Sheriff gave me a ticket for something I didn't do. What can I do?

[MysticWar]

Picked a friend up from her work to see a movie. Drove down the 605 and took the Arrow Highway exit. We then entered the AMC Covina 30 parking lot. I stopped for my friend to get out and buy tickets for the rest of us while I find a parking spot. A sheriff was behind us when my friend exited the car. Then the sheriff said to my friend, "Get the F*CK back in the car!!" in that exact word. My friend quickly got back in the car. I thought he was gonna give me a ticket for parking in the middle of the parking lot. The sheriff then asked if I was on Hallenback road/Cerritos road two minutes ago. That road is a block east AFTER the AMC theatre, so there was no way we could have been on that road. Then he asked if anyone was on probation and also asked for all of our ID's(4 total). Of course none of us was on probation. He returned 30 freakin' minutes later from his car, which was parked right behind us with all of the eye blinding lights pointed at us. While he was in his car to check our ID's, I noticed two more sheriff cars behind him, I guess he called for back up. He gave us back the ID's and then gave me a ticket for running a red light on Hallenback road, which I WASN'T EVEN on. I didn't even know where that road was, so I drove around the area after the sheriff left to find that road. That's how I found out that the road was a block east from the theatre. Now, what can I say to the judge when I go to court? It will be my word against the sheriff. I guess the sheriff was looking for someone and mistakenly pulled me over. And to avoid looking stupid because he'd pulled over the wrong car, he just made up a ticket for something that I didn't do. Isn't the correct procedure for pulling someone over for traffic violation is to ask for vehicle registration, driver's license, and proof of insurance? He didn't ask me for registration or proof of insurance. And to top it off, he said he was following us for 3 minutes!! The street that he said I went through red light is a block from me. It's not even really a block more like 1/2 a block, and it would take any car 5-10 seconds to go from that street into the AMC theatre parking lot. So how could he be following me for 3 minutes??? I've done nothing wrong and I feel that it is ridiculous for me to go through all these legal mumbo jumbo just because a damn sheriff made a mistake.

So any idea of what I should do?

 

[BCYL]

disbute the ticket... and present ur case in court... there's a pretty good chance u will win in this case...

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

You have 4 witnesses don't you? Fight it. And if the dude he told to get the fvck back in the care was a minor, get him to file corruption of a minor charges against the sherrif.

 

[HappyFace]

He doesn't have evidence that proves you were the offender. Plead not guilty, and then tell the court your story just as you did us. Of course, make sure to address the judge politely, as "your honor."



<< These pigs piss me off sometimes. >>

These pigs keep you safe from criminals. I know you were wronged and are upset, but please try to speak respectfully when refering to the men and women who put their lives on the line for us all.

 

[Pers]

um...he is a pig. he doesn't deserve much respect.

 

[Jerboy]

<< Picked a friend up from her work to see a movie. Drove down the 605 and took the Arrow Highway exit. We then entered the AMC Covina 30 parking lot. I stopped for my friend to get out and buy tickets for the rest of us while I find a parking spot. A sheriff was behind us when my friend exited the car. Then the sheriff said to my friend, "Get the F*CK back in the car!!" in that exact word. My friend quickly got back in the car. I thought he was gonna give me a ticket for parking in the middle of the parking lot. The sheriff then asked if I was on Hallenback road/Cerritos road two minutes ago. That road is a block east AFTER the AMC theatre, so there was no way we could have been on that road. Then he asked if anyone was on probation and also asked for all of our ID's(4 total). Of course none of us was on probation. He returned 30 freakin' minutes later from his car, which was parked right behind us with all of the eye blinding lights pointed at us. While he was in his car to check our ID's, I noticed two more sheriff cars behind him, I guess he called for back up. He gave us back the ID's and then gave me a ticket for running a red light on Hallenback road, which I WASN'T EVEN on. I didn't even know where that road was, so I drove around the area after the sheriff left to find that road. That's how I found out that the road was a block east from the theatre. Now, what can I say to the judge when I go to court? It will be my word against the sheriff. I guess the sheriff was looking for someone and mistakenly pulled me over. And to avoid looking stupid because he'd pulled over the wrong car, he just made up a ticket for something that I didn't do. Isn't the correct procedure for pulling someone over for traffic violation is to ask for vehicle registration, driver's license, and proof of insurance? He didn't ask me for registration or proof of insurance. And to top it off, he said he was following us for 3 minutes!! The street that he said I went through red light is a block from me. It's not even really a block more like 1/2 a block, and it would take any car 5-10 seconds to go from that street into the AMC theatre parking lot. So how could he be following me for 3 minutes??? I've done nothing wrong and I feel that it is ridiculous for me to go through all these legal mumbo jumbo just because a damn sheriff made a mistake.

