Uhm. If I understand correctly it sounds like you want to see if the cop was justified yelling at you? No. But they will try to find some loop hole to justify it even if it is BS. If helmets reduced noise level so much so that normal conversation is impossible then they wouldn't be legal. Like wearing ear phones.


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Get your ears checked.... If I can hear with a helmet on, at the track. You should be able to hear a cop on the street, unless you are not listening. So IMO you filed a complaint, because you were being a desrespectful A-hole. Not saying the Cop was right, but then neither is leaving the helmet on while dealing with Law enforcement.

Were you speeding when you passed the cop???? You got loud pipes? If so pay the F-ing ticket and shut-up. Next time you have to deal with LEO, be nice and say yes, sir and no, sir and thank you. You might not even get that ticket.

 

Wow, I think you read his post wrong. He had no problem hearing the cop. He claims the cop was screaming at him (like a parent does to a child) and he filed a complaint based on this. The response was a BS response about road noise and a helmet being worn to justify the screaming.

I didn't see the guy complain about getting a ticket. He may have been speeding or driving dangerously... it's beside the point. The cop has a duty to ticket people who break the law, but they do not have the right to yell at someone abusively any more than they have the right to outright hit someone because they broke the law.

I know many cops. Most are great people, but a few take their personal issues and project them on others while on duty. It's very unprofessional.

txridr: unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about this. While it sucks, I would let it go. It's not worth the time and energy to get something done about it. In the long run, the screaming hopefully did no harm--the guy was probably just having a bad day. **** happens, just be thankful it was an angry cop full of "**** happens" that happened to you and not the idiot grandma left turn in front of you flavor.

 

I wouldn't pursue the issue any further. He found a loophole and there's no real way you can prove otherwise on the situation. It's just not worth the trouble. If he's as big a jerk as you say, someone else will get him in a situation he can't loophole his way out of.

 

Feedback? OK, you are either nuts or an annoying troublemaker for making a fuss over absolutely nothing. The cop raises his voice to be heard while you are wearing a helmet and sitting next to a busy highway? What the hell did you expect him to do, whisper inaudible sweet nothings to you?

And even if you were in a quiet room and he yelled at you, so what? Is your itty-bitty feelings hurt? Oh, poor baby. Join the Army and find out what it means to be yelled at.

But maybe I shouldn't be so harsh. You'll probably file a complaint with the moderators now: "Some guy was being mean to me. I'm going to go to my room and pout if you don't do something about it.":wink:

 

Feedback? OK, you are either nuts or an annoying troublemaker for making a fuss over absolutely nothing. The cop raises his voice to be heard while you are wearing a helmet and sitting next to a busy highway? What the hell did you expect him to do, whisper inaudible sweet nothings to you?

And even if you were in a quiet room and he yelled at you, so what? Is your itty-bitty feelings hurt? Oh, poor baby. Join the Army and find out what it means to be yelled at.

But maybe I shouldn't be so harsh. You'll probably file a complaint with the moderators now: "Some guy was being mean to me. I'm going to go to my room and pout if you don't do something about it.":wink:

+ 1

 

He was probably having a bad day! No excuse for yelling at you unless you were being a smart a$$!
What are you hoping to get out of it? A letter of apology is about the max!
They won't admit they're wrong unless you have proof,like a recording,video,eye witness,etc.

 

You can check and see if that police Dept has Cam corders in all their police cars ( My dept. does) everytime we engage out lights and sirens that starts the recorder, and we wear a hidden mic. so everything we say & do is being recorded,,along with what you say & do...I use a LOUD CLEAR voice on my stops due to traffic buzzing by...never rude.... did you get a ticket?? with a fine $$$ maybe $150.00?? or did you get a LOUD verbal warning (Free no fine)
Not all cops are rude jerks ,,,,but some get their egos bent when ya pass them lol

 

Yeah Yeah. Persue the complaint and become a target for reprisel. Leave it be and pay up. Is it really worth persueing the complaint or are you just pissed that you got a ticket to begin with?

