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This evening I was doing patrol on the crosstown when I had to stop on the side of the road and take some notes over the phone. At 19:02 a silver 760 intercooled shot by me at 96 MPH and gaining. I ended the phone conversation and made my moves to get behind. After noting the license plate I hit the lights and we went to the side of the road. I radioed in the stop and went to ask the driver for license and insurance to which the driver replied "You're badge 988 right?" I said nothing and asked if his license was current, replied yes so I went back to my squad to run 28s and proceed to write the tag. Everything came up clear and I was actually going to write out a warning tag knowing this guy at least read the Brickboard. The tag ended up becoming a ticket for several reasons. First the driver got out of his car and walked back to my squad and again asked if I was 988, I nodded slightly and requested him to return to his car, getting out not only places yourself in danger but me as well not knowing any weapons status. Second the traffic camera just to the west had us on screen and witnessed the driver coming to my squad, my dispatcher radio'd for a backup not knowing what the situation was and I didn't hear the callout over the conversation and couldn't cancel the second squad. Now what really gets the dumbass of the year award is what was said to the other officer, "Dude I know this guy he's Brandon a friend of mine". Well first of all my friends know not to mention my name during a traffic stop, its a code of honor of sorts and dropping a name like that will get you arrested and booked. The same applies with St. Paul Chief William Finney, drop his name and its downtown. Well I requested the officer NOT to arrest but put it as a lucky guess of reading my nametag on my uniform.
Well after handing the subject a low-ball ticket for 68 in 55 zone he then said "thanks some friend from the board" and layed a good streak of rubber that caught the other officers attention and wanted to make another stop. I said no he's had enough and left it alone.
So tips to avoid getting a ticket or worse
1. Never pass a marked squadcar on the side of the freeway at a high rate of speed.
2. Never assume I know a fellow brickboard'r even if we do have the forum in common.
3. Never get out of your car unless it's about to blow up or it's a hostage situation, doors that open in front of me get quick attention.
4. Never mention my name to another officer, many don't like me that much and might decide to write a little higher to cross the threshold to another fine structure.
5. Never leave a streak of rubber in your parting wake, loose sand or gravel is one thing but never lasts over 5 feet of dual marks.
6. Cover up the sticker that says "Bad Cop No Donut".. I don't care for donuts and won't do tricks for them.
7. You might want to remove the fart cannon from the back of the car, turbo bricks are fast without them and they only add to the annoyance factor.
The last group I want to give tickets to are fellow brick owners. We know how safe our cars are but don't need to endanger other less fortunate (or stupid) drivers on the road. Doing 96 in a 55 zone and the lady ahead decides to play speeder vigilantic and cuts in front of you is going to get a butt full of bumper and maybe a 100,000 miles badge buried inside her trunk. Because excess speed was involved your insurance rates will go up faster than your speedometer along with the fine itself.
Sorry fellow 'board member but if you had stayed in your car like you normally would have during a traffic stop it would have been a warning tag. I can't stress enough that just the act of getting out of your car places you in grave danger. People like to slow down and gawk at the pretty reds and blues of my Code-3 lightbar, these are also the same ones who cant keep their car in a straight line and end up creeping in the direction they are gawking... Are you in the strikezone? Another issue is with weapons. Many officers assume you have a weapon nearby but being outside the car the officer puts himself at an advantage for protection just behind your drivers door. When you get out of the car the officer assumes you are coming to use said weapon and he might forget to think and shoot first. If he sees you running from the car without a passenger he assumes you're a wanted, if you are with a passenger and you come out yelling "hes got a gun" you can bet someone is going to have a bad time. There are many situations to list and not enough room here so I will mention again that the best place to be during a traffic stop is in the drivers seat with your hands on the wheel, this gives the officer the idea you're not holding a weapon out of his site.
Again sorry I had to write the tag.
Badge988
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