Falsified Speed Stops

[comodin]

Yesterday morning, as I was driving on the Petaluma-Valley Ford Road, with my cruise control at 55 mph, I passed a parked Highway Patrol car. Naturally I checked my speed, just to make sure it was OK, and saw the needle right on 55 mph, which was the posted limit. To my surprise, the CHP car immediately started up and pulled me over. The officer told me that she had registered my speed as 70 mph. I knew this to be untrue, and explained that this could not be so, since I had set the speed, and I knew I was in fact doing that speed as I passed her. As I told her, I never fear a speed stop since I always set the cruise control.

She maintained that my "equipment must need re-calibrating." This struck me as ridiculous, since there is a big difference between 55 and 70 mph, and since several people had been tailgating me as I registered 55, which they often do. And for the rest of the day, as I went through 25, 30, 40, 45, 50 and 55 mph zones, I measured my speed against the other cars, and a few were tailgating then, too. I think I can reasonabley say that my equipment did not need to be re-calibrated.

There were not too many logical alternative conclusions: Either I was lying (I know I wasn't), or my "equipment needed to be re-calibrated" (no), or her equipment needed it (even though she claimed she checked it every morning), or she was lying. I thought that between the last two, the last was the more likely. Call me naive, but I was seriously shocked. I had never met a lying cop before.

She gave me a ticket. This is a trifling injustice in comparison with what many people of color have to deal with, and those imprisoned for crimes which even their accusers and judges know they did not commit. However it is not insignificant. Such blatant injustice to the public that the CHP is meant to serve is highly damaging to the legitimacy of the police, and brings the whole lot of them into disrepute, which most of them, I feel sure, do not deserve. It would greatly serve the CHP and the public that such an officer should be removed from the CHP, in my opinion.

Naturally my individual story carries by itself no weight and will not cause this to happen, and unless the court in which I intend to appear has had many previous complaints about falsified speed stops by this officer or in this stretch of road, I expect to have to pay the fine. I am writing this in case anyone else has had this experience, and perhaps could add their testimony to mine and get rid of this sort of abuse. The arbitrary abuse of police authority is a very ugly thing, and as long as it pays, it will probably grow.

"Tackle the great while it is still small; deal with the difficult while it is still easy." (Tao Teh Ching)

[Cheingrand]

Thank you for your post. It is indeed disturbing. I similarly use my cruise control to ensure that I do not inadvertently climb over the posted speed limit, while those behind me me tailgate as though I was far under the expected speed of the road. Please let us know how your court appearance goes. I've always assumed I could tell the court that I had set my cruise control on the posted speed limit, and I therefore could not be found speeding. There is no way that the cruise control in a late-model vehicle could be 15 mph off. After 32 years in law enforcement, I generally lean towards an officer's story. But if you go to court and hear testimony that claims you were going 70 when your cruise control was set at 55, I believe that you are the victim of false testimony. Good luck.


Yesterday morning, as I was driving on the Petaluma-Valley Ford Road, with my cruise control at 55 mph,...

[hales]

I wonder why the CHP is being so vigilant and aggressive, lately. Budget crunch? Ticket writing quotas? I think going to court is the right way to go and perhaps you have a good chance the officer will not show up..

Good luck..
Scott.


Yesterday morning, as I was driving on the Petaluma-Valley Ford Road, with my cruise control at 55 mph, I passed a parked Highway Patrol car. Naturally I checked my speed, just to make sure it was OK, and saw the needle right on 55 mph, which was the posted limit. To my surprise, the CHP car immediately started up and pulled me over. The officer told me that she had registered my speed as 70 mph...

[bodegahead]

You can and should call or better yet go to the California Highway Patrol office on Martin Dr. in Rhonert Park, across Rhonert Park Expressway from Target. They do keep track of complaints against officers and we have used it effectively out here in way west county. I think I might be aware of the lady officer who ticketed you, she`s out here occasionally lately. From what I`ve seen, if it is the same one, and there are only a few different officers along that stretch, she seems to be pretty reasonable and fair compared to some of her predessesors, but you`ve seen a different side of her. Good luck and please do report it. And thanks for not speeding out there, it`s really dangerous out there on that road.

I`d be happy to see them spend more time pulling speeders over out here, or illegal passing(see it daily) instead of a lot of pulling people over for stupid trivial reasons because they don`t like the way you or your car look. We`ve had a lot of that during the past few years, thankfully those officers are gone. There is a lot more dangerous drivers out here to have an officer make a u turn to pull a driver over for driving with one headlight in the afternoon on a foggy day when the driver did`nt even have to even have his headlights on in the first place. Don`t get me started.


