Bullshit speeding ticket from arrogant cop. Complaint

[Kiwi Graham:Me]

yeh thats what i though too, but it still results in cops word vs yours, best option is to record the conversation I reckon, most cellphones can do this.

What a good idea (smak to head for not thinking of it), recording what he said and how he said it and perhaps more importantly him ignoring my questions, a photo from the same cell phone showing him parked on the garden. Time over again eh!

Its at times like this you go away and re-live the experience over and over in your head and get more and more angry. It just piss's me off so much that when fully contested in court you know which way the judge is going to go so whats the point. Whats worse is they know it too so there is no consiquence for them.

Ive made my letter a formal complaint by stating on the top 'Letter of Complaint' and given the ticket back showing I'm not happy to just pay up and take demerit points and asked what it is they and I should do next.

Yes I did see the radar and it did show 74 (this is after he said 80) and he changed the speed after I asked to see the radar. But there is no way that was my recording or anyone else around me's speed at that time. As I said we had litteraly just pulled away from being stationary for some time at the lights and just shifted into third gear (and I dont mean a Meremere shift into 3rd either) certainly well under 50k.

I will call into the address were I was stopped and ask for a brief statement about how they feel regarding police cars parking on there front lawn after blocking their access.

This officer really needs to reflect on how he treats others and how he presents himself. he was portraying a massive 'I'm a tuff-as cop and you'll do as I say" image.

I notice another thread where bikes were getting stopped for splitting on the Northern this morning and it came out that a senior cop has asked bikes be targeted again, that would explain alot.

[bogan]

I'm not sure, but I believe it's illegal to record a conversation without the permission of the other party.

simple, just ask permission as soon as you are pulled over, chances are you will be more likely to get let off with a warning that way.

Didn't mean it to be contradictory.

It means you have the radar, it displays a speed, you have vehicles coming towards you and visually you can see that one vehicle is travelling faster.

and given the above case of a (thankfully) aborted u turn cos he didnt see the bike, I would be skeptical of his ability to judge which vehicle is faster.

[Swoop]

I know the intersection well.
If it was busy (as it normally is) and two lanes of traffic are leaving the lights, how can a radar distinguish one frontal area of bike from all of that amount of metal? Sounds suspect really.
Lincoln Rd normally has Mr Bel's finest tweeting away...

[Mully]

Yes I did see the radar and it did show 74 (this is after he said 80) and he changed the speed after I asked to see the radar. But there is no way that was my recording or anyone else around me's speed at that time. As I said we had litteraly just pulled away from being stationary for some time at the lights and just shifted into third gear (and I dont mean a Meremere shift into 3rd either) certainly well under 50k.

I vaguely recall a situation (maybe on here) were every biker who (was speeding) on a particular stretch was presented with the radar gun at XXkm/h (I don't recall the exact figure) with his ticket. Apparently, the guy kept the same reading on the gun and showed each biker if/when he was asked cos he wasn't able to get a lock on every bike.

[no_8wire]

I'm not sure, but I believe it's illegal to record a conversation without the permission of the other party.

IIRC it is illegal to record a converstation without the other persons knowlegde...eg if you are talking to them on a phone and are recording it at your end etc...So if you tell them you are recording it and they dont like it to bad for them...you keep on recording

[ukusa]

This cop sounds like a prime candidate for wanker of the year. Good luck with getting off the ticket, would be even better if this prick could be exposed for what he really is... but that's unlikely to happen.

[Mully]

IIRC it is illegal to record a converstation without the other persons knowlegde...eg if you are talking to them on a phone and are recording it at your end etc...So if you tell them you are recording it and they dont like it to bad for them...you keep on recording

I thought it was the opposite - you are allowed to record a conversation as long as you have the agreement of one of the parties.

Could be wrong, though.

[Maha]

Reads like he made such a cock of himself in front of the public and onlookers, that he was going to serve up anyone he could lay his hands on.

Good luck Graham.

[MSTRS:Me]

So, seeing as you are now outed as a dangerous baby-killer on a motorcycle, are you now going to relinquish your mentorship?
Good luck with fighting that bullshit cop.

[Quasievil]

A few years back I got done by a asshole cop on the motorway, did me for 145kms........I was doing 120 tops......said cop was 200 mtrs behind, no radar and 3 cars between her and me, how she figured that out fuck knows, anyway I thought fuck you Im going to be a real nasty fucker so I was.
I wrote a letter asking for absolutely everything.........FULL DISCLOSURE.........I said Im defending the charge.

I asked for all the vehicles (cops car that pulled me up) info, make model service history, I asked for all of the Training records for the cop herself, speedo checks for the life of the patrol car, certificates of the technicians training I ended up with about 2 pages of line item requests, I even went so far as to ask for all the copies of the 10/7 (that wot its called) magazine with references to speed enforcement.

