Racing, Reckless Driving, Super Speeder.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Yeah, pretty much my point right here (from the link).

Yep. But they do not have to prove that at the time of arrest. All they have to do is tell you what you are being arrested for so they do not need to present their case.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Yep. But they do not have to prove that at the time of arrest. All they have to do is tell you what you are being arrested for so they do not need to present their case.

I wasn't saying that they did. I was saying that in order to actually make any of that stick, they need to present evidence. So op should try to find what evidence they have. Whether OP needs a lawyer to do that or not idk, but that is step 1. If they can't come up with any actual evidence supporting the officer's assertion after having arrested him, that's a serious abuse of power, and depending on what reason they give for the arrest it could be argued as a violation of OP's constitutional rights. (Shape/color of the car, for example)

It seems to me that OP is in a stronger position than he believes. I'm not a lawyer or anything (disclaimer), so maybe I'm completely wrong.

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The police have used moving radar for about 20 years now. The detector is mounted to the car and has a second antenna that measures and deducts the cruisers speed. The officer does not need to aim the gun and the measurements are valid and legal. This is not new and I have been pulled over based on the moving radar measurements a couple of times.

I am aware those systems exist. It's the only time RADAR detectors can pick up the rollers. Doesn't seem like an accurate way to determine the speed of a vehicle in traffic though.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Spuds

I wasn't saying that they did. I was saying that in order to actually make any of that stick, they need to present evidence. So op should try to find what evidence they have. Whether OP needs a lawyer to do that or not idk, but that is step 1. If they can't come up with any actual evidence supporting the officer's assertion after having arrested him, that's a serious abuse of power, and depending on what reason they give for the arrest it could be argued as a violation of OP's constitutional rights. (Shape/color of the car, for example)

It seems to me that OP is in a stronger position than he believes. I'm not a lawyer or anything (disclaimer), so maybe I'm completely wrong.

Don't think that the shape and colour of your car are included in your constitutional rights.

The same would apply to any arrest. The evidence will be made available before the trial but it isn't like he can just walk into the police station and ask them for it.

Pretty sure that even if the cop was mistaken it isn't "abuse of power" to arrest somebody he felt was racing. I also feel that the OP may have a strong case but that doesn't make the cop some douchbag power hungry monster. It just means that he misinterpreted what he saw. We have no idea what it appeared like to him. Was he just supposed to say "Oh OK" and walk away when the OP gave his story? Is that how law enforcement should work? If the OP is innocent and his story sways the judge he is fine. If the cop presents his version better then he will be found guilty. That is how the system works.

[xdavidx]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Don't think that the shape and colour of your car are included in your constitutional rights.

The same would apply to any arrest. The evidence will be made available before the trial but it isn't like he can just walk into the police station and ask them for it.

Pretty sure that even if the cop was mistaken it isn't "abuse of power" to arrest somebody he felt was racing. I also feel that the OP may have a strong case but that doesn't make the cop some douchbag power hungry monster. It just means that he misinterpreted what he saw. We have no idea what it appeared like to him. Was he just supposed to say "Oh OK" and walk away when the OP gave his story? Is that how law enforcement should work? If the OP is innocent and his story sways the judge he is fine. If the cop presents his version better then he will be found guilty. That is how the system works.

Why do you always have to ruin the wild speculation with rational thought?
You'd never cut it as an American.

In America, we have a thing called a constitution. In that constitution there are amendments. Now, I've never actually read them, but pretty sure one of them is the right to a badass car shall not be infringed and shape and color effect how badass your car is. This cop was clearly infringing by arresting him.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I have seen lawyers on tv shows and movies break into the police station to find evidence. If the OP can't afford a lawyer to break in for him, he should do it himself.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by xdavidx

Why do you always have to ruin the wild speculation with rational thought?
You'd never cut it as an American.

In America, we have a thing called a constitution. In that constitution there are amendments. Now, I've never actually read them, but pretty sure one of them is the right to a badass car shall not be infringed and shape and color effect how badass your car is. This cop was clearly infringing by arresting him.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I have seen lawyers on tv shows and movies break into the police station to find evidence. If the OP can't afford a lawyer to break in for him, he should do it himself.

CSI could just pull his ECU and in 30 seconds be able to tell EXACTLY how fast he was going at the very instant the cop saw him.


That would be just the ticket to getting off

[86MLR]

Sorry

2 wrongs don't make a right

You were speeding

You could/should have stayed at the speed limit

If you felt intimidated you should have pulled over and let him pass, or, just kept driving

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

CSI could just pull his ECU and in 30 seconds be able to tell EXACTLY how fast he was going at the very instant the cop saw him.

That would be just the ticket to getting off

Please, so old school. What they would do is hack into the GPS unit in the car (never mind it only receives signals, doesn't send them out) and show his history for the last year. Then, they'd take control of his non-self driving car and take him directly to jail, probably without passing Go..

[Will BRZ]

Originally Posted by xdavidx

Why do you always have to ruin the wild speculation with rational thought?
You'd never cut it as an American.