Yesterday morning, as I was driving on the Petaluma-Valley Ford Road,

[tomcat]

There are many reasons that the CHP 'equipment' could have given a false reading. You may want to research the specific 'equipment' she was using and learn as much as you can about it before your court date. Ask at the CHP office what kind of 'equipment' she was using, then do an Internet search about it.

I haven't been to traffic court in a long time, but it used to work like this:

At your first court date, you may either 'plead guilty with an explanation', or plead innocent and ask for a jury trial.
Sometimes a judge will dismiss the case if your 'explanation' can convince them you are telling the truth, (Appearance and respect are also VERY IMPORTANT) but if they are not convinced, you must pay the fine.

The officer must show up at a jury trial or the case is dismissed, and since the state is hurting, they may not want to pay overtime for the officer to attend a trial.

You will need ALL the facts to help you at a trial and a good lawyer could help but will probably cost more than the ticket.

You may need to bring in proof that YOUR 'equipment' is properly calibrated... expensive.
Perhaps you can ask for the calibration records of the CHP 'equipment'.

I wouldn't assume that the officer was lying, but she could easily have made a mistake with her 'equipment', or may have found out later in the day that it was not working properly.

It really SUCKS when we get accused of breaking the law when we haven't!
I hope you beat this bad rap. Good luck.


Yesterday morning, as I was driving on the Petaluma-Valley Ford Road,

[Juggledude]

not sure how admissible it would be, but most GPS units have a function to display the speed of the vehicle, I love mine and find that in both my vehicles, the speed on the vehicle's speedometer is overstated by about 4mph. Perhaps you could have a passenger film or photograph the dual readouts as you cruise, and enter this as evidence of your equipment's calibration. Though this is probably redundant, as it is certainly a your word against the officer's situation, it would be a nice thing to know the accuracy of your auto's speedometer.


Yesterday morning, as I was driving on the Petaluma-Valley Ford Road, with my cruise control at 55 mph, ...

[daynurse]

FIrst, Challenge it in court. There is a judge (commissioner) in Sonoma County whose job is to keep you from going to trial She always give a "deal" which often means a provisional dropping of charges. THe provision is 6 months of no tickets and then it gets expunged. Follow the instructions on your ticket for going to court.

Second, those radar machines have always been known to pick up "artifacts" which gives the officer wrong readings. Even if she calibrated it, she can pick up artifact. If you can slip by the commissioner's due diligence and go to court, a well researched demonstration of false readings will probably get you off.


Lastly, "I had never met a lying cop before." All cops lie. It's a mandatory part of their training. :2cents::Yinyangv:


Good luck!

[Cheingrand]

Lastly, "I had never met a lying cop before." All cops lie. It's a mandatory part of their training. :2cents::Yinyangv:


That's as dumb as someone saying, "All nurses steal drugs. It's part of their training."

[daynurse]

I guess my remark about cops lying was too terse and required more of an explanation. Cops have to interrogate people. In order to do this, interrogation techniques include actually telling the interviewee lies in order to get the information law enforcement is after.

I was a member of the Ca. Attorney General's Multidisciplinary Interview Center Consortium and took many trainings with the police departments from all over the state as part of my role as an Emergency Nurse. These were "POST" Police Officer Standards and Training Council (https://www.dogpile.com/clickserver/_iceUrlFlag=1?rawURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ct.gov%2Fpost%2F&0=&1=0&4=67.63.58.255&5=69.109.246.20&9=f6c536a0d4e54befba7d72748945ca01&10=1&11=info.dogpl&13=search&14=239138&15=main-title&17=2&18=2&19=0&20=0&21=2&22=P5z5up8UROM%3D&23=0&40=zJZna7XhqCKiLA%2Fl6fjU5A%3D%3D&_IceUrl=true) approved trainings. Part of the accepted culture is that the only person in the interrogation who is held to a modicum of honesty is the interviewee.

As a small example, a police investigator may falsely tell a suspected criminal that his buddies have already "confessed" in order to get a confession.

I am not trying here to pass judgement on this, just thought everyone knew that this is standard operating procedure and I apologize for appearing to stir up trouble.
Peggy

[Iolchan]

Dear comodin:

I had a similar experience - but worse - with a park ranger/wannabe cop out in Bodega Bay. I'd been sitting in my van, at Bodega Head, peaceably watching the Ocean/sunset, when - lo, it was nine p.m., the park ranger arrived and started shining his light in people's cars. So I left, quietly, and went my way.