 

Originally Posted by jgarib
Wow, I think you read his post wrong. He had no problem hearing the cop. He claims the cop was screaming at him (like a parent does to a child) and he filed a complaint based on this.

No, YOU read his post wrong. Nowhere did he make that exaggerated claim, only that "when the officer approached me he began yelling at me for passing him and kept it throughout the stop."

I sometimes "yell" in a noisy environment to be heard over the ambient noise; I "scream"...well, never, because I don't get that angry or frightened, which is what is implied by screaming. "Like a parent does to a child"? Even the OP didn't make that silly analogy.

If you are going to apply creative parsing of the post you would have to concede that "He finally stated I was speeding" sounds pretty calm and controlled.

Guy got a ticket. He's pissed. Too bad. He just needs some cheese with his whine.

 

No, YOU read his post wrong. Nowhere did he make that exaggerated claim, only that "when the officer approached me he began yelling at me for passing him and kept it throughout the stop."

.

Yikes, a lot of cranky people on this forum. After further clarification it looks like I read it RIGHT. And my use of the word screaming and my analogy was simply used to clarify my point that the original poster was stating the officer had a raised voice due to reasons other than hearing difficulties... but.. eh, whatever.

To me, there isn't much difference between yelling and screaming other than the context. You yell when you want to be heard, you scream when you can easily be heard but want to make a point. They both can be at the same volume.

 

I need your professional opinion on the following:

Ok, but I'm not a professional; I just pretend to be one here, so SHHHhhhhhh!

I was riding on the highway and got pulled over by a police officer in an stealth Tahoe and when the officer approached me he began yelling at me for passing him and kept it throughout the stop. He finally stated I was speeding.

So what's the point? You passed him! Now, there are some variables here as I read them and I have questions - Was the officer driving in the same direction as you when you passed him, or sitting on the side of the road? If you're traveling faster than a police officer in motion whose doing the speed limit, it's only natural that he'll pull you over and you'll get cited for exceeding a given posted speed limit. Same if he catches you on radar, but I assume by your quoting him as stating that you passed him, that he was in motion travelling the same direction as you.

I filed a citizen complaint against the officer, and after a few weeks of badgering the Chief of Police on the findings he concluded that due to the traffic passing by and me failing to remove my helmet (I was never asked to remove my helmet) the officer had to raise his voice.

Did the officer use profanity, or degrade you in some manner? Did he physically assault you or touch you inappropriately? Why on Earth would you file a complaint based on "yelling" alone? Is there some truth to the Chief's conclusion in that the officer was justified in yelling or maybe raising his tone over the sound of passing traffic and your not having removed your helmet (which I assume is a 3/4 or full one)? Could you have maybe mistaken his tone? C'mon, officers put their lives at risk every day and you were more worried about his volume with you, knowing that you were speeding and still had your helmet on? Does the law in your state require him to ask you to remove it, or is it an option?

I wear a 3/4 and sometimes full helmet with in-ear foam plugs and can still hear someone talk to me. Funny part is my son asked me to stop yelling at him when I got home the other night and still had my helmet on and earplugs in when he asked me a question in the driveway. :mrgreen:

Maybe you yelled first? Possibly? Maybe without even realizing it??? Maybe he WAS yelling as a reaction to something you did - a movement, gesture, a little too long in pulling over, etc ......

Sorry but it seems a waste of time and tax payer's money to be looking to reprimand an officer for his tone who clearly was doing his duty. And then you admit to "badgering" the Cheif?! Badgering is the act of harassing someone.

Feedback is appreciated.

You may need to clarify and answer some questions to some of the above (mine and others responses). But, your welcome.

 

Aced it,,you miss read it,,,no stop sign,,officer yelled during the whole stop.

 

Yes I did. Thanks for the clarification. I edited out that.