So any idea of what I should do? These pigs piss me off sometimes. >>




Are cops immune from civil liabilities when they cause trouble to civilians out of their own mistakes and then verbally abuse them?
A good lawyer might be able to get you in higher financial status. You could try for thigns like now you have fear of being harassed by police, you developed some personal problems as a result of being hour late to home, etc.

 

[HappyFace]

Jerboy, do you ever go to sleep?

 

[FreeAgent]

A sherif gave you ticket. What should you do? How about.........suck it up fairy!!! It happens to everybody at least once. The youths have it the worst. I'm only 22 and I never get pulled over anymore. When I was like sixteen I got pinched all the time because of the way my car looked and how I was dressed etc.. Now I look back and fully understand why. I lived in a quiet nice area ("upper class") and the police always thought I was some punk from the city (as they put it). Yes it is wrong, but if you live in the city/town where the police are doing a number on you, you have no choice but to step out of the way or blend in to the crowd. If you make trouble for them you may end up with more than you expected on your plate. In some cases filling out a complaint works. My uncle did that once and was literally driven out of state at fifteen years old (honest to God). So the moral is plead not guilty to the fine, explain the problem to the judge in court (if the case isn't thrown out), don't complain to the cops they don't want to hear it unless its major miss use of power crap. If you file a complaint at the Sheriff's office you will end up with a Christmas present for certain.

 

[FreeAgent]

Picked a friend up from her work to see a movie. Drove down the 605 and took the Arrow Highway exit. We then entered the AMC Covina 30 parking lot. I stopped for my friend to get out and buy tickets for the rest of us while I find a parking spot. A sheriff was behind us when my friend exited the car. Then the sheriff said to my friend, "Get the F*CK back in the car!!" in that exact word. My friend quickly got back in the car. I thought he was gonna give me a ticket for parking in the middle of the parking lot. The sheriff then asked if I was on Hallenback road/Cerritos road two minutes ago. That road is a block east AFTER the AMC theatre, so there was no way we could have been on that road. Then he asked if anyone was on probation and also asked for all of our ID's(4 total). Of course none of us was on probation. He returned 30 freakin' minutes later from his car, which was parked right behind us with all of the eye blinding lights pointed at us. While he was in his car to check our ID's, I noticed two more sheriff cars behind him, I guess he called for back up. He gave us back the ID's and then gave me a ticket for running a red light on Hallenback road, which I WASN'T EVEN on. I didn't even know where that road was, so I drove around the area after the sheriff left to find that road. That's how I found out that the road was a block east from the theatre. Now, what can I say to the judge when I go to court? It will be my word against the sheriff. I guess the sheriff was looking for someone and mistakenly pulled me over. And to avoid looking stupid because he'd pulled over the wrong car, he just made up a ticket for something that I didn't do. Isn't the correct procedure for pulling someone over for traffic violation is to ask for vehicle registration, driver's license, and proof of insurance? He didn't ask me for registration or proof of insurance. And to top it off, he said he was following us for 3 minutes!! The street that he said I went through red light is a block from me. It's not even really a block more like 1/2 a block, and it would take any car 5-10 seconds to go from that street into the AMC theatre parking lot. So how could he be following me for 3 minutes??? I've done nothing wrong and I feel that it is ridiculous for me to go through all these legal mumbo jumbo just because a damn sheriff made a mistake.

So any idea of what I should do? These pigs piss me off sometimes.

Edited: Saturday 19, January, 2002 at 5:38 AM by MysticWar


Seriously though, sorry to hear that you were so badly miss treated.















































































































































































































































































SORRY ABOUT THE FAIRY PART MAN!!

 

[tcsenter]

Call the court or magistrate's office and ask them how to go about pleading not guilty. On your court date, bring the friend you picked up from work and get your story straight, bring a map showing your exact route from her work location to the theatre, and tell your story. You'll either prevail or you won't: 50 - 50.

 

[veryape]

Man that makes me mad. Last year when I was still driving taxi I got pulled over three times by the same cop, all within three weeks and each time he ticketed me the exact same ticket. Fifty dollars for speeding, times three is just plain wrong when I was not even going more than five miles over the limit, the cop just hasn't liked me since we were in high school for some reason. I didn't dispute the tickets though, it was my word against him.