The Ranger, however, broke the speed limit to catch up with me, and tailgate me. I pulled over, on the bay road, near the harbour, and he cited me for a burned-out tail-light. When I asked him why he'd been doing ninety-nine miles an hour, just to catch up with me, and tail-gate me, he ignored the question, and proceeded to cite me for "resisting an officer" = Calif. Penal Code 146a. This is a serious charge, if they can make it stick.

I wrote a lengthy Affidavit, just stating the facts, and had a friend serve the commanding officer of the park ranger with a verified complaint concerning the ranger's misconduct. I served my Affidavit to the Court, appeared numerous times for pre-trial preliminaries, fought the Ticket, and won. The park ranger himself was a no-show on the day of the Trial.

I would be glad to share my silver-bullet paperwork with anyone out there who is willing to pay for the Xeroxes, and take the time to study it. These tickets are about one thing only: Revenue/Commerce. The State is making merchandise of Us, children, because the State is Bankrupt. Capische?

If you want Justice, folks, you have to be willing to pay your dues, write your affidavit on legal stationary, appear in Court for the preliminaries, and suffer a little - But it can be done. Don't let the State roll over you. Get Up. Stand up.
Mark Walter Evans
[email protected]





This is a trifling injustice in comparison with what many people of color have to deal with, and those imprisoned for crimes which even their accusers and judges know they did not commit. However it is not insignificant...
I am writing this in case anyone else has had this experience, and perhaps could add their testimony to mine and get rid of this sort of abuse. The arbitrary abuse of police authority is a very ugly thing, and as long as it pays, it will probably grow.

"Tackle the great while it is still small; deal with the difficult while it is still easy." (Tao Teh Ching)

[Cheingrand]

I guess my remark about cops lying was too terse and required more of an explanation. Cops have to interrogate people. In order to do this, interrogation techniques include actually telling the interviewee lies in order to get the information law enforcement is after.

I was a member of the Ca. Attorney General's Multidisciplinary Interview Center Consortium and took many trainings with the police departments from all over the state as part of my role as an Emergency Nurse. These were "POST" Police Officer Standards and Training Council (https://www.dogpile.com/clickserver/_iceUrlFlag=1?rawURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ct.gov%2Fpost%2F&0=&1=0&4=67.63.58.255&5=69.109.246.20&9=f6c536a0d4e54befba7d72748945ca01&10=1&11=info.dogpl&13=search&14=239138&15=main-title&17=2&18=2&19=0&20=0&21=2&22=P5z5up8UROM%3D&23=0&40=zJZna7XhqCKiLA%2Fl6fjU5A%3D%3D&_IceUrl=true)approved trainings. Part of the accepted culture is that the only person in the interrogation who is held to a modicum of honesty is the interviewee.

As a small example, a police investigator may falsely tell a suspected criminal that his buddies have already "confessed" in order to get a confession.

I am not trying here to pass judgement on this, just thought everyone knew that this is standard operating procedure and I apologize for appearing to stir up trouble.
Peggy

Perhaps preposterous (rather than dumb) is a better description of your remark that all cops lie as part of their training. And then to say that you "...just thought everyone knew that this is standard operating procedure..." and you are surprised it caused a stir, is disingenuous. You claim to have first-hand knowledge of this trained-to-lie behavior because of your position as an Emergency Room nurse and some POST training. I don't buy it. Your example of interrogation techniques (like in the TV shows) in a thread about a speeding ticket paints law enforcement officers with a broad brush of being habitual liars in the everyday performance of their jobs. It just isn't true.

With 32 years as a field, supervisory and management peace officer in California and two dozen years as a POST instructor in several academies, I can affirm that lying is not part of law enforcement training and certainly not "standard operating procedure".

[n4rky]

Perhaps preposterous . . . It just isn't true.

With 32 years as a field, supervisory and management peace officer in California and two dozen years as a POST instructor in several academies, I can affirm that lying is not part of law enforcement training and certainly not "standard operating procedure".

It is part of our socialization that we are to trust the "nice police officer." And so your words will carry some weight.

Some of us, however, have a different experience which casts doubt on any claim that "I am not a liar," particularly when coming a member of the only class in society specifically empowered to use even deadly force against other members of society, whose only means of conflict resolution entails the use of force or the implicit threat of force, and whose mission is to enforce laws passed by a class consisting overwhelmingly of wealthy white men against all others and to maintain order, meaning the status quo, meaning social hierarchy.