 

I wasn’t there so I don’t know how it went down but….when I ride I almost always wear a helmet and I ALWAYS wear earplugs. Years of riding (much of it with loud pipes) has contributed to considerable hearing loss. After I’m on my bike with ear plugs in and helmet on I can no longer hear people who speak in a normal voice clearly enough to understand what they are saying. You either have to yell at me or wait for me to remove my helmet and earplugs.
My advice to everyone is to wear hearing protection. Years from now you’ll be glad you did. If you get pulled over remove your helmet and earplugs if you wear them so you can converse in a normal tone. If the LEO still yells at you that’s something else but if you are wearing a helmet I think it’s reasonable to speak to you in a louder than normal voice. And traffic noise just makes it worse.
Just my opinion.

 

Go directly to the harassment thread.

Office stops you for passing him? Was it a legal pass.. if so too damn bad

Officer says you were speeding? Does he have that on radar? If not ..too damn bad

Officer berates you throughout the stop..any ticket? No? mmm.

Me, I would pursue it further, can't get satisfaction from the police chief because he doesn't want to deal with the hot head, next step your local representative or mayor..what you have here is a bully with a badge, one who apparently doesn't like bikes.. I will stand by that view unless it comes out you did something illegal.

 

Dave, I just don't think there's enough information in his post to go by. Too many variables, possibilities ... you know, "guess ya had to be there" stuff. Thus all my questions.

 

It sounds like my kids saying that I yell at them all the time. Where's the O.P. to explain further. C.D. what do you think is going to come from complaining to someone above the police? At best he gets a "Gee, I'm sorry I yelled at you" and at worst is he gets harassed by the Leo's. I doubt that the ticket is thrown out(which I think could be his real reason for complaining).

 

I saw no mention of a ticket which is why I asked.

What can come out of it? Depends. If our OP is on the up and up and was having his nuts busted for nothing then at the very least the cop will get another verbal warning ( kinda like being put on notice) May be this isn't the first time, maybe there are other complaints.. complaints that the chief let slide but the Representative won't.

I don't really know but I know that if it were me and I was not breaking any traffic laws, and I got no ticket but I was pulled over and my time was wasted because some cop decided he was was going to show me how important he is, then what I suggested is what I would do, and if I had a name and a badge number I may just have a talk with the local media too.

Seems to me if there were no offense by the OP and he indeed was pulled over for nothing then yes the Chief SHOULD have required that the cop give a personal apology.

 

To clarify, I didn't even have a chance to remove my helmet since the officer began to become irate since the beginning of the stop. At one point I had to put my hands up in a defensive manner asking him to calm down. This is not about me whining.

Yes, I did get a ticket, which I am fighting, but nevertheless, no one should have to tolerate this from a police officer. I asked two colleagues who are police officers and they both agreed that if they are going to chew someone out, then they don't give a ticket, but they don't do both.

When I spoke to an officer at the police station front desk, I was told that the officer, who is a sergeant, done not allow other officers to use the vehicle. My concern then was that he would attempt to destroy evidence that was exculpatory. It was then I decided to file a complaint.

 

To clarify, I didn't even have a chance to remove my helmet since the officer began to become irate since the beginning of the stop. At one point I had to put my hands up in a defensive manner asking him to calm down. This is not about me whining.

Yes, I did get a ticket, which I am fighting, but nevertheless, no one should have to tolerate this from a police officer. I asked two colleagues who are police officers and they both agreed that if they are going to chew someone out, then they don't give a ticket, but they don't do both.

When I spoke to an officer at the police station front desk, I was told that the officer, who is a sergeant, done not allow other officers to use the vehicle. My concern then was that he would attempt to destroy evidence that was exculpatory. It was then I decided to file a complaint.

Can you clarify the statement that you passed an officer. Was he sitting still or moving and was he going the speed limit if he was moving?

 

I'm guessing by the description of the cops vehicle as a 'stealth Tahoe' that it was a completely unmarked car with lights inside at the headliner front and back, that is of course unless there us a dodge stealth trim level 'tahoe' or Chevy has been stealing fighter technology from the govt.

So the op didn't know he was passing a cop because it was an unmarked truck, not the usual black and white crown Vic.

I've never had a cop mad enough to screa...to yell in my face over speeding. My interpretation is that op pulled over, officer red-ass came out of his truck with this in his head: 'this biker punks has no.respect for the law, he has the audacity to pass a police vehicle. I will berate him to impress upon him how mad I am' or something of that nature.

