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I'm not going to deny that I am not thinking favorably of the officer involved in this stop at the moment, but this is not an anti-cop post.
His actions were understandable until he decided to perjure himself because he didn't think I could make a court date and I think perfectly fine of other cops.
In the city where I live, I always wish cops I see "good luck" or say, "be careful out there." A cop's life is dangerous there and I appreciate their willingness to deal with it and the fact that most of them are doing it for the right reasons. I sure couldn't do it (for one thing, I'm a pacifist. Picture it: "freeze, scumbag, or I'll....uh...I'll look sternly at you.") One of my favorite online friends is a cop. I always wave and say "hi" to the cop parked in front of the mayor's house, who is usually bored out of his or her skull.
I just don't like bullies or liars and this one is both. Police corruption is worse than other crimes because it's a betrayal.
Actually, he first thing I did was contact an online friend of mine who's on the NYPD and ask her what to do. I also asked her to help me figure out if a theory that I had about a way that the officer might have just made an honest mistake, rather than perjuring himself made sense (However, the officer has, in court this morning, proved to me that he is a perjurer who needs to be in jail.)
I never break traffic laws. I don't even speed. I get tailgated a lot because of that. (BTW, do any police departments have numbers to report aggressive drivers? I'm like a magnet for them; I frequently have people tailgate me, cross the double yellow to pass, and then speed off. )
I signal every time I change lanes and every time I'm turning, even if I'm in a turn lane. It's just automatic. I walk across streets with approaching cars closer than they are for me to drive across them. I take forever to make left turns.
I'm one of the few people who always comes to a complete stop at a stop sign. I got pulled over for failing to do so by a cop who had sat across the intersection from me, sitting stationary, for somewhere between 5 and 15 seconds, and testified in court that he had a clear view. Either by saying he wasn't distracted, or by saying I didn't stop, he perjured himself.
He may be in a uniform, but that's a crime and I think he should go to jail for it.
I've been pulled over once by a real cop (who was, nonetheless, manifestly crooked. Like I said, I don't hate cops, but there are some bad cops out there too, especially the kind like this that never has to deal with anything more dangerous than cow-tippers and uses the job as an opportunity to exercise power, especially over women.), and once by what was probably an impersonator* The incident about which I'm asking was the first time I'd ever been pulled over.
The actual traffic stop is what I'm writing about, because, after today's court appeaerance, I have to conclude that the officer is a perjurer, either motivated by a desire to cover up the fact that his negligence nearly caused an accident, or by his obvious misogyny.
I arrived at a rural intersection with a flashing red, in the middle of the night, and saw a car approaching. I was going to turn left, so I waited. I remember specifically thinking through the right-of-way equations (I'm a relatively new driver--I hadn't driven in years until recently b/c I'd lived in San Francisco, where there's just no reason to have a car. Moved back east and got one).
When it got closer, I saw that it was a police cruiser and that there was another police cruiser beside it with the headlights off.
The officer later denied that the other car was a police cruiser with the lights off, when I offered it to him as an excuse for maybe making an honest mistake. This indicates to me that, if I can probably bust the criminal for perjury if I can subpoena radio logs or any records of where cars were and when, or find that other officer and call him or her as a witness. My guess is that the perjurer was afraid that the other officer would whistleblow.
I waited for some time for the officer to go, but he didn't. I assumed that he was waiting for me. Maybe he was waiting for me.
He could have just been distracted or he could have been waiting to lure me into the intersection in order to create a near-accident situation. I have reason to believe that he has issues with women. As a survivor of domestic abuse, I know a batterer when I see one and he talked to me like my abuser used to, despite the fact that I was polite to him, and did him every courtesy except for the interior light thing, which I didn't know about at the time. (Like I said, this was the first time I'd ever been pulled over.)
After I turned, the officer went into the intersection after I had begun my turn, nearly causing an accident. I believe that is why he lied. I braked to avoid an accident. Fortunately, I was still alert, despite the late hour. I had been delayed by a major accident on the way down, and I was being very careful that evening.
I immediately handed over my license (which showed I was from a city about an hour away from there) and, assuming that I had made the common new driver mistake of misinterpreting the actions of the other driver, said, "I'm sorry, I'm a new driver and I got confused."
He said "What confused you?" in an insinuating and very hateful tone. Now, I have a sister who's an artist, and short, and this car used to belong to her, so, after an accident (not her fault; the other car was a crackhead in a stolen car, going the wrong way), it has a funky-looking art piece on the steering wheel where the airbag used to be.
