The cops around here are "good" drivers. Why just yesterday a sheriffs deputy and his partner were transporting three BGs. The officer attempted to pass a semi by driving on the shoulder to the right of the truck. Said truck turns right and runs over the deputies car and F's up everybody in the car.  Thats some real driving skills there

Quoted: Quoted: I’ve always felt we had a fair legal system, and that my wife will be treated fairy, You can't be serious.

I concur.  What color is the sky on your planet?  You obviously are posting from some alternate universe.

Quoted: OK, unless the laws are different in your state, cops can’t give tickets for accidents in private parking lots. A woman hit my daughter’s car in the mall parking lot, then the dumb ass parked right beside it. A guy sitting in his car saw it and told her when she came out. We called the cops. The responding officer explained that he couldn’t do any thing but be a witness, so he ran the license and got us the drivers name and address. Then he filled out a report and told us to contact our insurance company and have them get the money from the driver. Base on my experience, I don’t see how the cops can justify the actions you describe. They don’t have the authority. Something’s fucked up here. Edit, I'm a slow typist........now I see what's fucked up, the female undercover officer over reacted and could have got you guys shot.

That doesn't sound right.

Maybe they can't cite the guy for the accident on private property, but I'm surprised they can't cite him for leaving the scene. Probably the cop just did not want to deal with the paperwork. Certainly in AZ (where I grew up) you can get nailed for "leaving the scene" on private property. Happened to a friend of the family. Idiot knew she hit someone in a parking lot, but was in a hurry so did not leave a note (for property damage, that's all that's required). What could have been a couple hundred dollar repair bill got a suspended license added to it (she already had some points on her license).

EDIT: When I say "hit someone" I mean she hit someone's car, not a person.

True story: Four years ago I lived in the city and was upstairs in my apartment watching a baseball game when I heard all this noise coming from my parking lot. I got up and looked out the window to find two Puetro Rican guys stealing the ladder off my work van ($350 28' extension ladder). I ran downstairs (unarmed, yes stupid) to confront the guys. As I turned the corner of the building into the parking lot the guys were just getting done loading the ladder onto their van and the driver spotted me coming at them. He jumped in the van and punched the gas aiming right for me. I was forced to jump in between two parked cars to avoid being killed.

I got a good tag number or so I thought (the tag came back to a valid 1990 station wagon in the Bronx) and called the police, I explained what happened and told them specifically that the guy attempted to hit me with his vehicle during his escape. I even ran back upstairs and grabbed my keys and went looking for the guys but they had lost me in the 30 sec it took to get on the road.

I drove around for 10 min looking to no avail and then returned to meet the police, I waited, waited some more and then called 911 again. The dispatcher told me I was next on the list. I waited another 15-20 min and called a third time. This time the dispatcher was rude and said they had higher priority calls but she could take a report over the phone. This pissed me off.

I have been around law enforcement all my life. I have three friends in the same city department, one in the local sheriffs department, and a friend that is now a state trooper. I was a firefighter for 5 years and worked closely with the sheriffs office. I know how law enforcement works, hell I could even tell you what the radio codes mean over the air. I lived 2 blocks from a police station when this occurred and not a single car could come take a report for  (what would be in my eyes) an attempted murder.

Moral of the story is that we are substandard to the police. If they have the time and manpower to help you, you might be helped. If not, tough luck. If you try and help yourself you will most likely be the aggressor and arrested. Never depend on the police, in my city they are useless. Now if you mess with the police expect a barrage of officers and you will get the treatment of a lifetime and more charges than you could speak of.

There was another incident a couple of summers ago that involved two of my friends getting robbed by three men in ski masks, a pistol, and sawed off, they were walking home from the bar. The police didn't show up to the scene, they waited and walked the rest of the way home after both had been pistol whipped and knocked out cold. It took my third friend (their roommate) calling 911 to report my friend was dying (at their apartment) for the cops to show up.

Between these two incidents it was sealed in concrete to apply for my pistol permit and defend myself as necessary.

NEVER COUNT ON THE POLICE, EVER!