Police officers are trusted by the community to conduct themselves in a civil and professional manner. It sounds to me like this cop did not.

 

I was driving south on the highway, I came upon a group of cars and trucks clustered together that we're driving slower. I decided to pass the group on the right lane and get in front of them. I then see police lights come on. I pull over and that's when the officer approached me and began yelling at me. I believe this officer was purposely holding back the cars by slowing them down.

I also believe he saw me as a "biker who doesn't care about the law, so Ill show him who's boss, attitude." This because I stated if i could get a break, and his response was "you all always want a break!"

When I got home and saw the ticket he put done the wrong way I was traveling; he put down I was traveling north, then in parentheses he put (S). So, which way am I traveling, north or south, officer?

An officer traveling at the speed limit is purposeful in that it is INTENDED to slow down vehicles, which is why there was a group of backed up cars not wanting to pass. It doesn't matter if the car is marked or unmarked; we have those all over I-95 in West Palm Beach. The fact here is that you passed him to which all indications point toward your breaking the law. Again without having been there, no one can be witness to how you were acting in the situation either, from passing the group of cars to the point of leaving, post ticket. As for his yelling at you, maybe he's right, maybe he's wrong, but you rightfully got a speeding ticket, correct? Why make it worse by claiming he was yelling?

Nobody is happy when they get a moving violation. The officer probably hears pleas all day long about 'getting a break' which is why he answered you that way. I think your assumption of his thoughts regarding bikers is just that - merely an assumption. This guy is on the side of a highway and constantly thinking if he's going to get hit by a passing motorist or assaulted by the person he pulled over. These officers are always on guard and I believe most are well deserved the respect no matter what volume they talk to you so long as it's specific to the violation.

As for his making a mistake on the ticket, it seems obvious he corrected his mistake with "S" in the parenthesis.

Sounds like your looking to nit-pic anything and everything to get away from the fact that you broke the law ... and that's probably how his chief is viewing it.

That's my feedback thus far; I say pay the ticket and move passed it.

 

This is just one of those situations where somebody is upset about a ticket and it evolves into something more than it really should.

You might want it to be, but that doesn't make it so. Who are you to shut him down and say he's making it up? Some people here seem to be oblivious to the police abuses that go on regularly. This is nothing, I could share some stories...

 

Am I being called out? Well in any case, I don't want it to be anything more than it is which is an opinion toward which the OP opted for when he asked for "feedback". Did I say he made it up? ... It's a fact that when people tell stories of something negative that happened to them, sometimes the point gets exaggerated in favor of themselves. But I did say it already in that there's no way for any of us to review exactly what happened here other than his story. The officer could have been a real ^ss yes, but it could also have been taken out of context by the OP ... yes? Is that possible? I have offered a counter viewpoint instead of just taking his side. Why? Because there is always two sides to every story AND I was asked.

And who am I? I am an avid member of this board, a motorcycle enthusiast, a person who sees good in others when they can't speak for themselves and somebody with an opinion ... just like you. I am not oblivious to police abuses, but the fact is society is subjected to more of the negative than the positive. I have had good fortune to see predominantly the good side in working with law enforcement officers in the past.

If you have experienced a bad side of law enforcement, there's nothing I can do about that. I know it can put a bad taste in your mouth.

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Life is too short to get your knickers in a twist about everything that happens to you..two sayings come to mind..

Don't sweat the small stuff..and You can't fight city hall..

If you persue this complaint you will find the judge will take the cops side because you don't get justice in court you get law..

The cop represents the law and the judge has to side with him or people will not take the law seriously..

I bet the cop has already had a dressing down as a result of your complaint and has had to grovel to his boss..that's as good as it is going to get..

John.

 

I manage IT for a city and we support several police departments so i have a fairly good understanding of how they work. As an individual you did what you could. You brought it to the attention of the Chief (usually you don't get that high in the chain). If it is a conscientious agency they will at least put it in the officer's file. Some departments care how officers act and others less so. I would just let it be as you did all you could.