It's understandable for him to have had that question, but I'm a straight A student and my only vice is caffeine. I had even quit smoking a month or two before the stop. I think it was pretty obvious by my expession and bearing that that wasn't going to be the issue, because he didn't raise the subject again.
I explained "I stopped, I yielded, I waited for you to go. When you didn't, I thought you were waiting for me."
He seemed very distressed when I said that, I now see he was probably distressed by the fact that he had nearly caused an accident by not looking where he was going.
I would imagine he had gotten a call on the radio. I drove past what looked like a major bust the same night on my way back, and my NYPD friend says that it's possible he could have been distracted by that. Which would be understandable. My NYPD friend says she sometimes gets a sort of "tunnel vision"(I think she was speaking figuratively, not losing vision, but focussing on that and maybe missing the occasional unrelated detail) when she's on an unusual or stressful call and it's certainly forgiveable to pay less attention than normal to an intersection you pass every night, where you have no reason to expect anyone else to be.
I mean, imagine it: 1 in the morning. Rural intersection, middle of nowhere, you've been through it hundreds of times and have absolutely no reason to expect someone to be there at this hour, you get a surprising call on the radio, pause a bit longer than normal at the intersection to listen, and look up a split second later than you might normally do. Perfectly understandable. What isn't understandable is what he did next.
When I explained that I had been confused by his long pause, he looked at my address and said, in a mocking tone "But you didn't stop. You didn't stop at all."
The message, as I later understood, was "I don't think you can make a court date, so I'm going to say that, in order to cover my own *** and I'll get away with it."
The thing is, it was stupid of him to do that, because, had he said, "well, be more careful next time. Flash your brights or beep your horn instead of just assuming." or somesuch, I would not have done anything. I would have assumed that he was just being forgiving of my inexperience, and wouldn't have given it a second thought. As is, because he perjured himself, I started wondering why figured out the fact that he had entered the intersection _after_ I did indicated that he hadn't been looking where he was going, so now he will for the perjury and negligent driving with his badge, and hopefully his freedom, even if I have to bankrupt myself.
I was floored. I didn't argue with him. I was polite. I was silent. He was really abusive.
I made every effort to be polite. I apologized again for misinterpreting his actions. He said "Then you shouldn't have a license at all," in a tone that I know all too well.
I didn't even know whether or not I should leave first, so I sat there and waited for him, because I'd never been pulled over beofre. I finally said, "Excuse me." a couple of times before he acknowledged me. He came over and I asked him if I was supposed to be waiting for him or if he was waiting for me. He said he was waiting to see if I pulled out safely. I thanked him and wished him a good evening, despite the fact that he had not said a civil word to me during the whole ordeal.
He radiated this incredible, unreasoning, implacable hatred. Either he has a problem with women or he has a problem with Jews. He's a bigot and a perjurer.
I am asking the good officers here to do online what they do on the job: to help someone who is helpless, to help someone who is being victimized by a bully. The perjurer did what he did because I was from out of town and in an inexpensive car and he didn't think I could defend myself.
My mother actually offered to pay the fine, but I'm going to appeal anyway. If I have to bankrupt myself, the perjuring thug is going to jail.
I guess my question is, is there a way that I can track down the other cruiser? I'd like to either call the other officer as a witness, or just produce some evidence that it was there. I mentioned it in the court case, and said "Perhaps he was distracted, which is understandable, because he was worried about his buddy, who was having to drive with no headlights on an unlighted rural highway."
He said "It wasn't a cruiser with its headlights off. It was a normal car and it had its headlights on. I don't know what she's talking about."
I said, under my breath, "I would remind the officer that perjury is an incarcerable offense."
Of course he was believed. I had a witness. I even had a backup witness to the fact that my witness was with me, in case the perjurer tried to deny it.
Look, I know people here are concerned about the trust of the community. Cops like that one damage the image of all cops. Bad cops and good cops are not on the same side.
Good cops protect people who can't defend themselves. Bad cops victimize them. Good cops want to be trusted by everyone but criminals. Bad cops just want to be feared.
*He had been tailgating me, severely, with a perfectly good passing lane open to him, and pulled me over because I didn't speed. I was respectful and explained that I don't speed and he didn't ticket me. How could he, since he was probably an impersonator, and anyway, you can't ticket someone for failure to break the law, I don't think. Unmarked car, just had a flasher that you could buy at Radio shack, didn't appear to have any idea of police procedure. I would have called the police and proceeded to the nearest populated area if it hadn't already been a busy intersection. (Yes, I'm female, yes I was alone, and yes, I was really glad it was a busy intersection)
Wish I'd gotten the "badge" number, which would have told me nothing except that there was an impersonator out there, and told the real cops what he looked like, or the license number, so the local PD could track down the imposter.