With the exception of a minor violation it is always wise to consult with an attorney when law enforcement is involved.  Someone earlier stated that the vast majority of LEOs are there to serve and protect, however, I would not want to take a chance that I am dealing with the 1 gung ho asshole on the department who embellishes (falsifies) their report to make a citation or arrest look more legitimate.

Putting aside the LEO reaction for a moment....

If someone blatantly runs into a car and leave before they get caught, they are IMO a criminal and don't deserve a liscence.

If someone runs into a car and does not notice they are IMO an idiot and don't deserve a liscence.


How would you feel if you just paid 20k, 30k of more for a new vehicle and had it done to you?

How would you feel if you were financing a vehicle for the next 4-5 years and someone smakced it and hauled ass?

If she backed into a police car marked or not, why didn't the police officer pull her over right then???


ETA  so she was undercover never mind.

Quoted: Putting aside the LEO reaction for a moment.... If someone blatantly runs into a car and leave before they get caught, they are IMO a criminal and don't deserve a liscence. If someone runs into a car and does not notice they are IMO an idiot and don't deserve a liscence. How would you feel if you just paid 20k, 30k of more for a new vehicle and had it done to you? How would you feel if you were financing a vehicle for the next 4-5 years and someone smakced it and hauled ass?

Knowing you hit someone and leaving is one thing. Not knowing is called an accident and accidents happen, that is why we have insurance. I would try not to get bent out of shape about it. I have been the victim of someone backing into my car, denting the passenger door bad, and leaving during the night. Shit happens, what am I going to do about it?

Quoted: Quoted: No offense, and I am sure that your wife is a great lady, but she knows that she hit a car. That's putting it politely.

Oh, come on now!  Big old truck and little mustang and a love tap, I could very easily see her not realizing she hit another car.  Not like she was going 30 MPH!

Quoted: Putting aside the LEO reaction for a moment.... If someone blatantly runs into a car and leave before they get caught, they are IMO a criminal and don't deserve a liscence. If someone runs into a car and does not notice they are IMO an idiot and don't deserve a liscence. How would you feel if you just paid 20k, 30k of more for a new vehicle and had it done to you? How would you feel if you were financing a vehicle for the next 4-5 years and someone smakced it and hauled ass?

Let's at least make a distinction. We're not talking about goosing the truck in reverse and smashing into someone or sideswiping a parked car and going "duh, WTF". In these cases I would agree. Turn in your license.  Aside from being a neglegent menace, anybody can screw up. That's why I have insurance.

BTW. I had some dumbass roll her car into my new $45K BMW the other day at a stop sign. Luckily it only scuffed my lower rear bumper. I took it to the shop and they actually said "no problem, it'll buff right out".  Point is she was a dumbass but she did have insurance in case it was more than a scuff.

I didn't read all the replies, but WOW!

A cop car from ANOTHER county gets dinged in a parking lot and they send this reaction for it?????


I hope they react this way to all the parking lot finder benders in your area the same.


I'm sure the cop that's car got hit feels like justice is served!

Quoted: Addison in Dupage County.

"Oh I'm shocked", says the former Naperville resident.

Eventually they figure out that rather than clipping an undercover cop and running him off the road as they initially stated, it appeared that my wife made contact with a car (you guessed it, an unmarked cop car) backing out of her parking spot earlier in the day

Like somebody else said there's a big difference between "the truck ran me off the ROAD" and "somebody bumped me in the parking lot". Jackasses.

Quoted: If she backed into a police car marked or not, why didn't the police officer pull her over right then??? ETA  so she was undercover never mind.

It was a Mexican restaurant. She was inside, perhap on "official" business.

Base on my experience, I don’t see how the cops can justify the actions you describe. They don’t have the authority

When has that ever stopped the "Authorities"

Just the standard situation for any leo vs civilian incident,

Quoted: Quoted: If she backed into a police car marked or not, why didn't the police officer pull her over right then??? ETA  so she was undercover never mind. It was a Mexican restaurant. She was inside, perhap on "official" business.

That brings up my next question of how did she know it was your wife then?  

ETA Good situational awareness?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: If she backed into a police car marked or not, why didn't the police officer pull her over right then??? ETA  so she was undercover never mind. It was a Mexican restaurant. She was inside, perhap on "official" business. That brings up my next question of how did she know it was your wife then?   ETA Good situational awareness?