As for those above who got defensive and started name calling ... better to keep your mouth shut and be perceived as ignorant rather than open your mouth and prove it.

 

The officer is a public servant! If he can't conduct himself in a professional manner he should find other employment! The badge does not give him the right to disrespect the public. Had it been a more serious situation,like guns blazing,etc. that is a different story.

They need to screen LEO's better! It seems like every week here in Florida,they have a news story about an LEO that raped,beat or otherwise did something against the law! It's hard to respect a profession that acts that way! They have good and bad but need to weed out the bad ones!
The public needs to be able to trust all LEO's!

 

There is some truth to your statements. However in response to the later part of your reply, lest we forget that anyone who rides a motorcycle can fall under the same negative view in the eyes of the public.


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I've had a cop pull me over and lecture me before. I rolled through yield sign with my 12yo son on the back, and he thought it was a stop sign. (It should be a stop sign, but that's beside the point.) After I corrected him on what it was, he still vented a bit. I just told him I'd think about what he said. There was absolutely nothing else he could do. It was all I could do to not laugh out loud at him.

The police are people too, and I'm willing to give one a few minutes to tell me his piece.

 

No reason for the cop to be yelling at you. Good work on filing the report. If you felt like he was unreasonably yelling at you, file a complaint. It's your right. Don't back down and give up your rights just because he wears a badge. You are not his wife, dog or child, no need to yell at you.

Cops are there to serve, not to take out any issues they have on you. He should have just asked for license, registration, insurance and that is all. He didn't need to pretend to be a drill instructor, that is not his job. The PD needs to know that a problem may be starting to develop with this civil servant and he may need EAP or retraining.

FIGHT the ticket!! Who cares if you did speed. Traffic tickets are just a revenue source for the municipality. Check your state and local laws on how to properly file a response to the ticket and fight it. You will usually win if you contest it properly. Go online and find out how to fight the ticket and win. A buddy at work fights all tickets and helps people fight them and so far has won 23 out of 23 tickets.

So many people are willing to give up their rights... what a shame. Psychos with badges should not be allowed on the street.

 

You sir forgot to Om!:wink:

 

Became irate at the beginning of the stop, or became irate after you asked for a break? Why ask for a break while he's yelling? Story sounds shaky.

 

Read the OP and report back officer.


Chris

 

This is starting to look like the OP may want to have been a little pissed, when originally starting this thread.

There are few states that allow passing on the left or right. I always ask myself if I should pass anyone on the right. It is legal to do so in Arizona. But, I think it's a bad idea to do so on a bike. Can anyone say SPLAT?!

It seems that the OP may be correcting himself by saying passed on the left, instead of the right.

Either way, if he was exceeding the speed that would get him pulled over and cited, it doesn't justify anyone acting unprofessional. But, it does deserve a citation (out here in AZ, the law reads that at 11mph above the posted limits a person can be pulled over)(most POs don't bother with someone passing them above the posted limit, out here, as long as the vehicle is not operates in a wreckless fashion while doing so, it seems).

I'm all for the wrongs being righted. That goes for unprofessional civil servants and motorcyclists with entitlement complexes. There are many of each that give their respective groups a black eye (more like a stink eye). You can only police yourself, at that end. I try not to ride like a d*ck. It keeps me from being run over.


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This is a silly thread, lol. We'll never truly know what happened in the situation. The OP posted the story, obviously making it biased from the start (Not blaming him, it's just human nature whether we mean to or not). We'll never know if he acted calm and collected, whether he passed on the left or right (I've seen both on here haha), or if the officer was truly a "psycho with a badge" or just firmly laying down his opinion on the situation.

Sounds to me like the cop had a bad day and raised his voice. I've had one or two do it to me, didn't let it ruin my day. I still "earned" the speeding ticket I was given. Paid it and moved on.

If you feel as though this officer is a threat to you and others in society, be it physical or verbal, then continue your pursuit for your perceived justice. If you feel that it's not that big of a deal and it was just a bad day for both of you, I'd let it go and ride on!

 

Speed limits in residential areas? Understandable. Speed limits on long stretches of highway?

Eehhhhhhh....