause or reasonable suspicion. No warrant needed because it is not a search. One illegal piece of equipment and bye bye. There have even been grants given to departments to combat street racing. Most cars get taken and crushed.
And don't take what we say on here, as far as legal information, as correct information. I am not authorized to give legal advice. Everything I say is my opinion and experience. I am not a sworn law enforcement officer or lawyer, nor do I pretend to be. I suggest you talk to your local highway patrol/trooper department for clarification on laws pertaining to the jurisdiction you are in. A copy of local penal and vehicle codes can be good reading. Knowing the elements of each law can keep you/get you out of trouble.
SgtDel has good info as well that I agree with.
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To me it seamed like he was trying to scare you to confess to doing it maybe he did think it was you maybe not but it was reported as you being the driver. we too have a lot of super cops aka "barney fife" as we call them even when we work in a hospital watching over inmates we have hospital security telling us how to do our job and they try to give us S.O.P.s we just laugh at them like sgt said they wont last long if they don’t change. I had this one young cop just open my door cause I had a dash mat on he couldn’t see my vin he didn’t look hard enough to see the cut in the mat to make the vin visible but without saying he was going to open it he just yanked it open even though I had my arm resting on the door. They are the ones that give the rest of us bad names
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That's Trooper Flores' nickname...Super Cop. I've always known him to be a straight up guy who upholds the law at all costs, that's why I really respected him and valued his friendship. But when he came over acting like I was a lying sack of scum, I was blown away. He was saying he saw me commit the crime with his own two eyes, but couldn't explain the stone cold motor and the fact that every witness he talked to said the truck was parked at the time the crime happened. I was gonna go to our county judge to see if she would atleast make a record of what happened as far as him making up facts and then later admitting that he was wrong. How am I supposed to defend myself if an LEO can freely make up facts like that. If my motor had been hot from moving it to the other side of my house, I probably would have gone to jail for something I didn't do. Like I said, I called the sherriff when something similar happened years ago and they wouldn't let me make a complaint...they said "sherriff's busy and yes you can be cited for something you didn't do even if we didn't see you do it". But everything is cool now...Sonny has no problem with me, but my buddy with the Camaro is about to get slammed.
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...they said "sherriff's busy and yes you can be cited for something you didn't do even if we didn't see you do it".
No LEO can do that.
They have to either see it themselves, be radioed by another LEO, or have a video.....
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According to Zavala County...it can be done.
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No LEO can do that.
They have to either see it themselves, be radioed by another LEO, or have a video.....
With all due respect this is what I mean when I said to be carefull about receiving bad legal advice on line.
Say for example some drunk jerk is driving 100MPH in a 20MPH school zone and he kills a couple of kids that were crossing the street in a crosswork and several people witnessed it. Do you honestly believe that the police would not issue a citation because they did not see it themselves, have it radioed in by another officer, or have it on video?.
Team 39763, again, I'm glad that you got this cleared up. Now what are your plans to get that truck into the 10's on the motor?
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that is why there are things called witness subpoenas. A summons can be written in good faith as long as there are credible witnesses and a reason to beleive. Then, the courts will get to the bottom of it to declare guilt or innocence.
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Right now the plan is to knock off another 200 pounds and get the correct stall converter. I'm planning to do fiberglass leafsprings and manual rack&pinion steering conversion.
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Wow, they tore me up on the cop forum. They mostly refused to answer my questions about this situation other than saying quit street racing and follow the laws(and stop whining LOL). Obviously I wasn't street racing and I was following the laws...Trooper Flores said so. My problem is that if I would have moved my truck back to my house and the engine was warm, the story that Trooper Flores fabricated would have stuck and I would have been in trouble. I had no idea LEO's could fabricate a story and present it as fact and evidence to the investigating officer who was on the scene. Sgt. Del is that true? I HAVE to tell the truth but the officer is allowed to lie to other LEO's about witnessing the crime in question and having evidence of it? The same situation almost happened again yesterday, but my truck is parked and blocked in by some other cars so they knew it wasn't me.
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I had no idea LEO's could fabricate a story and present it as fact and evidence to the investigating officer who was on the scene.
hmmm, cops may lie? Wow, that would mean they had some alterior motive. Cops are people, people sometimes don't tell the truth. Cops aren't superheroes.
