Bogus stop by DPS

[surprise_i'm_armed]

tbrown, pumaguy:

That's a good thing you are doing by running video in your vehicles.

I have been watching a lot of Russian videos of accidents from civilian dashcams.
Russia has a major league problem with traffic deaths caused by too much vodka
and super-aggressive/brain dead drivers who cause accidents.

Many Russians have dashcams in their private vehicles since they need proof of
the other driver's fault in an accident. Some of their videos are nice and clear in HD,
while others look like they were filmed from behind an old shower curtain.

Do you use GoPro brand or something else?
How much recording time do they store? Is it digital or on a DVD?

SIA

[Rex B]

Does the patrol car dashcam record everything, or does the lightbar circuit start the "tape"?

I'd also like to know what you civilians are using for video. I'd love to have something small that recorded on a 30-minute loop.

[puma guy]

Does the patrol car dashcam record everything, or does the lightbar circuit start the "tape"?

I'd also like to know what you civilians are using for video. I'd love to have something small that recorded on a 30-minute loop.

I installed one that I saw here on the forum. It uses sd cards. I'll try to find the info. It has front view, plus inside w/night v. and shows location on a map with gps and speed. I don't know if it loops over first data when the card is full or not. I use a 16GB card. It records in one minute intervals so you can find stuff easily with date and time. I've recorded several near mishaps with stupid drivers that would have come in handy had they led to accidents. That was my main reason for getting it but it would be handy to dispute a ticket such as yours. Police are only human and subject to error as you well know.

Edit: Found the link for the company. If you search there are cameras available that aren't as sophisticated for less. I saw sevral on Amazon (just camera) that were pretty cheap. Here's the one I have.
http://www.spytechs.com/car-cameras/dual-view-cam.htm

[C-dub]

Does the patrol car dashcam record everything, or does the lightbar circuit start the "tape"?

I'd also like to know what you civilians are using for video. I'd love to have something small that recorded on a 30-minute loop.

I think, from the description GigAg04 and others have given in this and other threads, that the police recorders are always on, but when activated keep the data from that point on and do not overwrite the preceding 30 seconds, or whatever they have it set for, prior to activation.

[VMI77]

I could fight it in court, but really, my word against his, who would the judge side with? I know for a fact that I did not violate the law, I was wondering if I had a tail light was out when he got behind me.

Anyway, I was flabbergasted by the whole episode. What would you guys do if issued a citation for a law you know didn't break, plead your case in front of a judge and hope for the best? Pay up - and then keep paying higher insurance? This really bothers me.

I had exactly such a thing years ago back in California when I got a speeding ticket on my motorcycle while going 10 mph under the speed limit, because at the exact moment I came up on their radar, I was being passed by a of other guys on bikes who were speeding about 20 mph over the speed limit. The other bikes blew past me and went on up the road and got pulled over after they had rounded the next corner. I came up the road a minute later, NOT speeding, and definitely NOT part of the same group, but the cop stepped into the road and flagged me down and wrote me a 20 mph over the limit ticket, insisting that I was with that other group.

I went to court, and I put the cop on the stand and asked him why he had pulled me over when I was A) not speeding, and B) not even riding with that other group of people wom I'd never even met before. I explained that i had known that the officers were ahead up the road and was intentionally trying to avoid getting a ticket. I explained how the others had come up behind me, blown past me, and raced one another up to the point where they got popped, while I deliberately hung back. He sat there and lied on the stand, and said "no sir, you were with that group, and you were speeding." I looked at the judge and said, "Your Honor, that is just simply not true, but I have nothing else by way of evidence."

You see, I just naturally expected that the officer would tell the truth, but he didn't, and it turned out that there was another agenda in play. The alleged violation took place on Mulholland Highway, a twisty 2 lane country road, and local residents along that road were tired of getting nailed by speeding bikers as they tried to back out of their driveways, and hosing blood and body parts off of the road out in front of their homes. So they got the CHP and the local courts involved, and they basically set about doing everything they could to discourage bikers from riding on "their" road—regardless of the speed they were riding at. I was simply a victim of that. I had been required to post 10% of the $150 fine in order to get a court date, and the judge reduced my punishment to the $15 already paid......but I still got another point on my driving record.....which was worse. I told the judge that I would rather pay the whole fine and not get the point on my record, and his answer was "NEXT CASE PLEASE!!!"

Later, I asked a friend of mine who was a CHP officer why that cop would have lied on the stand like that. His answer was that the cop in question knew that I had no real evidence to offer in my defense, and that, as a LEO, he is what is called a "Friend of the Court." In any conflict between the word of the accused or the word of a witness, and the word of the officer who wrote the ticket, where there is no evidence to refute the officer's word, the court is going to naturally assume that he is telling the truth and that the accused or the witness are lying.

My friend said that is is quite common for officers to lie on the stand in traffic cases precisely because there is rarely any evidence to the contrary, the accused is presumed to be guilty, and "cops never lie."

In your case, you're telling the truth, but the cop is going to get away with his lie because that is how the system works, and it works to encourage him to lie.

I think they even have a name for it: "testilying""

[Jaguar]

I think they even have a name for it: "testilying""

That's just wrong... funny, but wrong.

