An ex-police Sergent tells how and why you should fight ALL speeding fines Read more

[VikingKing]

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/ex-police-sergent-tells-fight-speeding-fines/

“‘Indiscriminate revenue gathering’ It is absolutely disgusting. The government and the Police Force need to hang their heads in shame.”
DriftSpec.org
August 2, 2014

My name is Stan. I am a retired Sergeant of the Police force for 14 years. I was also a police prosecutor at times, so I know what I am talking about. I spent half my life in Magistrates Court during my time in the Force. I was only ever a very fair copper, and I am proud of my time in the job, looking after the interests of citizens, often to the detriment of my family and my health.

I never booked any driver for a trifling offence “ever”. People committing trifling offences commonly used to get a warning and a licence / vehicle check. It had to be serious before I booked anyone.

police

I am so annoyed at what is happening these days, in what I call “Indiscriminate revenue gathering” It is absolutely disgusting. The government and the Police Force need to hang their heads in shame. If you did a survey of current serving members of the police forces in this country, you would be hard pushed to find many who disagree with me.

I know how the legal system works, and I know how to beat the system. This is how to do it, and if about 10% of all drivers booked follow my specific instructions, then the entire system will crash and become unworkable to the extent, that the government will have no choice but to stop issuing fines for every type of traffic offence. The whole lot of them. Seriously.

I do not feel guilty about coming out with this information, as I think it’s about time someone stood up for hard working, civil minded, law abiding taxpayers in this country, who are being screwed.

This is very simple and very basic. The idea is to clog up the system in the traffic camera office and the courts by drivers exercising their rights to remain innocent until proven guilty.

SIMPLE BASIC LEGAL STEPS TO FOLLOW…………….

1. Do not accept the alleged offence. There are numerous valid reasons to dispute every single alleged offence. Often the charges are incorrect or the evidence is illegally or incorrectly gathered.

2. Challenge it, tell them that you are going to defend the matter. Make them earn their miserable $150 or $200 or whatever. They have to prepare evidence and witnesses. Just the wages for the camera operator or the Policeman on the day of the court, will be more than the actual fine. You are also taking a camera operator or a member of the Police Force off the street for the day. But it won’t get to that point…..read on….

3. If a court date is ever set, and it does not suit you, do not accept it, ask for a delay to a time and place that suits you.

4. When they re set the date, delay it as often as possible. keep pleading not guilty all through the process. You have every right to be sick, or go for an adjournment if the day does not suit for any legitimate reason. For example you may have pressing family or work commitments which prevent you from attending a particular court on a particular day.

5. If it ever actually gets to court, (which is unlikely if everyone does this) and if you are unwell that day, ring the court in the morning and tell them that you cannot make it as you are sick. The camera operator, and a police prosecutor will already be at court, and will be greatly inconvenienced, by having to come back another day. The whole time this is going on, the amount of paperwork involved at the traffic camera office is huge. Several staff are involved, and it rapidly becomes very costly, probably running into thousands. …..with me so far…..keep reading…….

6. The court system is then placed under such a massive load by people who wanted “their day in court” that it simply will not be able to cope unless they open up about another 50 magistrates courts, and this is obviously going to cost the government a lot more than any revenue raised. If all the above fails, which is highly unlikely….and you actually go to court and get convicted……you have a right of appeal. Make sure you appeal the conviction. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see what happens. They are not going to spend millions chasing hundreds.

7 Tell everyone you know to challenge their alleged offences, and the entire system will crash within a few weeks.

8. Please pass this on. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY AND THAT THERE IS A VERY HIGH PROBABILITY THAT THE EVIDENCE USED AGAINST YOU IS WRONG. YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO CHALLENGE ANY ALLEGED OFFENCE. THIS IS WHY COURTS EXIST….SO USE THEM……A LOT.

Regards,

Stan

like, share, and comment. make a change!
this isn’t hard to do, but it will help everyone.
The article originally published at Driftspec.org and although it is from our friends from across the pond, the information is invaluable as well as universally applicable.


Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/ex-police-sergent-tells-fight-speeding-fines/#IpTJtwqx16Y1aM3L.99

 

[logicallefty]

Former police officer here and I agree with this.

Gotta run now but later I can post again and articulate exactly what to fight/do when/if you get in front of the Judge, if anyone here wants to know?

 

[speed dawg]

Sounds like a lot of work to me, just to further an anti-cop agenda. Most cops are good people too. The few bad ones make everyone look bad. I've gotten many warnings just by being respectful and truthful. They have a dangerous and low-paying job, so understand their situation. It actually infuriates me, to heard citizens b*tching about speeding tickets when they were f*cking speeding. Sack up and pay up.

If they didn't charge fines for speeding, how would they stop it? Remember....MOST cops want nothing more than to keep the roads safe. I don't buy that the whole damn police system is in on a conspiracy to make money. Some crooked ones are, sure, but citizens need to be a little less selfish and a little more informed. Appreciate the system for the WHOLE LOT of good it does, rather than the little bit of bad.