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I know cops are people too, but isn't that playing outside the rules? His lie/false testimony would have got me in deep trouble if my motor would have been warm from lets say driving it off the trailer. I don't care that he lied to me, I won't punish myself for it. But the investigating officer was going to have my truck impounded based off Trooper Flores' testimony. I have to make atleast 3 trips to the shop next week, it would suck for Sonny to blame me for someone else's behavior...again.
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that's where the notebook will come to play. All the little episodes that you may encounter. Besides, if the cop "saw" you do something, you would've been pulled right then and there. The judge will have to see that bit of evidence.
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Gotcha. That makes sense. At the time, I was so shocked and scared that I didn't think to record or write down the details.
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Ya the did light you up. They usually do on there. It is hard to get legal advice on there when that advice would look down on another officer, as well as offer police tactics that, while legal, are kinda secret and dont want the public to know. It isnt a court room, so there is no need to give it up. For example, the lying part. Cops can lie all they want, as long as it isnt in court or violating your rights. That trooper was just trying to get you to fess up to it (even though you didnt do it). Giving advice in posts similar to yours kinda turns them into defense lawyers in a way. The police are on the prosecutors side and dont want the alleged offender to have a good defense. Loosing cases in court not only looks bad for the prosecutor, but as well as the officer.
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I just had no that it worked like that. Trooper Flores' lie almost got my truck impounded since he told the other officers to go pick it up because he saw me street racing. I'm just gonna drag it around town from now on when I need to go to the shop. I'll even take the battery and the steering wheel out of it so I really can't be blamed for anything. Trooper Flores knows who was actually racing through town that day...he went back and told him "I'm like a fisherman...I'm waiting patiently...one of these times I'm gonna I'm gonna catch the big fish".
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Maybe the cop thought he saw you burn out then if someone said hey someone in a truck was just seen racing I prob would of done the samething then once a knew I was wrong "your cold motor" would of said my bad
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Yeah, Sonny didn't give up at the cold motor. He wanted to know why I was driving without a front plate, no inspection sticker, no registration sticker, and no insurance...I had all of that covered and legit.
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Dude - when I was younger (yes I can remember-just!) I used to get pulled at least 3 times a week just because they didn't like my car. Over here we get 7 days to produce docs etc and collected the tickets and do them all in one go.
I got stopped by the same policeman twice in one night!
As long as you're legal and play by the rules, there's nothing they can do. They need evidence before prosecution- hearsay isn't an option.
Keep it cool, chill, don't draw attention to ya self and enjoy your truck.
SgtDel- Don't read this bit!!
If you wanna go and play, drive to another State ;)
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This is crazy. Same thing just happened again except this time my truck was disabled in my yard(no steering column, no battery, and 2 flat tires). I don't know if ya'll remember that video of my neighbors black 81 doing a burnout...well I had that truck parked directly behind mine. Nobody can tell the difference between the trucks, they just assume every black truck is my racetruck. They were like "so you decided to take your drag racing truck out for a run again"? Then I told them my race truck was parked behind them and is obviously not driveable(showed them why). I also popped the hood on the 81 to show them it had no motor(I pulled it out a few days ago). I'm sure you can imagine the look on their faces. I was waiting to hear them say they saw me doing a burnout like that trooper said he did last time. I know they were just doing their job, but it sucks being the first suspect everytime there's a disturbance.
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as i mentioned before, document everything. Talk to their supervisor. It is called harrassment. You NEVER accuse someone of doing something unless you are 100% sure. Asking is one thing, but, you'd think they'd learn their lesson.
And yes, this comes froma cop. I don't accuse anyone of anything unless I am darn sure.
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Team, is it time for a different color paint job?
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It's time to write a letter of harassment and get it notarized - send it certified to the chief. If it persists contact your lawyer
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I made sure to take pictures of both trucks as they sat. I also talked to my neighbors and they verified that they had seen both trucks parked and neither truck left the yard.
I think I will do the notarized letter. I'm ready to be treated like everybody else in this town. The guy who owns the 81 used to host drag races in front of his house at all hours of the night, get caught racing and testing his truck in the neighborhood...and nobody ever bothers him...EVER. Onetime I was with him during a test run and the officer pulled up beside us less than 30 seconds after and asked if we needed help and said the truck sounded good.
My truck is kinda distinct as it is now...gloss black with a white hood, no front grille/headlights, no bumpers. No matter what color I paint it, I'll get pointed out. One time(before I had my black truck) there was a disturbance and a white Chevy truck with black stripe was reported...they showed up at my house to question me about my dark silver Ford truck with sky blue sidestripes. It was during the day too.