Question In Regards To Stop Signs & Ticketing

[KingCobra03SVT]

Recently there was a story here in Warren, MI about an officer who had wrote over 2,000 traffic violations for drivers not stopping at stops signs.

I was wondering how could you fight this ticket in court. It seemed like it was their word over the officers word.

I would imagine there would need to be video documentation, but I could be wrong. I would just like to be enlightened on this matter since that is an outstanding number of tickets wrote specifically for not stopping at a stop sign.

SIDE NOTE: I do know that this officer made in between 20K-30K in overtime due to going to court.

Thanks

 

[FordSVTFan]

2000 tickets in what time frame? Like I have said numerous times, a ticket is an allegation not a conviction. If you dont agree with it, go to court and present your evidence in a cogent and truthful manner. The officer will do the same and judge will sort it all out.

 

[KingCobra03SVT]

^ A little over 2,000 tickets in a year which I believe was of last year (2007).

Channel 7 News Story:

"WARREN POLICE OFFICER DAVID KANAPSKY WROTE THOUSANDS OF TRAFFIC TICKETS LAST YEAR. AND HE RAKED IN THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF OVERTIME PAY. MANY DRIVERS HE TICKETED SAY THEY HAD A CLEAN RECORD UNTIL THEY CROSSED PATHS WITH KANAPSKY.

WARREN POLICE OFFICER DAVID KANAPSKY SPENDS A LOT OF TIME IN COURT.

THAT’S BECAUSE HE WRITES A LOT OF TRAFFIC TICKETS …

Kanapsky saying person rolled through stop sign

…MOST OF THEM ARE FOR STOP SIGN VIOLATIONS. IN FACT, LAST YEAR OFFICER KANAPSKY WROTE 2,347 TICKETS JUST FOR STOP SIGN VIOLATIONS.
BUT MANY DRIVERS KANAPSKY TICKETED INSIST THEY DID STOP."


Here is the full official story from my local channel 7 news. (link below)

http://www.wxyz.com/news/story.aspx?content_id=6247586b-8dea-43ab-8e1b-a74082ffe280

 

[Iceman II]

Sounds like a hard working officer to me. If he is getting overtime for it, then so be it. It appears it is the officers word against the violators. Most patrol units do have video systems, but unknown here and if it were me I would install one. Stopping means a complete cessesion of movement, not the rolling California stop. I wish I had a dollar for everyone saying they stopped.

 

[KingCobra03SVT]

^ Not to say he isn't doing his job but that is just unheard of and it is definitely going to raise questions as to what is going on. I think in this case he should have a camera present in his vehicles especially for the outstanding number of tickets written specifically for not stopping at a stop sign.

Just FYI I did not get a ticket or anything this was just a general question I was asking.

 

[Juruense]

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

 

[jshen]

^ Just FYI I did not get a ticket or anything this was just a general question I was asking.

I am not quite sure of your original "general question". Are you asking if one can write that many tickets a year....Most of us in patrol did..my average was 10 a day..

Are you asking if the fact that the officer does his job- writes tickets- instead of hanging around a dunut shop is grounds to question him? Heck, I think such dedication deserves a commendation.

Are you questioning court time? The very nature of a uniformed LEO requires he be in his assigned area during his shift. That alone causes LEO to set court on off days or after/before shift. Otherwise, if LEO is in court and sh*t hits the fan on the street..That is one less officer to help out.

I always advocate video cams...but usually the violation occurs before you can trigger cam on red lights and stop signs. Speeding and fleeing and accompanying stop are easy. It would be my preference for LEOs to audio tape all traffic stops [ If there is an in car camera- chances are he has audio mic ]. I've not seen a video come back to haunt the officer but it sures does for the offender who claims this and that..only for the judge to see.

Did I answer your general question?

 

[KingCobra03SVT]

I am not quite sure of your original "general question". Are you asking if one can write that many tickets a year....Most of us in patrol did..my average was 10 a day..

I know an officer can write as many tickets as he or she pleases as long as people are breaking the law. I understand they are doing their job.

Are you asking if the fact that the officer does his job- writes tickets- instead of hanging around a dunut shop is grounds to question him? Heck, I think such dedication deserves a commendation.