Through such a lens, your claim becomes a demand to accept the "truth" (in an Orwellian sense) or to be charged with disorderly conduct. Professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr., recently learned the real meaning of that phrase (https://benfell.livejournal.com/176387.html).

I myself have been pulled over, purportedly for a broken taillight. On a hunch, I asked him which one. He hesitated before giving an answer. I got home, checked my lights, wriggled the wires, and could not get the taillight to fail. Yes, cops lie, and they do this and more largely with impunity.

When I was taking a required class to drive a taxicab in San Francisco, a police officer teaching it bragged of his exploits, all predating the statute of limitations, he assured us, all of which his supervisor would laugh at if we reported them. They included hanging people out second story windows by one ankle to extract information.

Cops are not uniformly nice people. I strongly doubt that they choose their occupation so they can be told to abide by the speed limit.

I won't pass judgment on whether POST training includes dishonesty. I don't know. But if even a child of five can tell a lie, it might not be necessary.

[justme]

So many judgemental opinions. That's all fine except the classifying all peace officers as liars, hanging people out windows for confessions, lying as standard operating procedure, et al. There are ethical and non ethical people in all walks of life and occupations. Be it cops, politicians, environmentalists, lobbyists, trades workers, etc.

But to pidgeon-hole everyone in one segment as inherently bad is just plain stupid and immature. I feel, personally, that most people that choose law enforcement as a carreer are motivated out of a wish to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Some may not end up that way, but that happens.

Maybe the CHP officer that issued the ticket had an alternative motive. I don't know.. But none of the other people posting know either. So I will reserve judgement on the whole matter.

Comodin, if you feel you were wronged, fight the citation with all you have. It is your right. But I wouldn't wouldn't show up in court spouting some of the judgemental, narrow-minded rhetoric that some feel free to give.

Be honest, be yourself... Even if you lose, you will at least leave court with your dignity and ethics intact...Good luck

[justme]

BTW n4rky...you also have a right to use deadly force on others if your life is threatened too....But be willing to live with that action for the rest of your life.....


It is part of our socialization that we are to trust the "nice police officer." And so your words will carry some weight.

Some of us, however, have a different experience which casts doubt on any claim that "I am not a liar," particularly when coming a member of the only class in society specifically empowered to use even deadly force against other members of society, whose only means of conflict resolution entails the use of force or the implicit threat of force, and whose mission is to enforce laws passed by a class consisting overwhelmingly of wealthy white men against all others and to maintain order, meaning the status quo, meaning social hierarchy.

Through such a lens, your claim becomes a demand to accept the "truth" (in an Orwellian sense) or to be charged with disorderly conduct. Professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr., recently learned the real meaning of that phrase (https://benfell.livejournal.com/176387.html).

I myself have been pulled over, purportedly for a broken taillight. On a hunch, I asked him which one. He hesitated before giving an answer. I got home, checked my lights, wriggled the wires, and could not get the taillight to fail. Yes, cops lie, and they do this and more largely with impunity.

When I was taking a required class to drive a taxicab in San Francisco, a police officer teaching it bragged of his exploits, all predating the statute of limitations, he assured us, all of which his supervisor would laugh at if we reported them. They included hanging people out second story windows by one ankle to extract information.

Cops are not uniformly nice people. I strongly doubt that they choose their occupation so they can be told to abide by the speed limit.

I won't pass judgment on whether POST training includes dishonesty. I don't know. But if even a child of five can tell a lie, it might not be necessary.

[Iolchan]

So many judgemental opinions. That's all fine except the classifying all peace officers as liars, hanging people out windows for confessions, lying as standard operating procedure, et al. There are ethical and non ethical people in all walks of life and occupations. Be it cops, politicians, environmentalists, lobbyists, trades workers, etc.

But to pidgeon-hole everyone in one segment as inherently bad is just plain stupid and immature. I feel, personally, that most people that choose law enforcement as a carreer are motivated out of a wish to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Some may not end up that way, but that happens.

Yes, justme, you are correct. Probably only one cop in ten is a bad egg - and by the same token, ten percent of our peace officers are 'secular saints.' The real significance underlying this issue - of speed-traps, and tickets - is very clear to me: It is not about the goodness, or the integrity of individual police persons, or of the the police force in general. No, the issue is much bigger, and far weightier that that. It is a matter of Economics.