This letter went on for ages and guess what, they fucken hated me for it, I even got a phone call from the district commander dude at Pukekohe asking me why it was that I needed so much information, to which I replied it is my legal right to defend this charge and if he prefers he can drop it however I will be taking it through the court.(region where the ticket was issued)
In the end they gave me most of the information I wanted and I got the satisfaction of pissing of the twisted bitch who stopped me.
However I did make the mistake of saying to the cop I thought I was going no more than 120kmph tops, my Lawyer advised me to just accept the charge as the Judge would take that admission as a guilt plea and I would be fucked, so I did but I had some fun on the way!!

[Mikkel]

As has been touched upon, the radar lock doesn't clear itself. He could have left the 74 km/h sitting there since the last time he pulled someone over and then just gone for you... But why would he? What would be the motice? Surely it would be easy enough to catch someone speeding for real.

It does sound rather suspect! No matter what happened, his conduct is unbecoming of an officer and I hope your complaint doesn't just fall on deaf ears. Maybe you should send your letter to the IPCA as well.
P-dealers, dishonest politicians and corrupt cops - scum of the earth!

Overseas studies have shown they result in a decrease in the number of complaints because in the majority of cases back up what the officer says.

I've no doubt that there are plenty of unscrupulous characters out there willing to twist and lie to try and get off a ticket by misrepresenting the conduct of the officer. In my quiet mind I also believe that there are more of such characters than there are bad cops.

However, a cop would be very stupid indeed to behave inappropriately when he is on camera. And that's reason enough for having them - but it's a two-way deal really, it's to protect both the citizen and the officer.

I was about to suggest this as an option, surely it would be legal to do so and use in evidence.

I am not entirely sure. The key thing is to have it accepted as evidence in a court of law. Even if rejected as evidence the recording could still be of some interest to let's say the police... or the press.

I'm not sure, but I believe it's illegal to record a conversation without the permission of the other party.

You do not need permission from the other party.

IIRC it is illegal to record a converstation without the other persons knowlegde...eg if you are talking to them on a phone and are recording it at your end etc...So if you tell them you are recording it and they dont like it to bad for them...you keep on recording

I am pretty sure this is correct - if you want any chance of it being used as evidence. Otherwise you need a warrant of some sort to conduct clandestine surveillance and have the recordings accepted as evidence.

You can record anything you want though. It's not illegal to record or document anything that takes place in a public place. Unless there is a breach of privacy involved (spying through windows, planting listening devices in people's homes, etc.) you wouldn't be doing anything illegal. Otherwise, most tourists snapping a photo or video of Kawarau bridge would be breaking the law...

It only becomes complicated once it's to be accepted as evidence.

[steve_t]

Oh man, that sux. Legally, it doesn't sound like you can do very much The officer's attitude is bullshit but if he says you were speeding and has a radar reading of 74, you probably can't do a lot. If this sort of thing is happening regularly, it might be a good idea to invest in one of those video recorders that you can clip to your chest or helmet. This will attest to your innocence from your "point of view" and can also record the bollocks attitude of the officer. I don't think you even need to inform them that you're recording them otherwise hidden camera shows like Target wouldn't be around. Wasn't someone (retro?) selling camera's for $130 a while ago? Most of these cameras will clearly show the speedo as well as the road ahead. Just make sure you edit any evidential footage so you don't incriminate yourself

[caseye]

Your writing dwon everything that was said by both this arsehole of a cop and your good self is all admissable as evidence in court.
Was I you, I'd definitely be making a seperate formal complaint about this police officers missuse/handling of a marked patrol car(attempted/aborted U turn)Remind them that last time one of thier own did this 2 Motorcyclists nearly died.
In this complaint tell them everything you have outlined to us here.
Point out the attitude, the use of sunglassses "to hide behind'.
The arrogance and demeanor of this officers marks him as one of the bad guys, not somoene to be respectful of, tell them that this experience has left you COLD and with a total disregard of all Police officers at this point in time. Challenge them to restore your confidence in them and also tell them that you belong to KB and have already received many replies encouraging you to fight this with everthing that you have.
Tell them this too Kiwi Gaham.
I'm happy to contribute real money to help you hire the absolute best Solicitor/Queens Couuncil that money can buy, I;m positive there isn't another KB who wouldn't put their hand in their pocket to help out as well. Don't consider this as anything other than a desire to take the fight to the enemy on all of our behalfs, not just your own. You are not alone and many make light work of a few idiots no matter what sort of title or job description they may have.

[PrincessBandit]

*555 him? wonder how many cops have had that done to them I'm sure you could have found something to lay a complaint regarding his driving (up on the garden perhaps?)

[ManDownUnder]

Cop cars should have the cameras in them that the Yank cruisers do

Now THAT's a good idea. I quite like that