His actions were understandable until he decided to perjure himself because he didn't think I could make a court date and I think perfectly fine of other cops.
In the city where I live, I always wish cops I see "good luck" or say, "be careful out there." A cop's life is dangerous there and I appreciate their willingness to deal with it and the fact that most of them are doing it for the right reasons. I sure couldn't do it (for one thing, I'm a pacifist. Picture it: "freeze, scumbag, or I'll....uh...I'll look sternly at you.") One of my favorite online friends is a cop. I always wave and say "hi" to the cop parked in front of the mayor's house, who is usually bored out of his or her skull.
I just don't like bullies or liars and this one is both. Police corruption is worse than other crimes because it's a betrayal.
Actually, he first thing I did was contact an online friend of mine who's on the NYPD and ask her what to do. I also asked her to help me figure out if a theory that I had about a way that the officer might have just made an honest mistake, rather than perjuring himself made sense (However, the officer has, in court this morning, proved to me that he is a perjurer who needs to be in jail.)
I never break traffic laws. I don't even speed. I get tailgated a lot because of that. (BTW, do any police departments have numbers to report aggressive drivers? I'm like a magnet for them; I frequently have people tailgate me, cross the double yellow to pass, and then speed off. )
I signal every time I change lanes and every time I'm turning, even if I'm in a turn lane. It's just automatic. I walk across streets with approaching cars closer than they are for me to drive across them. I take forever to make left turns.
I'm one of the few people who always comes to a complete stop at a stop sign. I got pulled over for failing to do so by a cop who had sat across the intersection from me, sitting stationary, for somewhere between 5 and 15 seconds, and testified in court that he had a clear view. Either by saying he wasn't distracted, or by saying I didn't stop, he perjured himself.
He may be in a uniform, but that's a crime and I think he should go to jail for it.
I've been pulled over once by a real cop (who was, nonetheless, manifestly crooked. Like I said, I don't hate cops, but there are some bad cops out there too, especially the kind like this that never has to deal with anything more dangerous than cow-tippers and uses the job as an opportunity to exercise power, especially over women.), and once by what was probably an impersonator* The incident about which I'm asking was the first time I'd ever been pulled over.
The actual traffic stop is what I'm writing about, because, after today's court appeaerance, I have to conclude that the officer is a perjurer, either motivated by a desire to cover up the fact that his negligence nearly caused an accident, or by his obvious misogyny.
I arrived at a rural intersection with a flashing red, in the middle of the night, and saw a car approaching. I was going to turn left, so I waited. I remember specifically thinking through the right-of-way equations (I'm a relatively new driver--I hadn't driven in years until recently b/c I'd lived in San Francisco, where there's just no reason to have a car. Moved back east and got one).
When it got closer, I saw that it was a police cruiser and that there was another police cruiser beside it with the headlights off.
The officer later denied that the other car was a police cruiser with the lights off, when I offered it to him as an excuse for maybe making an honest mistake. This indicates to me that, if I can probably bust the criminal for perjury if I can subpoena radio logs or any records of where cars were and when, or find that other officer and call him or her as a witness. My guess is that the perjurer was afraid that the other officer would whistleblow.
I waited for some time for the officer to go, but he didn't. I assumed that he was waiting for me. Maybe he was waiting for me.
He could have just been distracted or he could have been waiting to lure me into the intersection in order to create a near-accident situation. I have reason to believe that he has issues with women. As a survivor of domestic abuse, I know a batterer when I see one and he talked to me like my abuser used to, despite the fact that I was polite to him, and did him every courtesy except for the interior light thing, which I didn't know about at the time. (Like I said, this was the first time I'd ever been pulled over.)
After I turned, the officer went into the intersection after I had begun my turn, nearly causing an accident. I believe that is why he lied. I braked to avoid an accident. Fortunately, I was still alert, despite the late hour. I had been delayed by a major accident on the way down, and I was being very careful that evening.
I immediately handed over my license (which showed I was from a city about an hour away from there) and, assuming that I had made the common new driver mistake of misinterpreting the actions of the other driver, said, "I'm sorry, I'm a new driver and I got confused."
He said "What confused you?" in an insinuating and very hateful tone. Now, I have a sister who's an artist, and short, and this car used to belong to her, so, after an accident (not her fault; the other car was a crackhead in a stolen car, going the wrong way), it has a funky-looking art piece on the steering wheel where the airbag used to be.
It's understandable for him to have had that question, but I'm a straight A student and my only vice is caffeine. I had even quit smoking a month or two before the stop. I think it was pretty obvious by my expession and bearing that that wasn't going to be the issue, because he didn't raise the subject again.