 

[TheVirtualMind]

#5 cracks me up! Here, if you (the defendant) requests a postponement and then can't come in for the next court date, they get a "failure to appear" warrant issued by the judge.

Speed Dawg, you are spot on. The money from traffic tickets doesn't go to most agencies. In my state, it goes to the state itself for general stuff (road repairs, roads being built, state buildings, ect) and not an agency. Only revenue most agencies (MOST, not ALL) get in this state is from parking citations. The same citations 95% of my coworkers and I almost never write, unless there is a good reason.

As far as the "speed camera" stuff is concerned...If you get the ticket, do whatever you want. I haven't met one officer who likes those things.

Stay tuned and I'll tell you how to beat a criminal charge!

 

[Special EDy]

Yeah you cant call in sick, the deadline is something like 3 or 5 days here to postpone. And you need a really good reason for a continuance, like new evidence or something.

I got my last two tickets dismissed. I typed up a 4 page long motion for discovery. It had something like 30 requests on it; make and model of the speed measurement device, maintenance records for said device(including battery change intervals), manual for said device, officers training with said device, officers medical record (eye exams), officers testing and competency records, make model and color of all cars issued tickets in past 6 months, demographics of drivers issued tickets, all grievances filed against the particular city and PD.

Needless to say they denied most of the requests, but I figured I could prove mathematically that the device was unable to measure my speed at the distance, angle and speed claimed based upon its specs.
They dropped both tickets before the court date.

 

[VikingKing]

Former police officer here and I agree with this.

Gotta run now but later I can post again and articulate exactly what to fight/do when/if you get in front of the Judge, if anyone here wants to know?

Do tell, do tell

 

[VikingKing]

Sounds like a lot of work to me, just to further an anti-cop agenda. Most cops are good people too. The few bad ones make everyone look bad. I've gotten many warnings just by being respectful and truthful. They have a dangerous and low-paying job, so understand their situation. It actually infuriates me, to heard citizens b*tching about speeding tickets when they were f*cking speeding. Sack up and pay up.

If they didn't charge fines for speeding, how would they stop it? Remember....MOST cops want nothing more than to keep the roads safe. I don't buy that the whole damn police system is in on a conspiracy to make money. Some crooked ones are, sure, but citizens need to be a little less selfish and a little more informed. Appreciate the system for the WHOLE LOT of good it does, rather than the little bit of bad.

Except Chicago police. They took my car, couldn't even drive stick so they killed it twice as they attempted to drive it away (killing my clutch man!) and when I went to get my stuff out of it a few days later, flack jacket was gone.

There are some good cops. Its not the cops that are the problem, its the onces pressuring them to make the quota.

We need police. With out them it would be the wild wild west. Especially the minorities from major/ inner cities. Some one has to keep those animals in check.

 

[logicallefty]

Do tell, do tell

- Before court do a Freedom of Information Act Request ("FOIA") asking for "Any and all records pertaining to any and all traffic stops made by Officer Whatshisname in the past seven years including but not limited to any and all reports/records of traffic stops made by the said officer ending in verbal warnings, written warnings, and traffic citations written by the said officer. Include all relevant information related to said traffic stops including by not limited to posted speed, suspects speed, suspects age, suspects sex, suspects race, weather conditions during said stop, pavement conditions during said stop, suspects vehicle type, and final court disposition of said stop."

- Also in your FOIA request ask for "any and and all audio and/or video recordings of incident # (your ticket #, incident #, etc)."

- Also in the your FOIA say the purpose of your request is to "gain discovery for an upcoming court hearing for case number (your ticket #, incident #, etc)"

So does this guy only give tickets to males and not females? Only ticket Chevys but not Fords, sports cards but not trucks? Did the last 5 people going 11 over on dry pavement gets warnings but you were going 11 over and got a ticket? Take this data to court and tear the crap out of the officer with it, however you can.


When you get to court:

-Ask for department policies on radar usage and training.

- Ask to see the officer's certification to run the radar he used on you,

-Ask for paperwork from a certified technician that the radar he used was calibrated and tuned in accordance to department policy when it was used on you.

- Ask the officer to articulate how he could tell you were speeding without using the radar (police are supposed to be able to do this by eye, not know your speed, but know you were speeding over the legal limit just by eyeball"...

-On the video footage you got in your FOIA request, were there any other cars around you that could have been speeding instead of you. Make the officer articulate how he know it was you and not the other car..


Always remember, police hate getting called on their mistakes, they hate FOIA, and most of all, they hate doing a lot of hard work... You do all this here and not only will you get out of your ticket but you will probably never get stopped again in their jurisdiction because they will tell every officer what a pain in the a$$ you are and that you aren't worth stopping.