For the record, I don't believe the trooper is lying; that would require him knowing he was making a false statement. I believe he is mistaken, and is firm in his belief that I did not stop. The dash cam, if it was running when he first saw me, would show either I was stopped, or that he could not see me until I was already moving which would show he could not have known if I was stopped prior to coming into view.

If the video was not running, it would be a "he said/he said" deal and since he is a "friend of the court", it would be what he said.

I still don't have a clear idea if the video would have been running, looking at google maps, he would have been about 25 seconds away from were I entered the road before he could see me. Add to that I went about seven tenths of a mile before he turned on his lights so I calculate that to be about another minute due to accelerating from a stop. So if the video was running 75 - 100 seconds prior to his lights coming on it would be on the video.

All this is accidemic anyway, it was only a warning ticket... this time.

[VMI77]

I think they even have a name for it: "testilying""

That's just wrong... funny, but wrong.

For the record, I don't believe the trooper is lying; that would require him knowing he was making a false statement. I believe he is mistaken, and is firm in his belief that I did not stop. The dash cam, if it was running when he first saw me, would show either I was stopped, or that he could not see me until I was already moving which would show he could not have known if I was stopped prior to coming into view.

If the video was not running, it would be a "he said/he said" deal and since he is a "friend of the court", it would be what he said.

I still don't have a clear idea if the video would have been running, looking at google maps, he would have been about 25 seconds away from were I entered the road before he could see me. Add to that I went about seven tenths of a mile before he turned on his lights so I calculate that to be about another minute due to accelerating from a stop. So if the video was running 75 - 100 seconds prior to his lights coming on it would be on the video.

All this is accidemic anyway, it was only a warning ticket... this time.

In your case, yes.....but my response was solely directed at the false testimony TAM described. Personally I haven't had any truly bad contacts with LEOs. And in the last few years all the LEOs I've encountered here in Texas....including US Border Patrol agents, have been professional, and in many cases, what you might call generous.

[Valk]

Found a ticket in the Civic my wife uses to go to work. It was for speeding. I asked why she didn't let me know and she said because it was just a warning. She was clearly speeding down a tall bridge and admitted to the trooper up front. He asked for her license to see if she was wanted and wrote the warning.

In my books, a warning (however bogus) is certainly a good outcome.

[Grog]

More people are running video in their personal cars, sure would help you if he did issue you a ticket.

[SRH78]

I have had multiple bogus warnings and a bogus red light ticket. It was the first of the month and he was getting a head start on his "suggested number" by issuing tickets to the last vehicle through the intersection. Not only was the light not red, but from where he was sitting, he had no way of knowing what color the light was. So, after seeing that I had a commercial license, he sat there and knowingly wrote me the bogus ticket anyway. I lost a lot of faith that day. Fortunately, the prosecutor and I had a mutual friend and the ticket was dismissed.

While on the bike, I have had officers tailgate me for miles looking for an excuse to pull me over and no, they were not just going the same way by coincidence and once, I was even pulled over and accused of impersenating an officer. I ride a sporting with no illegal lighting. It is a shame there are sorry crooked individuals out there that the public is subjected to and that cast a negative light on the good officers doing a tough job the right way.

[gemini]

I have had multiple bogus warnings and a bogus red light ticket. It was the first of the month and he was getting a head start on his "suggested number" by issuing tickets to the last vehicle through the intersection. Not only was the light not red, but from where he was sitting, he had no way of knowing what color the light was. So, after seeing that I had a commercial license, he sat there and knowingly wrote me the bogus ticket anyway. I lost a lot of faith that day. Fortunately, the prosecutor and I had a mutual friend and the ticket was dismissed.

I had a friend that got a ticket for failure to stop. He DID stop. No way the Leo could have seen stop/no stop from the Leo's vantage point.
My friend dropped his daughter off at school...went home got his camera.... went back to the "scene of the crime" and started taking pictures,
of distances, where the stop sign was, where the Leo was (and still sitting) and the view. Took it all to court and got it dismissed. A lot of
trouble? Yes. But, sometimes doing the right thing isn't easy. My friend lost $ and a day of work....
Also, a couple of criminal defense attorneys I know will tell you that "testilying" happens frequently. Just depends on the individual Leo
that's on the stand.
While on the bike, I have had officers tailgate me for miles looking for an excuse to pull me over and no, they were not just going the same way by coincidence and once, I was even pulled over and accused of impersenating an officer. I ride a sporting with no illegal lighting. It is a shame there are sorry crooked individuals out there that the public is subjected to and that cast a negative light on the good officers doing a tough job the right way.

Sport bike or HD Sportster? Sorry you've had problems when riding. My experience has been just the opposite. Lots of Leo's in my area
ride bikes, show up at bike nights (Peacekeepers MC) etc. I've even had a MC cop give me the rider wave... once.... but it did happen!
What illegal lighting would you have on your bike? I think there are some bad Leo's that slip through the screening process, but the vast
majority are guys just trying to make a living, support their families etc.

[SRH78]

Sport bike, CBR 1100.

He accused me of having wigwags which many, many contractors and government work crews have on their pickups illegally. What I had was a headlights moderator which is legal and made so by federal law.

I agree that most LEO's are good folks. I have plenty of friends and some family in law enforcement and my mother is a retired judge.

Oh, I have also gotten the wave from a LEO. Usually, they just look at me like I am crazy but not always.