Fight it or not?

[AiRX]

This morning I got a ticket, well ok I got two tickets. One from Hallowell PD for speeding (45 in a 30). Yeah I was speeding, that is not my question.

Before having been pulled over by HPD, I was in Augusta and passed a red Toyota Tundra that was at a red light. I ran the light. I look back and have a chrome girll on my ass. I went down by Buker shcool, blew that light too. The guy was still on my ass. I decided to give him a run for his money. I did stop at the light by the State House. I took off and the guy was still with me at this point. Next I went through the next yield sign legally and noticed that the guy in the Toyota was either recording our chase or was snapping photos. Either way he pulled down towards the Augusta police station. HE WAS AN OFF DUTY APD OFFICER.

This is where it gets better. HPD has me lit up at Bolley's....He's writing my ticket and then comes a APD car with a uniformed officer with a ticket in his hand. The second officer was not the guy in the Toyota. He asked me if I knew what he was giving me a ticket for. I did, but played dumb. He told me that I blew a light and was driving fast, according to an off duty officer.

Now my question is....How the heck does that work???? Does that mean that you can get a ticket if anyone goes to the police station and says you did something wrong?

In my point of view this is BS. Off duty means off duty. I will fight the APD ticket!!! I'll pay the HPD since he got me on radar.

 

[09FXT]

I was under the impression without flashing lights they must also obey all traffic rules.

 

[Boynton4]

Ouch your poor insurance rates..

I would contest everything even if you don't want to appear in court. They have to take the time and schedule a court date for you. It can take up to 6 months, and it'd give you 6 months to decide whether you really want to fight it or pay it. My last ticket was in 2008, but I contested it because I was a poor college kid and didn't have the money at the time.

That's an interesting question about the off-duty police officer. I'd be interested to hear that answer as well.

*Sidenote* I worked with the 25th Inf in Mosul in 2004

 

[Jamey]

Why would you blow thru all those lights ? Not being dick just curious. Good luck

 

[AiRX]

I drive that route often. I usually can time them right. First one was close and then I was just tooling with that truck. I will not time the lights anymore

 

[blmpkn]

Eff that. Take the agusta ticket to court and ask to see the dash cam of you drivng like that

 

[Mighty Subie]

Eff that. Take the agusta ticket to court and ask to see the dash cam of you drivng like that

Lmao. Worst ticket evasion demand I have heard yet. Contest them. Pay them before the court date if you decide that it is not worth fighting. If you do go to court, you might be able tp convince the judge that you ran a yellow. Maybe not. The judge will be thrilled to hear that the first ticket was delivered to you while you were pulled over for another infraction though... Judges are not generally nice to people they see as habitual offenders or menaces to society. You doing multiple things on the same drive in multiple towns will not help your case. Don't listen to any jokers on here who don't know what they are talking about. Ask someone like Seph who is a police officer.

 

[WashmyScooby]

**NOT WORK SAFE FOR LANGUAGE**

 

[AiRX]

The whole thing is crazy and stupid on my part!!! Not trying to get out of the speeding ticket. My real struggle is the validity of the the off duty officer being able to get a ticket issued to me.

 

[Matt]

I would say you thought you were being chased by this random vehicle that was clearly endangering you by tailgating and you were just trying to get away from him.

 

[smelt240]

You can usually talk to a DA or ADA when you go to court,before standing in front of the judge.Sometimes you can talk them down on charges,or get a fine lowered. They are usually pretty honest,on what they think will happen in court. I really dont think you will win this one,esp where you were stopped pretty much twice at once.If you dont have the money,contest it,then change your plea later when you have the cash,or try your luck with a judge,I think they add 20% if you go to court and lose,not saying you will,but I think its a pretty safe bet that it will stick.If it was just going on the APD charge,it might be different.

Now for my speech. Im not trying to be a dick either,but you are damn lucky that you didnt get arrested for what they most likely COULD have charged you with.It sounds like they could have gone out on a limb and called that street racing. I got it for street racing on Pine street in Lewiston about 15 years ago. The ticket that officer no 1 had was: Drag racing,driving to endanger-and reckless driving(sounds the same to me),excessive speed, tire noise,and failure to stop at a red light. The first officer to show up pulled up behind me,the guy I raced saw the blue lights and blew through the intersection sideways and ran. They never did catch him,but about 12 cops were on me.In a matter of 5 minutes.Turns out,the first cop heard us launch our cars ( a 427 Nova and a 455 Super Rocket powered 79 Malibu) from 4 blocks away,and headed our way.Never saw anything. After an hour or so in the cruiser,an older officer gave me the "talk". Long story short,they let me off,I always thought it was because nobody actually saw any of the whole thing go down. It scared the S*#t out of me,and to this day,I think about that night every time I drive a fast car. If they wanted to be A holes that night,I probably wouldnt own my house right now,would have lost my car and job, and never would have got my CDL,or met my wife. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Flipswitch]

"driving fast" = objective perception

no radar / laser as proof = will not stand up

same deal as "excessive acceleration"

 

[Chris]

I got pulled over for excessive accel with the high comp 2.5 in my legacy. I had to stop on a rt1 onramp, didn't realize there was a cop behind me and power braked, then hauled ass onto the highway. Never went above the speed limit though. Chirped the tires on take off, and suddenly blues behind me.