 

[tcsenter]

Its tough when you're young to fight these types of charges. A friend of the family was charged with a bunch of offenses, including felonious (vehicular) assault on a police officer, after he punched a police officer then ran straight over his patrol car with his big rig - on purpose. ;-)

He owns an excavating and landscaping company who transports heavy equipment to and from work sites, and this local small town cop was harassing him for months. The cop pulled him over a dozen times within an 9 or 10 month period, using regulatory excuses as the justification to pull him over, then citing him all sorts of trivial crap. Except regulatory safety of commercial vehicles was not within the scope of this local cop's responsibilities - it's a state police function. After the first few tickets, my friend began documenting all of the safety measures he was using, including taking pictures with a time/date stamp on the back.

He filed a lawsuit against this officer and department for harrassment, and while they were waiting to go to court, the cop pulled him over again about 500 yards from his home (which is the base of his business). They got into an argument at roadside, which lead to a physical confrontation, and my friend punched the cop square in the nose. While the cop was laying flat on his back, my friend jumped back in his truck and started to leave. The cop knew where he lived, got back up, jumped in his patrol car and raced in front of him to block his access to the driveway. My friend just drove straight over the patrol car, which also cause him to overturn his rig and trailer. The cop was injured and backup was on the way.

When the police arrived en force (I think 12 cars responded), there were about 30 very large and very pissed-off construction workers waiting for them with guns. The chicken sh-t cops wouldn't even come onto the property to get their own injured officer, he had to walk to them, but then with an angry mob toting 30-30 and 30-06 deer rifles and pump shotguns, I'm not sure I blame them. Bullet proof vests are no match for the common deer rifle.

There was a brief stand-off, a state trooper who knew my friend for years got him to surrender, and they arrested everyone. The result of this fiasco was that, because my friend was a 55 year-old life-long resident and well-known business man in the community who never had anything more than a couple speeding tickets in the 25 years he owned and operated this business (outside the dozen or so citations this one officer gave him in a short period of time), in addition to the documentation he kept detailing all of the safety measures used when transporting equipment and machinery, the judge found his claims of harrassment to be highly credible, and that the officer had acted unethically if not illegally. At the point the officer decided to engage in this behavior, he ceased to act with the authorization of law. The judge determined that since the officer was not acting as a police officer, it was a civil matter not a criminal matter, and the judge dismissed every charge.

I believe the officer was fired. Even better, the attorney took the case pro bono.

 

[pyonir]

all i am going to say is that i cant believe some of the things you people say about police officers. without them, everyone one of you would have already been a victim of a violent crime, and the ones that already have been a victim, you would have been a victim many times over. i have been harassed by the police and pulled over a few times. but i know they were just doing their jobs. and always remember: one bad seed does not mean every seed is bad.

 

[Grunt03]

Do it in court, as they say

"Tell it to the judge"

 

[TallBill]

damn tscenter.. thats a nutso story!

 

[Vic]

Naturally any discussion on this topic will turn into a flame war... :frown:

Look, you had friends in your car, that means witnesses. Plead "Not Guilty" on the ticket and take it to the judge. Remember to bring your friends as witnesses. Make sure the judge understands completely that you came from a different direction and absolutely could not have run that red light. Bring a map to the hearing showing your EXACT route and timetable. Make sure all your friends tell exactly the same, ironclad story. Absolutely make sure to subpeona the officer to the hearing with the judge. You want him there in person (in most states they are not required). Two very important questions you should ask the officer are: when did he get the license plate #/description of the car that ran the red light and was he able to identify exactly the car that ran the red light with your car (i.e. did he follow you straight to the parking [not possible] or did he lose sight of the suspect car and then pick you up at the parking lot [what really happened according to your story]).

If you feel that the officer was abusive or rude, you should file a written complaint against him. Three letters. One goes to the Sheriff's office, one to the local Police Union, and one to the local independent police watchdog organization. The letters to the Sheriff's Office and Police Union should only discuss the officer's rude and/or abusive behavior. The letter to the watchdog organization should be the only one that explains how the officer wrote you up for a violation you could not have possible committed (and therefore he could not have witnessed it).

After you enter your plea of Not Guilty (presumably by mail if it is a ticket), you should contact the Prosecutor's office and ask to discuss the case with them. Absolutely do not allow them to push you into a plea bargain. You will win this one and you are merely calling to inform them of that, would they like to save the taxpayers' money by not wasting anyone's time?

Good luck.

As the for the flame war here, I can already see where it is going. Just because the police protect us from criminals is no excuse for one of them to trouble, harrass, and/or falsely charge law-abiding citizens, and any "good" cop would tell you the same thing. This is America, not the old USSR.