I recently had a legal case of my own and my lawyer even said "stop doing FOIA requests, all that does is pi$$ them off".. I told him "Thank you (as we were sitting here talking) I just thought of another FOIA request I forgot to do".. Again, they HATE FOIA because it makes them work hard and it holds them accountable.. And by law they have to respond to you with something, they can't just blow you off. They being the FOIA officer for the department, not the officer who wrote your ticket.

Hope this helps.

 

[Special EDy]

- Before court do a Freedom of Information Act Request ("FOIA") asking for "Any and all records pertaining to any and all traffic stops made by Officer Whatshisname in the past seven years including but not limited to any and all reports/records of traffic stops made by the said officer ending in verbal warnings, written warnings, and traffic citations written by the said officer. Include all relevant information related to said traffic stops including by not limited to posted speed, suspects speed, suspects age, suspects sex, suspects race, weather conditions during said stop, pavement conditions during said stop, suspects vehicle type, and final court disposition of said stop."

- Also in your FOIA request ask for "any and and all audio and/or video recordings of incident # (your ticket #, incident #, etc)."

- Also in the your FOIA say the purpose of your request is to "gain discovery for an upcoming court hearing for case number (your ticket #, incident #, etc)"

So does this guy only give tickets to males and not females? Only ticket Chevys but not Fords, sports cards but not trucks? Did the last 5 people going 11 over on dry pavement gets warnings but you were going 11 over and got a ticket? Take this data to court and tear the crap out of the officer with it, however you can.


When you get to court:

-Ask for department policies on radar usage and training.

- Ask to see the officer's certification to run the radar he used on you,

-Ask for paperwork from a certified technician that the radar he used was calibrated and tuned in accordance to department policy when it was used on you.

- Ask the officer to articulate how he could tell you were speeding without using the radar (police are supposed to be able to do this by eye, not know your speed, but know you were speeding over the legal limit just by eyeball"...

-On the video footage you got in your FOIA request, were there any other cars around you that could have been speeding instead of you. Make the officer articulate how he know it was you and not the other car..


Always remember, police hate getting called on their mistakes, they hate FOIA, and most of all, they hate doing a lot of hard work... You do all this here and not only will you get out of your ticket but you will probably never get stopped again in their jurisdiction because they will tell every officer what a pain in the a$$ you are and that you aren't worth stopping.

I recently had a legal case of my own and my lawyer even said "stop doing FOIA requests, all that does is pi$$ them off".. I told him "Thank you (as we were sitting here talking) I just thought of another FOIA request I forgot to do".. Again, they HATE FOIA because it makes them work hard and it holds them accountable.. And by law they have to respond to you with something, they can't just blow you off. They being the FOIA officer for the department, not the officer who wrote your ticket.

Hope this helps.

I agree with everything that you said, but FOIA act is something you must do on your own time and at your own expense. First you should ask for all the same information via a motion for discovery, essentially the defense is required to furnish you with any evidence they have access to. The motion for discovery will place the burden of time and cost onto the prosecutor. A lot of the things wont be granted, so then it is up to you to obtain it via the FOIA.

Remember you have a right to evidence to defend yourself, but it is illegal for you to attempt to make the prosecution waste money. Making the prosecution waste money is your goal, everyone knows that, but you must keep the persona that you need it to prove your innocence. When they say "oh your one of these guys", maintain your innocence and explain that you are trying to figure out why you were wrongly ticketed, obviously something is amiss in the evidence or else you wouldnt of wrongly received a ticket.

 

[logicallefty]

Brad I agree with many of your points. But in regards to the prosecutor chew on this. How many cases does he have and how many do you have as the guy fighting the ticket?. And who's got a personal stake in the outcome and who doesn't? If the facts and evidence are in your favor is a prosecutor really going to spend all of his time trying to refute it with some legal loophole? In a day where he's got 50 other cases probably not. Let mine be such a pain in his a$s that he says the he\_l with it and moves on.

 

[Special EDy]

They make money because people dont fight it, either the profit margin goes down or they end up losing money when you fight it, even if your found guilty. You are only liable for a small amount of the court fees (at least per Texas code).
In some municipalities you are also entitled to a trial by jury, as was the case for me. The jury has to be paid too, and they can only charge you something like $15 or $30 for that.


Another super duper tip is to be as complacent as possible when the cop is writing the ticket. If you seem like someone who is going to fight it then the cop will jot down detailed notes. Save your "I'll see you in court", and instead say somethink like "sorry officer, is there anyway I can pay this online because I dont have time to swing by the courthouse". Most likely he will take crappy notes which you will have an easier time fighting.

Also there are three states in which you can legally speed. Texas, Rhode Island and I cant remember the third. Its called "prima facia", if you can prove that you were traveling at a prudent speed based upon the situation, weather and traffic conditions, the speed limit can be disregarded.