In America, we have a thing called a constitution. In that constitution there are amendments. Now, I've never actually read them, but pretty sure one of them is the right to a badass car shall not be infringed and shape and color effect how badass your car is. This cop was clearly infringing by arresting him.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I have seen lawyers on tv shows and movies break into the police station to find evidence. If the OP can't afford a lawyer to break in for him, he should do it himself.

Exactly. Clearly, OP’s first mistake was not saying “I thought this was America” as soon as the cop pulled him over for speeding.

[davesrave]

I feel badly for the OP. Something very close happened to me twenty years ago. I was driving the speed limit and a person passed me and then turned down the same road I did. The cop followed and turned his lights on and we both stopped. The car in front, the speeder, though, decided to take off, and I got their ticket. Still burns my ass to this day.

[ermax]

The moral of the story is if you get pulled over along with someone else, be sure to be the guy in front so it’s harder for the other guy to flee. Hahaha

[Impureclient]

Makes you wonder what the police would do if you pulled up their rear bumper like OP experienced. They'd probably just move over, even if they were blocked like the OP said he was, and just let you by. /S

If everything said so far is truthful, speeding up a little to let the jerk by shouldn't be a reason to throw the book at him. The more I think about how it went down, the more it seems like it was entrapment with the Charger being cop #2.

Some people may find this hard to believe but law enforcement actually do lie sometimes. I posted a few months back in here how I got pulled over for speeding. I got in my car with a pile of takeout food and watched a cop sitting in an
adjacent parking lot sitting there waiting. I watched him pull out after me as I very carefully watched my speed pulling out and the next mile I drove to not go over even 1 mph since it was clear what he was going to do. Then, the liar,
pulled me over saying I was speeding. Not even getting into all the other details of what happened in him looking for other things to find I did wrong, he then said he had another call to get to and rushed off letting me go.

There are bad apples that work as grocery baggers, hair dressers, garbage men, and certainly there are some that work in law enforcement. They just get a pass most of the time as grouchy or "seasoned" verterans that have been through
it all and firing a cop for doing a poor job/being a jerk is like getting a President impeached. I totally believe the OP and think he was either railroaded here on purpose or that cop just really sucks at his job.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Don't think that the shape and colour of your car are included in your constitutional rights.

The same would apply to any arrest. The evidence will be made available before the trial but it isn't like he can just walk into the police station and ask them for it.

Pretty sure that even if the cop was mistaken it isn't "abuse of power" to arrest somebody he felt was racing. I also feel that the OP may have a strong case but that doesn't make the cop some douchbag power hungry monster. It just means that he misinterpreted what he saw. We have no idea what it appeared like to him. Was he just supposed to say "Oh OK" and walk away when the OP gave his story? Is that how law enforcement should work? If the OP is innocent and his story sways the judge he is fine. If the cop presents his version better then he will be found guilty. That is how the system works.

The problem isn't that OP was pulled over and questioned, or issued a ticket/summons or whatever. That's all fine. The problem is that the OP was arrested. Based on what has been posted, I find the establishment of probable cause dubious, though I don't have the full conversation.

It is therefore arguable that the officer was profiling OP based on one of many factors, driving a fast looking car being one of them. If OP had been driving a beige Camry, would he have been arrested? Or even pulled over for that matter?

Yeah, it's a hard argument to make, but where would this forum be if crazies like me didn't spice things up once in a while.

[Tristor]

As someone who has received many many many speeding tickets in my life (no need for more backstory than this) and have been to court for many of them, including reckless driving charges (in a state where it's a felony), I can tell you that there is only 1 way this is going to go where you don't end up in prison:

1) You need to hire a lawyer, immediately. You should not speak to the cops or the prosecutor without your attorney present. Find someone who is well respected in your area, which may or may not be more expensive than other lawyers, but will have had a good track record. You could use Avvo or Ticket Clinic to help you find a good lawyer in your area with the right expertise.

2) Be prepared to lose your license. Almost any penalty which drops the reckless driving charge will be accompanied by a settlement where you agree to a suspended license.

3) If it ends up going to trial, don't get angry in court. Even if the cop is bald-faced lying and the judge gives you the evil eye. Just keep your fucking mouth shut and let your lawyer do the talking.


That's pretty much the best advice anyone can give you. It sucks, and I've had several times where I was ticketed for BS reasons but my prior record caused it to be decided against me rather than on the facts of the case. The justice system isn't blind, and it isn't fair, it's stacked against you and the cops word is worth five times as much as yours. So be prepared to get fucked, but take it like a man and don't act out in court if it happens. No matter how bad it is, it can always get worse, and judges love to throw their weight around... don't ask me how I know.

Best case scenario you settle on license suspension, a fine, driving school, and court fees. No jail time, no adverse sentencing. If that happens you're going to need to possibly get special insurance when you get your license back for a time period (usually 3-5 years). As sucky as it is not being able to drive for a year, and having no car, it's better than going to prison. So be prepared, and understand if this is how it goes it's a lucky deal.

This is also why the FIRST thing I do when I buy a car is hardwire in a dash cam and a radar detector. I'm not ACAB, but cops are bitches in the US and you can't let them get one over on you, because they will do everything possible to try. Just like me, you're learning your lesson. Get a dashcam, record all police interactions, never say anything to the cops you don't absolutely have to, and have a good lawyer on speed dial. Welcome to adulthood.