LEO Encounter in Conway

B

beerman

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Messages
204
Location
Florence, SC
My wife and I spent our Saturday looking at a couple Bronco's, she's interested in picking up a cheaper Bronco to play with. I was carrying all day, you never know what you're walking into when answering a Craigslist ad... It was turning out to be a really good day, we didn't like any of the Bronco's we test drove, but we had a good time. We stopped at Broadway at the Beach at the Mustang show and checked that out. We just bought a 2013 Mustang GT earlier this year, we didn't enter the show or anything, but we wanted some ideas for our car. Anyway, we left the show and started heading back for Florence.

We were driving along the lake on the side of 501 in the left lane when the car in the right lane started drifting into our lane. I slammed on the brakes so we didn't get hit. After she pulled back into her lane, I dropped the car into fifth and went by her fairly quick. I shifted back into sixth and slowed back down to about 60. After maybe another third of a mile I started slowing down for the 35 mph zone in Conway. When we hit the 35 mph zone I noticed a motorcycle right on my bumper. A state patrol motorcycle cop unfortunately. He road my bumper to the stop light, where we waited to make the left turn onto 378. He was so close to me I couldn't see his lights until we made the turn onto 378 and I pulled into a parking lot on the right side of the road.

I'm a Michigan resident, my permanent address is in Michigan. I work for a company that does industrial property redevelopment all over the world. I happen to be working out of the Florence area currently. I handed the cop my license and my Michigan CCW permit. I had the car turned off and my hands on the steering wheel. He asked where my weapon was, I stated on my right hip inside my waist band. He tried to look to see it, which he couldn't. Then said nothing else about it. He tried to tell me I was breaking the law by not having a SC driver's license, which isn't correct. He just said, "I don't want to argue about it" when I told him that I'm just living here temporarily, and that I don't have to switch my drivers license.

In the end, he gave me a ticket for speeding, which I believe is b.s. because the lady that almost ran us off the road got away with nothing. He even said he saw her almost hit me, but said that I didn't slow down fast enough after I passed her. I'm pissed off plenty about the ticket, but it's not worth fighting it, they'll get me one way or another if I show up for the court date, so I'll just pay the $81 and hope to hell my insurance doesn't get affected. This guy certainly isn't going to win any personality awards. I won't share my real thoughts on him or how our interaction went out of respect for other LEO's that I've had much better interactions with.

As far as the ccw goes, it was very uneventful and he couldn't seem to care less. Sorry for the wall of text, I guess I just needed to vent a little.
 
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Unfortunate about the ticket. It's good you saw him back there; imagine tapping the brakes and him hitting you....whew that would have been blown out of proportion by the LEO quickly...I've seen too many Youtube videos and posts online about a cop causing a wreck but citing the other driver for it.
 
Bum deal getting that ticket, if that other driver had received a ticket as well it would have been fair at least. Nice to see that you didn't get hassled about your carrying piece though.

Oh, don't sweat your post size beerman- speaking your mind is encouraged, we're all family here! ;)
 
Sounds like you handled the entire thing very well! And what B.S., "you need a SC driver's license" :roll:

Personally, I would at least try to fight the ticket. Go in to traffic court, and explain the situation (they may surprise you and dismiss), and the cop's reckless tailgating behind you. You won't be able to prove it, but he might just have enough complaints against him about that issue that one more might put him into driving school, along with some people he's ticketed. :twisted:
 
He said 2 points, but I don't get how that'll work with an out of state license. I got a ticket in Michigan once before I was a resident there (I was a Wisconsin resident at the time) and all it was was a fine. The points didn't carry over to my driving record. Although the ticket did show up for a few years.

I hope this doesn't affect my insurance, or at least not by very much.
 