Apparently someone got here license plate number. It might have been the people waiting for her parking spot.

Quoted: Putting aside the LEO reaction for a moment.... If someone blatantly runs into a car and leave before they get caught, they are IMO a criminal and don't deserve a liscence. If someone runs into a car and does not notice they are IMO an idiot and don't deserve a liscence. How would you feel if you just paid 20k, 30k of more for a new vehicle and had it done to you? How would you feel if you were financing a vehicle for the next 4-5 years and someone smakced it and hauled ass?

IMHO, you are an idiot and don't know what you are talking about.  Sheet metal on cars now days are so lite, it takes nothing to put a dent in them.

Quoted: I drove around for 10 min looking to no avail and then returned to meet the police, I waited, waited some more and then called 911 again. The dispatcher told me I was next on the list. I waited another 15-20 min and called a third time. This time the dispatcher was rude and said they had higher priority calls but she could take a report over the phone. This pissed me off. I have been around law enforcement all my life. I have three friends in the same city department, one in the local sheriffs department, and a friend that is now a state trooper. I was a firefighter for 5 years and worked closely with the sheriffs office. I know how law enforcement works, hell I could even tell you what the radio codes mean over the air. I lived 2 blocks from a police station when this occurred and not a single car could come take a report for  (what would be in my eyes) an attempted murder. Moral of the story is that we are substandard to the police. If they have the time and manpower to help you, you might be helped. If not, tough luck. If you try and help yourself you will most likely be the aggressor and arrested. Never depend on the police, in my city they are useless. Now if you mess with the police expect a barrage of officers and you will get the treatment of a lifetime and more charges than you could speak of. There was another incident a couple of summers ago that involved two of my friends getting robbed by three men in ski masks, a pistol, and sawed off, they were walking home from the bar. The police didn't show up to the scene, they waited and walked the rest of the way home after both had been pistol whipped and knocked out cold. It took my third friend (their roommate) calling 911 to report my friend was dying (at their apartment) for the cops to show up. Between these two incidents it was sealed in concrete to apply for my pistol permit and defend myself as necessary. NEVER COUNT ON THE POLICE, EVER!

Sorry your experiences have been so negative. The reality is that your first experience in some cities rates fairly low. The other reality is that calls do get ranked according to severity, whether something is on-going, available manpower, etc. Response will vary from locale to locale and what other criminal activity is going on at that time.

Your last scenario doesn't mention if they called 911 from the scene.

Well good luck with everything.

I am curious as to why the cops didn't stop her right then and there?....were they NOT in the car?....If he was "undercover" why not call a zone car?......If it was an unmarked car, how would anyone have known she hit a cop car?...If it was a new Mustang, the bumpers are fiberglass and/or plastic....a big mean ol' F250 4X4 only left a scuff?.....Come on......Private property, and almost non-existent damages, no injuries.....I'd have to say you have nothing to worry about........On the other hand, maybe they know you're a member of ARFcom and they have their EYE on you!

I made this awhile ago and forgot about it. Seems appropriate now.

We understand you were involved in an accident with a police officer........

what if the cop hit her car but blamed her anyway?  afterall, it is in a parking lot...hit and run in a parking lot is typically a civil matter anyway....

First a swat raid for a safety inspection, now a ninja raid for a paint scratch.  His wife deserves a slap on the wrist, but send her a fine in the mail, like a normal person.  @$$hats!

Quoted: what if the cop hit her car but blamed her anyway?  afterall, it is in a parking lot...hit and run in a parking lot is typically a civil matter anyway....

I was thinking the same thing.

If she bumped his ass on private property, ain't shit they can do about it. At least thats what they tell everyone else so as not to do accident reports. Hell, they won't even show up 99% of the time.

Any Judge with half a ball and a pint of common sense would tell them to piss off.

Quoted: No offense, and I am sure that your wife is a great lady, but she knew that she hit a car.

Yes, she did.
However all the cops had to do was knock on the fucking door and say "please"

Everything has to be a dog and pony show these days.

Quoted: Quoted: what if the cop hit her car but blamed her anyway?  afterall, it is in a parking lot...hit and run in a parking lot is typically a civil matter anyway.... I was thinking the same thing.