Just gave me a warning for that one...

 

[seph]

As for the Red Tundra...He has a "Thin Blue Line" sticker on his rear window, and speeds through town all the time in his POV.

This is a tough one...Personally, I'd pick my battles on this one. If you were speeding, pay the HPD ticket. I would go to to traffic court on the other. I would mention that it was a civilian vehicle tailing you and driving knowingly and recklessly. If they mention that you got the ticket, I would say...I admit I was wrong on that charge, and I paid it. This one on the other hand...blah blah blah...

Now I'm no expert, I work part time at UMF PD...and the only time I've been to traffic court, I was fighting a loud exhaust charge....

I'd ask Impreza05 he IS the expert.

 

[blmpkn]

Lmao. Worst ticket evasion demand I have heard yet. Contest them. Pay them before the court date if you decide that it is not worth fighting. If you do go to court, you might be able tp convince the judge that you ran a yellow. Maybe not. The judge will be thrilled to hear that the first ticket was delivered to you while you were pulled over for another infraction though... Judges are not generally nice to people they see as habitual offenders or menaces to society. You doing multiple things on the same drive in multiple towns will not help your case. Don't listen to any jokers on here who don't know what they are talking about. Ask someone like Seph who is a police officer.

JusT sayin if the ON DUTY officer that handed him the ticket cannot provide proof of WITNESSING him driving like that... Then it should be dismissed.

 

[Mighty Subie]

JusT sayin if the ON DUTY officer that handed him the ticket cannot provide proof of WITNESSING him driving like that... Then it should be dismissed.

the OFF DUTY officer can be produced as proof. You better believe that if he found it went to court, that he would show up. Multiple tickets in the same trip will not look good.

Also, from what I have seen, judges (depending on who they are) don't nail you if you aren't an idiot. They generally help people out. If you contested it and went to court and just said something about ''I am not contesting if I did it or not, I just am asking if you can drop the points'' or something like that, they can be pretty reasonable. If you get a dick though.. you might not like contesting it. Never know.

 

[smelt240]

Anybody in doubt of an off duty officer being believed or used as a witness should buy a police scanner. You would not be able to imagine the amount of people called in every hour -BY REGULAR MOTORISTS-,who are then pulled over,just going by the info the dispatcher recieved. Im sure they aren't given tickets based on the call,but just being pulled over because you passed somebody,and cut in quick after,or blatted your exhaust at a slow driver happens all the time. Over the years,we have recieved a couple letters,a phone call,and had a Lewiston PD business card put in our front door due to my wife's "spirited" driving!

Back to the point though,Im not 100% sure on APDs policy,but most every officer I know considers themselves "on duty" at all times. Ive heard from state troopers that an officer can get into trouble for not reporting an accident they see,or any sort of crime being commited. Again,Im not trying to be a dick,but say the guy in the Tundra,being a cop, paid no attention to you running a red light,or speeding.Next red light you run you broadside someone...what does he do then,when he stops at the accident,along with whoever was behind/around him,and he has to ID himself as an off-duty officer?

Maybe Im getting too old for this,and that has made me into a dick,but its the old "time and place" deal I guess,and to me state street in Augusta is not the place,esp with the police station being 50 feet from it. Like I said,plead not guilty on the APD ticket,ask the clerk to arrange for you to talk to an ADA before you go into court,explain yourself,and see what they say. Worst case is a 20% higher fine. Just dont try to tell them that you felt the guy in the Tundra was threatening you,being scary,or something like that. His statement WILL override yours,and you can kiss any kind of deal goodbye. This is all just my opinion,Im not a cop or lawyer,or anything like that,but I have been driving fast cars since I started driving.Out of 60 or so cars,I can count on one hand the ones I wouldnt call "hi performance". Had LOTS of run-ins with the law throughout the years. And have 1 speeding ticket on my record,in 1994.from a local police chief who was,well,sour with me. No other driving convictions-ever. the more you get,the easier they are for police to write more for you. I guess that makes 10 cents now..

 

[WashmyScooby]

I got pulled over for excessive accel with the high comp 2.5 in my legacy. I had to stop on a rt1 onramp, didn't realize there was a cop behind me and power braked, then hauled ass onto the highway. Never went above the speed limit though. Chirped the tires on take off, and suddenly blues behind me.

Just gave me a warning for that one...

Yea but how "excessive" could the accel in a N/A 2.5 legacy actually be

 

[Mighty Subie]

The more I see this the more I have decided that I think you should pay the fines and just suck it up. I ride a bike. It's people in cages blowing red lights that scare the heck out of me. I have almost been hit by people who didn't see me and pulled out right out without blowing red lights. Maybe someone could have been walking right in front of the red toyota and stepped out in front of you and you ran them over?

Pay the fines. Take the insurance hit. You deserve it. Stop driving like an idiot. Stop breaking the law. Stop endangering people. Maybe you need this to teach you something.