C_Carson said:
Sounds like you handled the entire thing very well! And what B.S., "you need a SC driver's license" :roll:

Personally, I would at least try to fight the ticket. Go in to traffic court, and explain the situation (they may surprise you and dismiss), and the cop's reckless tailgating behind you. You won't be able to prove it, but he might just have enough complaints against him about that issue that one more might put him into driving school, along with some people he's ticketed. :twisted:
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My wife is more pissed off than I am actually. I'm thinking of going to fight it, but I don't know if I want to waste a day to go argue over $81. If it'll affect my insurance however, I'd gladly go and do whatever I can to get it dropped.

I don't have much experience with tickets, and even less with SC law. So, I'm not sure what I really can and can't do. When he was writing the ticket, he asked me if I wanted to go to court with a ticket for $180 (or something like that) and 4 points, or if we could settle it right there and make the ticket 2 points and $81. The ticket states court is not mandatory. I wouldn't think they could make the ticket go any higher than what it's written for if I go try to fight it in court, but I don't know how that works down here. I certainly wouldn't want to make it worse by trying to fight it.
 
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY.

The way the points and fines work is as follows:

1-10 over 2pts and $81
11-15 over 4pts and $133
16-25 over 4pts and $185
Over 25 6pts and $445 (and usually a one night stay at the nearest detention center courtesy of your local sheriff)

It depends on what speed he actually clocked you at but it sounds like he had you in the 16-25 range and decided to only write you for the 1-10 range. That happens a lot if we feel a ticket is warranted but don't want to really jam someone up. My advice is always go to court and talk to the judge. If nothing else you can usually get a reduction in the fine. I've seen officers re-write tickets in court for a lower offense but I've never seen them do it for a higher offense. If the officer really wants to push the issue and the judge allows it I guess he could re-write you for the 16-25 range violation. I've heard of shady stuff coming out of some of these rural courthouses. Chances are you are one of a 100+ tickets this guy will have on the docket and the courts interest will be in moving cases along.

I'd contact the Michigan DMV about the points. Most states have reciprocity when it come to traffic offenses. What happens then is SC reports to MI that you received a ticket for speeding 1-10 over, were found guilty and paid the fine. Then MI will asses any points on your license that a comparable MI statue carries.
 
beerman said:
C_Carson said:
Sounds like you handled the entire thing very well! And what B.S., "you need a SC driver's license" :roll:

Personally, I would at least try to fight the ticket. Go in to traffic court, and explain the situation (they may surprise you and dismiss), and the cop's reckless tailgating behind you. You won't be able to prove it, but he might just have enough complaints against him about that issue that one more might put him into driving school, along with some people he's ticketed. :twisted:
Click to expand...

My wife is more pissed off than I am actually. I'm thinking of going to fight it, but I don't know if I want to waste a day to go argue over $81. If it'll affect my insurance however, I'd gladly go and do whatever I can to get it dropped.

I don't have much experience with tickets, and even less with SC law. So, I'm not sure what I really can and can't do. When he was writing the ticket, he asked me if I wanted to go to court with a ticket for $180 (or something like that) and 4 points, or if we could settle it right there and make the ticket 2 points and $81. The ticket states court is not mandatory. I wouldn't think they could make the ticket go any higher than what it's written for if I go try to fight it in court, but I don't know how that works down here. I certainly wouldn't want to make it worse by trying to fight it.
Click to expand...

Only you can decide if a day/$81 is worth your effort. Personally, I would fight more on the principle of the thing rather than the dollar amount, but you have to do what you can, and only you know your circumstances and if it's worth it.

What offer did he make to settle? Because that usually is a bluff tactic used by people who want to intimidate you when they really have very little on the plate to use against you...
 
Go to traffic court. Tell the judge you are guilty but are asking for some leniency. My last ticket in Conway was for speeding, 4 points and $180. I told the judge that I was not paying attention to my speed and was definitely guilty but that I was on a fixed income and that was my first ticket in over 20 years (both true). She gave me a choice, 2 points and $80 or no points and $100. I jumped on the no points option. Act sincere and humble. Sometimes works wonders.
 