Wow, if that is the case, that is just horrible to think.

Quoted: Quoted: Eventually they figure out that rather than clipping an undercover cop and running him off the road as they initially stated, it appeared that my wife made contact with a car (you guessed it, an unmarked cop car) backing out of her parking spot earlier in the day. She was at a restaurant after bowling in a tournament earlier in the day.  The local cops leave  (leaving us and our dog unharmed) and indicate that a cop from the county where the incident took place would come out to investigate. He’s shows up about 1/2 hour later and finds a small scuff about ½” x 1” long on the lower corner of the truck’s right bumper of what appears to be silver paint. The color of the unmarked Ford Mustang. This is your leverage against any kind of serious hit and run charge. If they charge your wife, you demand the original officer is charged with making a false report. If they let you simply pay the damages to the officer's car, then everyone collectively agrees to "no harm done". Frankly, though, my bet is that they make the suggestion that you pay the damages to the other car, your wife gets some kind of citation ("failure to maintain control" or something silly like that), and the whole thing blows over. Don't spend too much on a lawyer before you know what they're gonna do. But don't do any talking to them either. They'll come back with a suggestion. If the suggestion is "pay for the repairs and accept this $500 traffic ticket", then I don't think a lawyer is really necessary.

Fuck that.  I scratch in a parking lot?  "Clipped and run off the road"?

Cops don't do a takedown like that unless they believe a real crime was committed against a brother or sister officer - you can put money on "embellishment" on the part of the complaining officer.

I would sue, sue, sue, I sure would be royally pissed over being detained for NO fucking reason.  If the overreacting LEOs are sharks, I'm hiring Jacque fucking Coustea for a lawyer, and he's got a fucking nuclear speargun in his shark cage with him.  I'm getting the original statements, filing a complaint with the city AND a suit against:

1.  The original complainant
2.  The local officer who decided on the course of action to take
3.  All the little JBTs who swarmed my house and locked me in a fucking squad car while they interviewed the "accused" on the lawn.

THEN, I am throwing money at that lawyer until the city paves my fucking street with gold bricks, provides my own personal snowplow and driver, a garbage truck, two cases of Leinie's Apple Spice beer, a pack of Bull Durhams, and disciplines every one of them INCLUDING firing the bitch who "embellished" the complaint and resulted in MY ILLEGAL DETENTION!!!!

Ohh.....I just figured out you are in Illinois.  THAT explains a lot.

I would be going for a DOUBLE LAYER of those gold bricks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


ETA - sorry about all the profanity.  This is the kind of thing that really riles my gourd.  And I'm not a closet pothead or anything else, just a law abiding tax payinf productive guy.  

Quoted: Quoted: I drove around for 10 min looking to no avail and then returned to meet the police, I waited, waited some more and then called 911 again. The dispatcher told me I was next on the list. I waited another 15-20 min and called a third time. This time the dispatcher was rude and said they had higher priority calls but she could take a report over the phone. This pissed me off. I have been around law enforcement all my life. I have three friends in the same city department, one in the local sheriffs department, and a friend that is now a state trooper. I was a firefighter for 5 years and worked closely with the sheriffs office. I know how law enforcement works, hell I could even tell you what the radio codes mean over the air. I lived 2 blocks from a police station when this occurred and not a single car could come take a report for  (what would be in my eyes) an attempted murder. Moral of the story is that we are substandard to the police. If they have the time and manpower to help you, you might be helped. If not, tough luck. If you try and help yourself you will most likely be the aggressor and arrested. Never depend on the police, in my city they are useless. Now if you mess with the police expect a barrage of officers and you will get the treatment of a lifetime and more charges than you could speak of. There was another incident a couple of summers ago that involved two of my friends getting robbed by three men in ski masks, a pistol, and sawed off, they were walking home from the bar. The police didn't show up to the scene, they waited and walked the rest of the way home after both had been pistol whipped and knocked out cold. It took my third friend (their roommate) calling 911 to report my friend was dying (at their apartment) for the cops to show up. Between these two incidents it was sealed in concrete to apply for my pistol permit and defend myself as necessary. NEVER COUNT ON THE POLICE, EVER! Sorry your experiences have been so negative. The reality is that your first experience in some cities rates fairly low. The other reality is that calls do get ranked according to severity, whether something is on-going, available manpower, etc. Response will vary from locale to locale and what other criminal activity is going on at that time. Your last scenario doesn't mention if they called 911 from the scene.