The reasons why the State of California has been reduced to the this very fallen condition of employing 'public servants' to prey on the Public in order to raise revenue for a hungry treasury, are Economic. It is fair to say that we are witnessing the moral breakdown of our entire society.

When the "just powers" which legitimate governments employ to govern, and regulate society with Justtice, are turned on the People, and 'peace officers' are turned - in some cases without realizing it - into looters and oppressors of the people, rather that keepers of the peace, it is fair to say that society is breaking down.

Currently there is an on-going weekly demonstration and protest, every Friday afternoon, at the corner of West and Sebastopol avenues, in Roseland. The issue is the Civil, Constitutional, and property rights of undocumented Mexican workers - and the ongoing, horrific confiscation of the autos & vehicles of these 'non-citizens,' by our local Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.

Confiscation of automobiles & vehicles has become a very ugly racket throughout the State of California. Check out the action at pier 72 in San Francisco, every Wednesday morning. But then, when the boys in blue do the stealing, it's not Grand Theft Larceny any more, is it?

But what is it? In our case, the economic and moral breakdown of our society is caused by a systemic flaw in our Economic System. And the flaw, sadly, is embedded is in our Constitution itself, that hallowed and revered document that all politicians and runners for office pay lip service to.

In the 1780's, after the successful revolution from mother hen, the New Nation, functioning under the Articles of Confederation, found that the Federal branch of the government could not meet its foreign obligations. The Articles of Confederation did not provide the Federal government with any means of raising revenue, so that the Continental Congress could pay back the Dutch, French, and Spanish bankers the money loaned to successfully wage war with Britain.

This is why the "Founders" met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 - there was a fiscal crisis. It wasn't just brewing; they were in it, deep. In a similar manner, we have a crisis that returns every year in California - Remember? - our annual State budget crisis. And the economic roots of our crisis go back to a small, yet significant mistake the "Founders" made that fateful Summer, back in 1787. I wrote about this, a few years back, and you can check out the link here: U.S. CONGRESS raising the Debt ceiling (https://sonic.net/~doretk/ArchiveARCHIVE/MARK%20EVANS/WakingUpHomeless.html)

The mistake the Founders made in 1787 was to abrogate the powers of the several states to create Credit within their own jurisdictions. Because under the Articles of Confederation, the several states had the power to create credit with the stroke of the pen.

Just imagine what this would mean in California, today: It would mean that the State could pay its employees with real checks - not I.O.U.s. It would mean that all of the vital social programs, especially Education, would not have to be put on the block by our "terminator" governor.

No, I am not saying we should get rid of the Constitution; that is not the thrust of my Argument. Far from it. The Constitution has many, many good and precious points. We need it. And the Bill of Rights? - priceless - an historic milestone. No, thankfully - thank G-d, if you will - the Constitution may be amended, by lawful, legislative means.

If you, out there in Cyberland, wish to do something constructive, to help solve our hereditary annual budget crisis, and the systemic looting of we, the people by our public servants, then get behind Amendment XXVIII [28].
Links: How to Bring Economic Democracy to the U.S.A. (https://www.paleoprogressives.org/economic-democracy.html)
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccoreader/21033-how-bring-economic-democracy-u-s.html

At the risk of sounding somewhat utopian, I encourage muchos pueblos, all ye who give a damn, to download the item, copy it, transfer it to Microsoft Word, you know the drill, print it and fax it out to our public servants, on the national level. Maybe we can turn this thing around. Its worth a try, is it not?

Here is a link for all of the Fax numbers of all elected officials in the USA:
Complete E-Mail Addresses for Congress/House, Senate, Governors & State Legislators (https://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm)
Take a cue from the Christian Right, and speak up! FAX dem Congresspersons!

Sincerely, Citizen Evans

[bodegahead]

I agree with the part about confiscation of vehicles being a big racket and it leads to a lot of profiling . If you are white and driving a nice car out here, they won`t mess with you for a tailight out or a minor infraction.
They will go after you for any infraction if you look like you are from south of the border or if you give them any reason to feel like they might be able to impound your vehicle.


Yes, justme, you are correct. Probably only one cop in ten is a bad egg - and by the same token, ten percent of our peace officers are 'secular saints.' The real significance underlying this issue - of speed-traps, and tickets - is very clear to me: It is not about the goodness, or the integrity of individual police persons, or of the the police force in general. No, the issue is much bigger, and far weightier that that. It is a matter of Economics.
...