Not quite, once again I am not questioning the officers work ethic.

Are you questioning court time? The very nature of a uniformed LEO requires he be in his assigned area during his shift. That alone causes LEO to set court on off days or after/before shift. Otherwise, if LEO is in court and sh*t hits the fan on the street..That is one less officer to help out.

No

I always advocate video cams...but usually the violation occurs before you can trigger cam on red lights and stop signs. Speeding and fleeing and accompanying stop are easy. It would be my preference for LEOs to audio tape all traffic stops [ If there is an in car camera- chances are he has audio mic ]. I've not seen a video come back to haunt the officer but it sures does for the offender who claims this and that..only for the judge to see.

This is along the lines of my question. Basically I was asking in this situation, it pretty much is the officers word over your word especially with no video evidence of the infraction. So like Adam was saying that you must present evidence in cogent truthful matter and pretty much from there on it's up to the the judge to decide in your favor or the officers.

I understand that officers are doing their job but I strongly believe that they can make a misjudgement every once and awhile. So lets say a person gets a ticket for rolling through a stop sign and they are being 100% honest that they did not run or roll through the stop sign. However the officer is certain that you did. How do you prove that in court? Officers word over drivers word? I can tell my story exactly as it happens and be 100% honest and tell the truth but the judge could still take sides with the officer. So it is kind of a gamble basically.

 

[FordSVTFan]

To be perfectly honest, unless there is traffic and you are forced to stop, most people slow at stop signs and continue through them while looking for oncoming traffic. There is a stop sign in my neighborhood, where I turn left and most others turn right, the right turn opens into its own new lane, so the vast majority of people treat it as a yield sign. I could easily see a traffic deputy sitting there and writing 25 tickets a day from this alone.

 

[KingCobra03SVT]

That is true and I am sure we all have been guilty of doing that one time or another. I try to stay in the practice making sure I stop and do all the little things because I don't want to pay a fine or for that matter go to court.

 

[bones srt-4]

i wish he worked here in my home town. stop sign runners are running rampant. it has got so bad that ppl are stopping where there are no signs because they know ppl won't be stopping at the signs. 2 blocks up from my house there are a pair of stop signs for traffic going north and south, i see ppl running them every single day.

 

[AntiHeightPunk]

To be perfectly honest, unless there is traffic and you are forced to stop, most people slow at stop signs and continue through them while looking for oncoming traffic. There is a stop sign in my neighborhood, where I turn left and most others turn right, the right turn opens into its own new lane, so the vast majority of people treat it as a yield sign. I could easily see a traffic deputy sitting there and writing 25 tickets a day from this alone.

do you stop? :beer:

 

[94ShoOff]

I wrote a stop sign citation today where the guy slowed down to about 20mph. At least he didn't argue.

Camera systems are coming a long way. We just installed a new setup in all our cruisers. No tapes or dvd's, everything gets downloaded to a computer when pulling into our back lot. When the record mode is triggered, it goes back 60 seconds and pulls the video. Its then stored on a hard drive and is easily found when searching.

 

[FordSVTFan]

do you stop? :beer:

Yes, I got pulled over for that exact violation at that exact spot last August.

 

[jshen]

One thing you may want to consider..Officers are trained observers. When you are busy driving..hopefully looking left, right and center- the officer is stopped watching one thing- your car.

Rarely do I handle traffic unless tied to something more serious..but I go through a series of "predicate questions" that by nature are designed to show the judge the officer's experience, his reason for being there, steps taken to make sure he could see each violation and from what point of view, was he focused on each car, did you have anything else to distract you..such as cell phone, radio traffic, pedestrians, other traffic....etc. Essentially insuring the conviction.

 

[jman511115]

i wish he worked here in my home town. stop sign runners are running rampant. it has got so bad that ppl are stopping where there are no signs because they know ppl won't be stopping at the signs. 2 blocks up from my house there are a pair of stop signs for traffic going north and south, i see ppl running them every single day.

Same here, people run stop signs and red lights like it's their job. You can't be sitting waiting for a light to turn green on your side without at least two people gunning it to make the yellow (which in itself is illegal) and not catching it and blatantly running the red. :fm: Can't wait 'till I'm a state trooper.