They called twice from the scene. Waited 10-15 min for a response and walked the 5 blocks home where the 3rd roommate called 911 and reported my friend had been shot and was dying. He said within 2 min he had five cops, and ambulance, and fire on the scene. So it's too busy for a shotgun, pistol whipping robbery but not for shots fired? I would love to see who came up with the priority cards that the dispatcher uses.

It only goes to prove that you can never count on the police to help you unless they decide you are a priority. I don't know about you but I am not to fond of someone that keeps my rights to defend myself to the bare minimum while also playing god by deciding who gets protection and service and who doesn't.

In both my experiences I believe what happened was a major crime, now imagine what kind of hell would be brought on me if I had shot someone in either incident? Months of court cases, civil trial, lawyers fees, court costs, etc..... But hey, if Joe Criminal wants to rob me and knock me out in the middle of the street and the cops never even respond, what kind of message does that send to us citizens?

Also, the credit cards the men stole were used that night and the next day. The credit card company would call 5 min after getting a hit and my friend would turn right around and call the police, do you think they did anything? Nope, not anything. They could have reviewed the tapes at three gas stations, and four mall stores. Eight months later my friend got a $400 bill from blockbuster for the games they rented on his card and never returned.

Quoted: The investigator told my wife that this is taken very seriously, especially since it was a cop car

There's the real problem.  Your wife, a lowly civilian, had the audacity to scratch a cop car. Had it been a civilian's car the cops would be at the donut shop and you would have either never known about it, or have recieved a summons in the mail to go to court.

Get the name, rank, & hourly wage for each cop involved, review the reports, and calculate the cost involved. Get a good look at the Mustang (who else is willing to bet there is no metal damage?). Then send it to the papers. "Bung County sheriff blows $9,356.33 on Logan County parking lot paint Swap."

You'll also want to run down the report about "running a cop off the road." Somebody - especially if the author of that little gem wears a badge - belongs in jail.

I would see what sort of ticket is possable for your state.  

When the police come talk to you I would wonder aloud about the statements others have talked about, this game of being run off the road causing such a small paint smear on the truck would have me seriously ticked off.  The fact the undercover officer now seems to have been in a restaurant during the problem and a 3rd party gave the license plate number to her makes it even more interesting.  Really I think action should be taken on this with a note in her file or something or other because this is complete BS to an unacceptable extreme if what has been posted is true.

Personally I would say there should be no ticket, tell them you accept the concept they wanted to scare you like locking some kid up in jail for threatening his sister, or something similar I recall from a mayberry episode.

Pay a couple hundred bucks to fix the mustang.

As far as ability to operate the vehicle, I think some folks should lighten up a bit since we are talking about pretty light pressure to do the paint smear.  If the mustang needed a new fender or door or whatever I would say she should not operate her vehicle.

I just got a one ton dually with a diesel and I bet I could drag an old volkswagen bug around and not even notice it if it was hidden behind my tailgate.  The f150 or whatever is a lot lighter but you are still talking over 5000 lbs and I would love for someone who might have some idea of what amount of force is needed to damage the mustang to mention how fast that ford was moving when it did the damage.

Quoted: Quoted: The investigator told my wife that this is taken very seriously, especially since it was a cop car There's the real problem.  Your wife, a lowly civilian, had the audacity to scratch a cop car. Had it been a civilian's car the cops would be at the donut shop and you would have either never known about it, or have recieved a summons in the mail to go to court.

Oh, so these cops were military?    

Quoted: The fact the undercover officer now seems to have been in a restaurant during the problem and a 3rd party gave the license plate number to her makes it even more interesting.

Any LEOs care to dispel the myth on what can and can not be pursued based on 3rd party reports?    Doesn't it have to be at least a felony?

ie  If I call the local LEOs and tell them so-and-so ran a stop sign, they can't AND won't do shit about it.   (now maybe if I had proof of it, such as a video, then perhaps  something could be done).