 

[BigFatCow]

tscenter that story is messed up.

 

[Hossenfeffer]

PSYWVic,

Preach on

 

[LaBang]

You should win this one easliy! I HATE ahole cops. I have gotten harrased before for NO reason.

 

[Ameesh]

im from that area the cops are bastards, they have nothing better to do then to harass kids, when i was 13 they gave me a ticket because i did a rolling stop on my bike. stupid jerkoffs.

 

[Mister T]

<< Its tough when you're young to fight these types of charges. A friend of the family was charged with a bunch of offenses, including felonious (vehicular) assault on a police officer, after he punched a police officer then ran straight over his patrol car with his big rig - on purpose. ;-)

He owns an excavating and landscaping company who transports heavy equipment to and from work sites, and this local small town cop was harassing him for months. The cop pulled him over a dozen times within an 9 or 10 month period, using regulatory excuses as the justification to pull him over, then citing him all sorts of trivial crap. Except regulatory safety of commercial vehicles was not within the scope of this local cop's responsibilities - it's a state police function. After the first few tickets, my friend began documenting all of the safety measures he was using, including taking pictures with a time/date stamp on the back.

He filed a lawsuit against this officer and department for harrassment, and while they were waiting to go to court, the cop pulled him over again about 500 yards from his home (which is the base of his business). They got into an argument at roadside, which lead to a physical confrontation, and my friend punched the cop square in the nose. While the cop was laying flat on his back, my friend jumped back in his truck and started to leave. The cop knew where he lived, got back up, jumped in his patrol car and raced in front of him to block his access to the driveway. My friend just drove straight over the patrol car, which also cause him to overturn his rig and trailer. The cop was injured and backup was on the way.

When the police arrived en force (I think 12 cars responded), there were about 30 very large and very pissed-off construction workers waiting for them with guns. The chicken sh-t cops wouldn't even come onto the property to get their own injured officer, he had to walk to them, but then with an angry mob toting 30-30 and 30-06 deer rifles and pump shotguns, I'm not sure I blame them. Bullet proof vests are no match for the common deer rifle.

There was a brief stand-off, a state trooper who knew my friend for years got him to surrender, and they arrested everyone. The result of this fiasco was that, because my friend was a 55 year-old life-long resident and well-known business man in the community who never had anything more than a couple speeding tickets in the 25 years he owned and operated this business (outside the dozen or so citations this one officer gave him in a short period of time), in addition to the documentation he kept detailing all of the safety measures used when transporting equipment and machinery, the judge found his claims of harrassment to be highly credible, and that the officer had acted unethically if not illegally. At the point the officer decided to engage in this behavior, he ceased to act with the authorization of law. The judge determined that since the officer was not acting as a police officer, it was a civil matter not a criminal matter, and the judge dismissed every charge.

I believe the officer was fired. Even better, the attorney took the case pro bono. >>




Your friend rocks.
Kick@ass story

 

[tcsenter]

<< tscenter that story is messed up. >>

hehe, it was pretty big news around here. When I heard about it, I was like, there is no way we are talking about the same person. This guy is as upstanding of a citizen as they come. But, every man has a breaking point, and this cop chose the wrong day to get on his last nerve. ;-)

It helped that his attorney was very prominent [female] in the area who lobbied heavily to have the case brought before a particular judge. Who knows, maybe the judge was banging her.

 

[pyonir]

<< As the for the flame war here, I can already see where it is going. Just because the police protect us from criminals is no excuse for one of them to trouble, harrass, and/or falsely charge law-abiding citizens, and any "good" cop would tell you the same thing. This is America, not the old USSR. >>



i agree, but when you make comments like "These pigs piss me off sometimes" it is a generalization of all officers and offends all officers. i'm not defending that officer, i do think he was wrong. and i figure this flame war will continue, and i will discontinue my sparks to the fire now.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

<<

<< As the for the flame war here, I can already see where it is going. Just because the police protect us from criminals is no excuse for one of them to trouble, harrass, and/or falsely charge law-abiding citizens, and any "good" cop would tell you the same thing. This is America, not the old USSR. >>



i agree, but when you make comments like "These pigs piss me off sometimes" it is a generalization of all officers and offends all officers. i'm not defending that officer, i do think he was wrong. and i figure this flame war will continue, and i will discontinue my sparks to the fire now. >>


No, that wasn't a generalization at all. He said "these" pigs, which would imply officers like the one that ticketed MysticWar.

 

[brandonl]

If he followed you for three minutes, it should be on camera in his patrol car. You have 4 witnesses .... he has himself. The video should explain it all.