Tuesday evening after working til midnight outside on my car, I decided to drive to my favorite restaurant to get a bite to eat. On the drive there, nearby the restaurant I passed a police officer with lights on patrolling. I was completely lawful yet the vehicle pulled out behind me and began to follow. At 12AM, I simply accepted that he was probably patrolling for drunk drivers, and I continued on all the way to my favorite Restaurant/Bar. The officer followed me over town lines without turning his lights on nor pulling me over. He parked at the gas station across from the restaurant, waited, and decided to head back from the direction he came as I walked into the restaurant. I had a feeling it wasn't the last time I'd be seeing him that evening.
Later that evening around 12:50, as I drove back down the same route I had came, a police cruiser coming in the opposite direction at the same 3 way intersection decided to whip around and began driving in my direction 3 vehicles behind. With 1/4 mile distance and 3 vehicles apart from the police car, at that point I did not feel as though he could possibly come up with a reason to have to follow me again. I took a right hand turn toward home still with 1/4 mile distance ahead of the cruiser and I expected that would be the end of being followed. Another 1/2 mile up the road, feeling that the police officer was nowhere in sight, I decided to take a detour home to see if the cruiser was still going to follow me. Through highly wooded and low lit areas even with the initial 1/4 mile seperation, the officer still managed to catch up to me. Driving entirely within the limit of the law, the cop continued to follow me for no reason all the way to the town line without pulling me over and discontinued following me.
Feeling that I had done nothing wrong and tired of being followed through town I decided to call the policed department. I gave the dispatcher my personal information, which I presumed whomever followed me already had by running my plates and explained to the dispatcher that if there was a reason for the police to feel the need to get in touch with me that I could be reached, but there is no reason to follow me around town every time I come through.
The following evening , as I came upon an intersection two cruisers sat at a pizza place on the corner of a 4 way main intersection. Just prior to turning in their direction, one of the cruisers left his patrol and began driving in the same direction that I was turning. He had driven 1/4 mile ahead of me by the time I turned onto the route and continued until he was visibly 1/2 mile ahead of me. He stopped at an intersection up ahead of me, waited for me to drive by him, began to follow me and pulled me over. When I asked him why I was being pulled over, he replied "Speeding". I complied and gave the officer my license number and explained to him that I had forgotten my registration in another vehicle. He came back to the vehicle and informed me that my registration was expired, although two days prior I had seen a copy of my registration that showed valid until 12/31/2012. At this point he explained that he was going to be having my vehicle towed. I expressed to him that I felt as though I had done nothing outside of the limit of the law, and that my registration should be active but he maintained that I had been pulled over for speeding, and now with an expired registration I was being towed. I argued that it was difficult to say i was speeding when he was 1/2 mile ahead of me driving in the same direction. He gave me my ticket and towed the vehicle. Initially i noted that the ticket had two statute numbers written and only one violation described. I did not sign the ticket. In conversation with him I had inquired why there were only 1 violation on the ticket. Later as we wrapped up our encounter, he approached me again and demanded the ticket back so that he could "darken" the writing on the ticket. He effectively went back into the ticket and physically wrote in the missing violation description next to it's statute. I question whether modifying or altering the ticket was lawful or ethical either. Now I have a court date for a Speeding/No Registration violation and $120 out of pocket for a tow, when I shouldn't have been pulled over to begin with. Initially both officers maintained that they weren't aware that I had called the department the previous night to complain of being followed for no reason. Towards the end of our encounter in conversation, one of the officers remarked that I shouldn't cause attention calling to complain when you're driving with no registration.
Get followed for no reason and call the station, get pulled over and have violations made up and busted for unrelated violations. If I complain about harassment or fight it in court, I'll be a target in that town for the rest of my life, but what am I supposed to do? Just lay down and allow police to patronize, harass, and throw tickets at me?
Later that evening around 12:50, as I drove back down the same route I had came, a police cruiser coming in the opposite direction at the same 3 way intersection decided to whip around and began driving in my direction 3 vehicles behind. With 1/4 mile distance and 3 vehicles apart from the police car, at that point I did not feel as though he could possibly come up with a reason to have to follow me again. I took a right hand turn toward home still with 1/4 mile distance ahead of the cruiser and I expected that would be the end of being followed. Another 1/2 mile up the road, feeling that the police officer was nowhere in sight, I decided to take a detour home to see if the cruiser was still going to follow me. Through highly wooded and low lit areas even with the initial 1/4 mile seperation, the officer still managed to catch up to me. Driving entirely within the limit of the law, the cop continued to follow me for no reason all the way to the town line without pulling me over and discontinued following me.
Feeling that I had done nothing wrong and tired of being followed through town I decided to call the policed department. I gave the dispatcher my personal information, which I presumed whomever followed me already had by running my plates and explained to the dispatcher that if there was a reason for the police to feel the need to get in touch with me that I could be reached, but there is no reason to follow me around town every time I come through.
The following evening , as I came upon an intersection two cruisers sat at a pizza place on the corner of a 4 way main intersection. Just prior to turning in their direction, one of the cruisers left his patrol and began driving in the same direction that I was turning. He had driven 1/4 mile ahead of me by the time I turned onto the route and continued until he was visibly 1/2 mile ahead of me. He stopped at an intersection up ahead of me, waited for me to drive by him, began to follow me and pulled me over. When I asked him why I was being pulled over, he replied "Speeding". I complied and gave the officer my license number and explained to him that I had forgotten my registration in another vehicle. He came back to the vehicle and informed me that my registration was expired, although two days prior I had seen a copy of my registration that showed valid until 12/31/2012. At this point he explained that he was going to be having my vehicle towed. I expressed to him that I felt as though I had done nothing outside of the limit of the law, and that my registration should be active but he maintained that I had been pulled over for speeding, and now with an expired registration I was being towed. I argued that it was difficult to say i was speeding when he was 1/2 mile ahead of me driving in the same direction. He gave me my ticket and towed the vehicle. Initially i noted that the ticket had two statute numbers written and only one violation described. I did not sign the ticket. In conversation with him I had inquired why there were only 1 violation on the ticket. Later as we wrapped up our encounter, he approached me again and demanded the ticket back so that he could "darken" the writing on the ticket. He effectively went back into the ticket and physically wrote in the missing violation description next to it's statute. I question whether modifying or altering the ticket was lawful or ethical either. Now I have a court date for a Speeding/No Registration violation and $120 out of pocket for a tow, when I shouldn't have been pulled over to begin with. Initially both officers maintained that they weren't aware that I had called the department the previous night to complain of being followed for no reason. Towards the end of our encounter in conversation, one of the officers remarked that I shouldn't cause attention calling to complain when you're driving with no registration.
Get followed for no reason and call the station, get pulled over and have violations made up and busted for unrelated violations. If I complain about harassment or fight it in court, I'll be a target in that town for the rest of my life, but what am I supposed to do? Just lay down and allow police to patronize, harass, and throw tickets at me?
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