Weird LE Contact...

[G.C.Montgomery]

This happened more than a year ago but I figure it's worth sharing. One day, when I was working the "lateshift" I didn't leave the office until around 1AM. Over the next 24hrs I would get stopped by Houston PD not once but three times, all in the downtown area. Not a single citation was issued in those three stops. At no time was I speeding nor did I fail to signal a lane change or turn. I also make it a point to keep all required stickers and safety equipment in order. My truck is also completely void of any stickers that could associate me with any particular interest or group. Being me, I don't blend in well anywhere but, I still try to be uninteresting and not to give an officer any reason to pull me over.

Anyway, the first stop was on the way home out of downtown. A blue and white lit me up just after turning off Main and heading toward I-10 East. The officer aimed his light into my mirrors so as to prevent me from seeing him approach the vehicle. I fully understand the logic but it doesn't make me feel any better about it. That's just the way it is and I deal with it. So, right about the time I'm expecting the officer to show up at my window asking for the usual stuff, he says "Uh, nevermind...The plate came back different," and starts walking back to his vehicle. I'm left immediately wanting to know what the heck is going on when he returns and says "Uh, I'd better take those (the licenses) for my report...I'll be back." A minute or two later, he returns my licenses and tells me to have a good night. I headed home without incident. The stop left me perplexed but I fully understood why he took the licenses before letting me go. The policy may no longer be in effect but, at the time of the traffic stop, HPD officers were required to log the details of every traffic stop. Typically, officers only recorded this information if a citation was issued. But after accusations of racial profiling, every traffic stop required that officers keep a log for every traffic stop stating the reason for the stop as well as provide a description of the driver and any passengers. So back to the traffic stops.

The next two stops came back to back, within fifteen minutes of each other on the way to work the following day. I exited Hamilton from US59-South and was lit up by another blue and white just after crossing Texas by the ball park. This time the stop is in daylight so I actually get to watch this officer get out of his vehicle, draw his weapon and hold it behind his right thigh in a "concealed ready" position. That raised all sorts of hairs but again, the officer gets up to the window and says, "Nevermind..." Just like the first officer, he came back to get my licenses for a report and returns them without incident before releasing me. I turned the corner onto Capital and made it as far as La Branch before being lit up by a third unit. Same ride as the last one, the only difference was this officer didn't have his firearm in a "concealed ready" position.

When I got to the office, I called my cousin and some other contacts at HPD (unfortunately none of them in patrol) to see if something was going on that might explain why I was stopped. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the left hand has no clue what the right is doing. Fortunately, I got an explanation later that day from the news media. A woman had disappeared out of the Dallas area and there was talk of a possible kidnapping. The only initial description of her vehicle was a "blue dodge truck." You guessed it, I've got a big, blue, Dodge truck. The alert was later updated to indicate the missing vehicle was a blue, Dodge Durango but if I remember correctly, by the time this happened, the vehicle and woman had been located by police.

[BamBam]

Well, Lets just say the Amber Alert System does work then. I for one would have to say that I would not be too angry after learning of why the stops happened. Suppose they were looking for your wife, daughter, mother or some other loved one. Good Job LEO's!!!

[G.C.Montgomery]

Well, Lets just say the Amber Alert System does work then. I for one would have to say that I would not be too angry after learning of why the stops happened. Suppose they were looking for your wife, daughter, mother or some other loved one. Good Job LEO's!!!

The post was just the facts...No overall opinion stated. I am glad they were looking out and yeah, were they looking for my wife, mom, etc...I'd certainly want them to leave no stone unturned. If anything, in my mind the experience highlights the importance of being a good witness and being able to provide full and accurate details. Not that HPD did a bad job but, there is always room for improvement and the officers' time could have been used more effectively if they'd had more information. Stopping me and having to do the report of why after fact resulted in opportunity-time missed that might otherwise resulted in the missing person being located sooner. At least that's the way I see it.

[dukalmighty]

I was thinking after reading the first part that your vehicle matched the description of a vehicle they had a bolo on,nowadays with the internet and news they can get out vehicle descriptions etc.at the speed of ...well superman

[flintknapper]

I know what you mean.

I had a similar experience recently.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 15&t=12216

Didn't take long, wasn't inconvenienced, but was left wondering what was going on.

Oh well.

[Skiprr]

If anything, in my mind the experience highlights the importance of being a good witness and being able to provide full and accurate details. Not that HPD did a bad job but, there is always room for improvement and the officers' time could have been used more effectively if they'd had more information. Stopping me and having to do the report of why after fact resulted in opportunity-time missed that might otherwise resulted in the missing person being located sooner. At least that's the way I see it.

Excellent point. Some people simply have fantastic, near-photographic memories, but for the rest of us, observational skills are a learned ability. And kinda go hand-in-hand with situational awareness.

[srothstein]

Maybe I am wrong, but I always explained to the driver why I stopped them, especially if it was a mistake. I would explain that I had a description of a suspect that matched and then apologize for bothering them.

In the first case, i had assumed from what he said that he had runt he plate (I did that sometimes too. either at random or because something caught my eye) and had it come back to a different type of vehicle. I have made that mistake too, and stopped the car for not matching the return. When i would rerun the return to make sure, I usually would find what I had done wrong and get the right return. Then I explained that and apologized to the driver.

I don't see any problem with the police stopping the vehicles that match a suspect description, but an apology and explanation when it is not the suspect just seems like common courtesy to me.

[TX Rancher]

I don't see any problem with the police stopping the vehicles that match a suspect description, but an apology and explanation when it is not the suspect just seems like common courtesy to me.

I couldn’t agree more. A little common courtesy on both sides (LEO and Civilian) during a stop may help reduce the “Us vs Them� mentality that seems to be taking a hold.

[lawrnk]

But heck, don't we have thousands of big blue dodge's in town? I wonder if that was the reason. Think about it. If they were going just off description, they would not have mentioned your "plate." They could have pulled behind you, checked your plate, and never pulled you over. Something else is going on I think.