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by srothstein
Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:59 pm
Forum: LEO Contacts & Bloopers
Topic: LEO tearing up a tick cause of CHL
Replies: 47
Views: 10612

Re: LEO tearing up a tick cause of CHL

PeteCamp wrote:
speedsix wrote:...I'm not insinuating, I'm saying it out plain...SOME cops get a gal's phone number and address, it's a BIG problem...I personally saw a guy about 6 months junior to me go down for 7 rapes...know of another who raped a gal...and she was afraid to turn him in...he was on the force till he retired...it happens...and using the light bar and ticket book to line up the weekend's date(s) has always been done...by SOME cops...so I'd have gotten really upset if a cop called my wife at home or on her cell to tell her he'd dismissed a ticket...he's either real nice but stupid, laying himself open to all kinds of accusations, or he's hustlin'...it just ISN'T the way to handle it...a cop should be a lot more professional and businesslike than that...
Thank you sir. Well said. Every time I get to speak to new class of rookies, or run into one on the street, I remind them that the word to live by is integrity. I'm sure they grow weary of my advice. :yawn
If it helps, there are lots of true stories of cops who messed up that way and ended up in jail. I have put a few there myself.

My favorite is the officer on San Antonio who made a traffic stop and thought the woman was good looking enough to ask out. He not only did not write her a ticket, but did not book her for the warrant from her not paying the last ticket she got. Not arresting for just one warrant was not unusual on SAPD, usually waiting until there was three to justify the time it took to process them. He was going off duty, so he asked her to follow him to the station and she did (separate cars). He went in the back lot for officers and went to check out. She waited out front for him, then followed him to his house (again, still separate cars). She followed him into the house and was seen talking and appearing friendly with him. The next morning, she was seen laughing and talking with the officer as he walked her out to her car to leave. She went directly to police headquarters and filed a charge of sexual assault.

His defense was that the sex was consensual. She said she only consented because she was afraid he would arrest her for the warrant. He was convicted of sexual assault and received a 20 year probated sentence. No more law enforcement or much of anything else for a career and he is now a registered sex offender.

I have always tried to teach rookie officers that there is no woman you can meet on duty and be safe in asking ehr out. It is better to keep your personal life and professional life separate.
by srothstein
Mon May 23, 2011 9:27 pm
Forum: LEO Contacts & Bloopers
Topic: LEO tearing up a tick cause of CHL
Replies: 47
Views: 10612

Re: LEO tearing up a tick cause of CHL

Reloader wrote:My daughter received a ticket 9 years ago..the City of Converse only activated the warrant when it was found "under a desk:. claimed it was never entered in the system and they could not find her; she has always had a current and correct DL in Texas. Was told they do not try to contact after warrant issued.Too much trouble. She now has to pay an additional $250 for 3 years because of the ticket for no insurance. Converse ALSO said when fine is paid, she will lose license for 5 more years as punishment. She had called and written for over 7 years asking to pay ticket and was told no ticket was active. Was also told no attorney can represent her.i guess she has no recourse.
Some of the other posters have said the charges are void because of the statute of limitations. This may be correct but may not be. The statute begins running when the offense is committed and stops running when the charges are filed with the court. If the ticket was found under the desk int he police station, then the statute of limitations has probably expired (there are some weird circumstances that could extend it) because it is only two years for misdemeanors. If the ticket was filed with the court and then the warrant for not appearing is what was found under the desk and "activated", then the statute of limitations doe snot apply because the charge was filed within the two year limit.

The $250 surcharge per year does not apply for any offense committed before 2003, so if it was 9 years ago, this would not matter. The law is clear on the date the offense was committed, not the date of conviction or anything like that.

Also, she will not lose her license for any time at all for the conviction, let alone the five years claimed. There is simply no such law. If she has a prior conviction for not having insurance, her license could be suspended for a maximum of two years from the date of the second conviction unless she files an SR-22. If she maintains the sr22 for two years, then her license won't even be suspended.

But all of this gets us to the second point. If she never was given a court date and never pled guilty, she has not yet been convicted. She should plead not guilty and request a jury trial. See if they even still have the cop who wrote the ticket as an employee - or can find him - to subpoena him as a witness. Then see if he can remember the incident well enough to testify. I would bet the case gets dismissed. Or, if you have the proof, you could show that she really was insured back then and the case would have to be dismissed.

Or, if she is honest - and from your description of things it sounds like this is the case - and she really was driving without insurance, she could call the prosecutor and work out a plea bargain with him. This could include the amount of the fine she is to pay, what the charge will be reported to DPS as, etc. I would recommend this as probably the best option to quickly resolve the matter. And, if you have documentation of any of the threats made about fines and losing her license, use them (combined with the facts) to help convince the prosecutor to go easy. I don't think they would like to appear on the news to explain them.
by srothstein
Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:02 pm
Forum: LEO Contacts & Bloopers
Topic: LEO tearing up a tick cause of CHL
Replies: 47
Views: 10612

Re: LEO tearing up a tick cause of CHL

Just to help confuse things, some agencies are much more concerned about ticket fraud than others. SAPD required us to mark the ticket void and send it in to the court for filing (no questions ever asked when I did it, but they accounted for the ticket numbers and ticket books). In Luling PD we ripped up tickets all the time. The court only cared about the tickets turned in to them.

My advice would be to wait a little while (processing takes about a week in most cases - check maybe two or three days before the court date on the ticket) and then call the court. Say you lost the ticket and see if they have anything outstanding on you. Some courts will and some won't be able to check just by name. This way you could say that you thought it was a municipal or county or whatever and are checking with both the municipal and JP courts to be sure. No one gets in trouble if he did rip it up or void it and if not, you get a chance to take care of it before it become a warrant. If it is still outstanding, then you can mail it in and file the complaint with the PD internal affairs unit about the call.

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