Text 6302, 65 rader
Skriven 2010-03-27 12:46:03 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
   Kommentar till text 6200 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: Murder charges after misc
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26 Mar 10 11:04, Michiel van der Vlist wrote to Roy Witt:

 MvdV>>> and that is a big nono here. Plus that tail gaiting is an
 MvdV>>> offence in itself. A more serious offence then mere speeding.
 MvdV>>> If such a case ever got into court, it would be rejected and
 MvdV>>> the policeman would be reprimanded.

 RW>> Not in our courts. The judges think of police officers as members of
 RW>> the court and they never tell lies when issuing a traffic ticket or
 RW>> while being a witness against a violator.

 MvdV> Here courts are not so naive as to believe police officers never
 MvdV> make mistakes and always tell the truth.

Our courts don't operate on naivety, they operate on comaraderie among
court officials; judges, prosecuting attorneys and law enforcement...

 MvdV> If it is the word of the policmen against that of the accused, the
 MvdV> court will treat it as any other case where it is one man's word
 MvdV> against another's. In most cases they give the accused the benefit
 MvdV> of the doubt.

I once proved an officer of the law was in error for issuing a stop sign
violation. That didn't matter to the judge, as he ruled against my
photographic evidence that I was in the right. I had put the officer on
the witness stand and he lied through his teeth when I questioned him and
the judge believed his word over the evidence.

 MvdV> That is one - but not the only reason - policeman usually operate
 MvdV> in pairs. Here they rely on technical evidence rather than witness
 MvdV> statements anyway. Police cars used for patrolling and catching
 MvdV> speeders and other traffic violations are equiped with video
 MvdV> cameras and calibrated speedometers.

Our police also have cameras, calibrated speedometers AND radar/laser
speed dectecting devices. The cameras are used to record a traffic stop to
protect the officer and their victim's rights.

 RW>> If you were to get a ticket from a cop who's tailgating you, if you
 RW>> have the guts, you can make a citizens arrest. All you need is
 RW>> another officer to write him up. There's a fat chance of getting
 RW>> anywhere with that.

 MvdV> All it would take here is some supporting evidence. Now that almost
 MvdV> every cell phone has a camera, it would not be so hard to get some
 MvdV> video of the cop tail gating. Here I would not go to the police, I
 MvdV> would go to the district attorney and let him handle it.

Smart move, going to the DA.

 MvdV> I am really puzzled why you find cops tail gaiting to provoke a
 MvdV> speeding violation an accaptable method of law enforcement and why
 MvdV> you put up with it.

I've never seen nor experienced cops tailgating here. It is against the
law here to 'follow too closely' behind another vehicle. Nor would I be
intimidated by it if it were to occur. OTH, I could expect someone who is
not familiar with US traffic law to be intimidated by it.


                R\%/itt

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