You also have a witness to the whole encounter- your wife. Explaining why you sped up to avoid an errant(even possibly impaired) driver is a major contributing factor. Add to that the fact that while the police officer obviously saw the incident, he did not check the other driver out first. He could even unknowingly let a possible DUI continue on their merry way. Going for the out of state plate may have been more on his mind at the time. They are only human and make mistakes and bad judgement calls just like anybody. That being said, excercise your right to be heard and may justice prevail!

No offense to any LEO Forum members by those comments, but some police officers may think this way. I received a goodly amount of unfair treatment from an officer that couldn't get anything on a drunk and overly obnoxious friend of mine except for minor in posession of alcohol. Even though I was wrong in my own actions that led to police involvement, I was nothing but honest and respectful with him the whole time. Unfortunately,I had the boom lowered on me for everything and anything possible because of my "friend". When everything was over in court I shook his hand and apologized for meeting under such circumstances. Come to find out he himself was arrested for B & E a few years later on and went to jail himself, you never know sometimes. However, I still firmly support and respect any and all members of the Law Enforcement community no matter what. Hey, they do a job that that is extremely dangerous with a lot of stigma attached to them due to the few bad eggs and civilians that perceive them with scorn and prejudice at times.

I do not envy their burdens and standards they must bear and uphold, especially in 21st century America. Hats off to the good guys out there!
 
I don't have much experience with tickets, and even less with SC law. So, I'm not sure what I really can and can't do. When he was writing the ticket, he asked me if I wanted to go to court with a ticket for $180 (or something like that) and 4 points, or if we could settle it right there and make the ticket 2 points and $81. The ticket states court is not mandatory. I wouldn't think they could make the ticket go any higher than what it's written for if I go try to fight it in court, but I don't know how that works down here. I certainly wouldn't want to make it worse by trying to fight it.[/quote]

he was asking if you would fight it. if not he would make it 2 pts and $81.

if you said you would fight it then he would have to go to court also, so its $181 and 4 pts.
 
Just my 2 cents:

If your time worth the gamble of $81, you can always go to court and a) hope the officer doesn't show up or b) the judge is lenient.

My understanding is that once you admit you were wrong to an officer (and I think you probably did by falling for his "offer") you really will have a hard time convincing a judge that you want to retract that later. That's why I personally always answer the question "Do you know why I stopped you" with "No, officer."

Not legal advice, of course, just my personal experiences. Good luck, I'm always for fighting traffic stops on principle like Carson said earlier.

Tigerstripe said:
I don't have much experience with tickets, and even less with SC law. So, I'm not sure what I really can and can't do. When he was writing the ticket, he asked me if I wanted to go to court with a ticket for $180 (or something like that) and 4 points, or if we could settle it right there and make the ticket 2 points and $81. The ticket states court is not mandatory. I wouldn't think they could make the ticket go any higher than what it's written for if I go try to fight it in court, but I don't know how that works down here. I certainly wouldn't want to make it worse by trying to fight it.
Click to expand...

he was asking if you would fight it. if not he would make it 2 pts and $81.

if you said you would fight it then he would have to go to court also, so its $181 and 4 pts.[/quote]
 
Agree with FM here. Every question can be answered with a question. Do you know why I stopped you? Why did you stop me? Is there a reason you were going so fast? How fast was I going? Do you have a gun? Why did you stop me?
 
The last four or five times I've been pulled for speeding ive used this technique:
Cop: how are you doing today?
Me: we'll honestly I've been better...(insert light chuckle)
Cop: (most of the time a light chuckle follows)
Cop: do you know why I pulled you over?
Me: I've got a pretty good idea, but before we go down that road I want to bring to your attention the gun in the glove box and center console as well as the 3 knives on my person and 2 in each door pocket....

They usually run the numbers on guns and tell me to go on my way and slow it down
 
What RAS do they have to run your serials? What does protecting your fourth amendment right have to do with being an ass?
 
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