Quoted: It only goes to prove that you can never count on the police to help you unless they decide you are a priority. I don't know about you but I am not to fond of someone that keeps my rights to defend myself to the bare minimum while also playing god by deciding who gets protection and service and who doesn't.

Ever read "Dial 911 and Die"? It provides rock solid documentation of lots of cases where the police knew that the situation was a priority, and still didn't lift a finger. And they have no responsibility for it whatsoever.

The police are here to write reports and take people to prison, not to intervene in crime that's happening RIGHT NOW. They do succeed at it sometimes, but it isn't their primary purpose and you can't rely on them for it.

Of course, us lowly civilians can't be trusted to own and carry effective weapons to defend our lives.

Quoted: Of course, us lowly civilians can't be trusted to own and carry effective weapons to defend our lives.

Be glad you live in TX.

Sounds like  Dept A, whose car was hit,  miscommunicated to Dept B who showed up at the house.

Dept B sounds like they got the message that someone rammed a police car off the road, and responded accordingly.

Betcha Dept B is bitching at Dept A about a misleading report... "You had us at red alert over a parking lot scratch!?!?"

So how did it feel to have a few losers threaten your wife over a bullshit scratch on a car that he doesn't own?

Not to mention throw you in the car like that. How did it feel to have the female cop tell you to sit down and STFU?

You do realize at that point they had their mind made up and were coaxing you for info they plan to use against you in court...RIGHT!?

...anything you say...

It's always best to STFU in situations like that.

Same goes for a breathalizer. He's not trying to see if you are drunk. He's trying to collect evidence for the arrest he is about to make.

Rant OFF

ETA: oh cool, it looks like everyone else is calling BS on this too. I thought my rant was going to summon the Arfcom smurf brigade

Quoted: Quoted: Putting aside the LEO reaction for a moment.... If someone blatantly runs into a car and leave before they get caught, they are IMO a criminal and don't deserve a liscence. If someone runs into a car and does not notice they are IMO an idiot and don't deserve a liscence. How would you feel if you just paid 20k, 30k of more for a new vehicle and had it done to you? How would you feel if you were financing a vehicle for the next 4-5 years and someone smakced it and hauled ass? IMHO, you are an idiot and don't know what you are talking about.  Sheet metal on cars now days are so lite, it takes nothing to put a dent in them.

I suppose you're they type of person to run into something with your car and not notice it.

And they wonder why they're called jackboots.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Putting aside the LEO reaction for a moment.... If someone blatantly runs into a car and leave before they get caught, they are IMO a criminal and don't deserve a liscence. If someone runs into a car and does not notice they are IMO an idiot and don't deserve a liscence. How would you feel if you just paid 20k, 30k of more for a new vehicle and had it done to you? How would you feel if you were financing a vehicle for the next 4-5 years and someone smakced it and hauled ass? IMHO, you are an idiot and don't know what you are talking about.  Sheet metal on cars now days are so lite, it takes nothing to put a dent in them. I suppose you're they type of person to run into something with your car and not notice it.

You are an idiot if you dont think it doesn't happen. Of course it doesn't happen to you (that you noticed anyway). LOL

I'm not saying it doesn't happen. Some drivers are less attentive than others.

Quoted: I would have thought that a simple knock on your door would have been easier. One cop, and he asks to check out the truck since he believes that your wife tapped his ride in the lot.   Seems like a waste of manpower.

Yeah really.

How dare you lowly civilians!

Piggies on patrol.  

Meanwhile, on the other side of town a gang member.....................

I'm inclined to believe she didn't know given the weight ratio the f250 vs the mustang,  She probably didn't even get shock movement when the stang was squashed down.

Quoted: I'm not saying it doesn't happen. Some drivers are less attentive than others.

Well, I'm glad you don't have that problem.

Tag for updates -- hope your wife gets off easy.  I can totally see that happening with a big SUV/truck.

Funny story  One little scratch and they stake out your house.

I get my car totaled by a hit and run, get the asshole's plate #'s, a description of the guy driving, hell I even got his fucking tail light and part of his bumper he left at the accident scene.  But the Dallas PD won't do dick about it....

Here's a link to the story with pics of the car.  Linky

EPOCH