I explained "I stopped, I yielded, I waited for you to go. When you didn't, I thought you were waiting for me."
He seemed very distressed when I said that, I now see he was probably distressed by the fact that he had nearly caused an accident by not looking where he was going.
I would imagine he had gotten a call on the radio. I drove past what looked like a major bust the same night on my way back, and my NYPD friend says that it's possible he could have been distracted by that. Which would be understandable. My NYPD friend says she sometimes gets a sort of "tunnel vision"(I think she was speaking figuratively, not losing vision, but focussing on that and maybe missing the occasional unrelated detail) when she's on an unusual or stressful call and it's certainly forgiveable to pay less attention than normal to an intersection you pass every night, where you have no reason to expect anyone else to be.
I mean, imagine it: 1 in the morning. Rural intersection, middle of nowhere, you've been through it hundreds of times and have absolutely no reason to expect someone to be there at this hour, you get a surprising call on the radio, pause a bit longer than normal at the intersection to listen, and look up a split second later than you might normally do. Perfectly understandable. What isn't understandable is what he did next.
When I explained that I had been confused by his long pause, he looked at my address and said, in a mocking tone "But you didn't stop. You didn't stop at all."
The message, as I later understood, was "I don't think you can make a court date, so I'm going to say that, in order to cover my own *** and I'll get away with it."
The thing is, it was stupid of him to do that, because, had he said, "well, be more careful next time. Flash your brights or beep your horn instead of just assuming." or somesuch, I would not have done anything. I would have assumed that he was just being forgiving of my inexperience, and wouldn't have given it a second thought. As is, because he perjured himself, I started wondering why figured out the fact that he had entered the intersection _after_ I did indicated that he hadn't been looking where he was going, so now he will for the perjury and negligent driving with his badge, and hopefully his freedom, even if I have to bankrupt myself.
I was floored. I didn't argue with him. I was polite. I was silent. He was really abusive.
I made every effort to be polite. I apologized again for misinterpreting his actions. He said "Then you shouldn't have a license at all," in a tone that I know all too well.
I didn't even know whether or not I should leave first, so I sat there and waited for him, because I'd never been pulled over beofre. I finally said, "Excuse me." a couple of times before he acknowledged me. He came over and I asked him if I was supposed to be waiting for him or if he was waiting for me. He said he was waiting to see if I pulled out safely. I thanked him and wished him a good evening, despite the fact that he had not said a civil word to me during the whole ordeal.
He radiated this incredible, unreasoning, implacable hatred. Either he has a problem with women or he has a problem with Jews. He's a bigot and a perjurer.
I am asking the good officers here to do online what they do on the job: to help someone who is helpless, to help someone who is being victimized by a bully. The perjurer did what he did because I was from out of town and in an inexpensive car and he didn't think I could defend myself.
My mother actually offered to pay the fine, but I'm going to appeal anyway. If I have to bankrupt myself, the perjuring thug is going to jail.
I guess my question is, is there a way that I can track down the other cruiser? I'd like to either call the other officer as a witness, or just produce some evidence that it was there. I mentioned it in the court case, and said "Perhaps he was distracted, which is understandable, because he was worried about his buddy, who was having to drive with no headlights on an unlighted rural highway."
He said "It wasn't a cruiser with its headlights off. It was a normal car and it had its headlights on. I don't know what she's talking about."
I said, under my breath, "I would remind the officer that perjury is an incarcerable offense."
Of course he was believed. I had a witness. I even had a backup witness to the fact that my witness was with me, in case the perjurer tried to deny it.
Look, I know people here are concerned about the trust of the community. Cops like that one damage the image of all cops. Bad cops and good cops are not on the same side.
Good cops protect people who can't defend themselves. Bad cops victimize them. Good cops want to be trusted by everyone but criminals. Bad cops just want to be feared.
*He had been tailgating me, severely, with a perfectly good passing lane open to him, and pulled me over because I didn't speed. I was respectful and explained that I don't speed and he didn't ticket me. How could he, since he was probably an impersonator, and anyway, you can't ticket someone for failure to break the law, I don't think. Unmarked car, just had a flasher that you could buy at Radio shack, didn't appear to have any idea of police procedure. I would have called the police and proceeded to the nearest populated area if it hadn't already been a busy intersection. (Yes, I'm female, yes I was alone, and yes, I was really glad it was a busy intersection)
Wish I'd gotten the "badge" number, which would have told me nothing except that there was an impersonator out there, and told the real cops what he looked like, or the license number, so the local PD could track down the imposter.
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