Posted: 2/4/2005 11:16:35 AM EDT
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always seem to treat you as though you are a criminal even though you have done nothing and in this case I was the victim. I just bought a jeep cherokee a couple weeks ago. I got home from work and I got a call from a co-worker that she noticed my temp tag was gone when she pulled behind me to leave. I go out and look and sure enough it is gone. I figure it either fell off from wet weather or some kid just ripped it off to be a dick. Kinda inconvenient, but not that big of a deal becuase it only had 4 days left on it anyway and I was getting plates the next day. Well I still have a plate with a current sticker from the last vehicle I sold so I put it on the jeep for the night just so it would have some kind of plate on it and not be towed before morning. I go to bed. 4am rolls around and there is a pounding on my door, I look outside and see a cruiser and a couple cops outside. I am groggy and I turn on my porch light and the officer comes over. Me "what can I do for you officer?" cop "are you Mr. XXXX?" me "yes" cop "do you own a jeep cherokee?" me "yes" cop "is it in your driveway?" me "no its right there" pointing to it on the street cop "shouldn't it be in your driveway?" me "I guess so, I didnt want to block my roomate in and I didn't think it was illegal to park on the street" (its not illegal to park in the street here, cop was just being a dick I guess) cop "where you at xxxx mall today?" me "yes, whats this about?" cop "did you have a temp tag stolen off that vehicle?" me "I noticed it was missing tonite" cop "what plate is on it now?" me "its one I threw on there since my other tag was missing, I am getting plates in the morning and I didnt want to get it towed." cop "since thats an invalid plate we could tow it anyway" me "I am sorry officer, I just didnt want to leave it without a plate on it" cop "you need to call the xxxx county sheriff, the have a stolen vehicle with your plate on it." me "ok" cop "have a nice nite, sorry for waking you" Why couldnt he have said that in the beginning? asking me all sorts of stupid questions he just could have said that. So I call the sheriff dispatch and they put me through to the officer. He starts reading me the riot act about how I should have reported it stolen and If a crime had been committed with my plate on the vehicle that there would be "hell to pay". I guess they are just trying to protect me, but come on, I am the one that had the plate stolen and its 4am. So I decide to press charges on this person and all that and the sheriff tells me that if I want I can pick up the plate at the station, "but it only has a couple days left on it anyway" he says  Thats why I didn't think it was a big deal.  edited to add: I am glad that I don't own a dog for fear of it being shot! 
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| Why do they treat ya like a criminal? You put a invalid plate on your vehicle. You didn't report the other plate missing,stolen. PD is open 24-7 just like a 7-11. All this addes up to look suspicious. Technically its illegal too. You are making their jobs harder by no reporting, and putting on a incorrect plate. |
Some are dicks because 90% of the people they deal with are morons and/or dicks... Some are so stupid as to not report the theft of their tag and then add to the stupidity by placing an improper tag on their vehicle. Can you believe some people are that dumb? |
ASS Must've been a slow donut night. ETA: If you hadn't reported it yet, how did he know you were at the mall earlier in the day? He woke you up because he could. Without waking you, he could have ran your VIN and gotten all the pertinent info he needed. What cause did he have to run the plate on your car parked legally in front of the house (unless it was hand written on cardboard, post wasn't clear about that)? Do LEO's routinely run plates on cars parked on the street? I would think a call to the Chief of Police might get an answer. Sounds like a cop on power trip. |
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I'll admit I'm having some trouble following your story. It sounds as if someone stole your registration sticker so you either cold plated your jeep, or at least committed registration fraud? Now you asking why the cops treated you like a "criminal?" BTW: most people I deal with are criminals, even the "victims." Cant count how many times someone has said "but you cant arrest me, I'm the one who called." |
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Well, when a cop stops you or is investigating something about you, they are different. After the idiot blew through a traffic light and nearly killed me, the DPS officer who interviewed me in the hospital was 100% professional and sympathetic. His first words? Mr.Keith_J, you did nothing wrong. I have 7 witnesses who saw the other guy run the red light. I do have to tell you he didn't make it but my report will indicate he was 100% at fault. You need to see a lawyer before you talk to anyone because of the fatality." |
Nope, you just cold plated your jeep, commiting registration fraud. |
Again, the LEO could have ran the old plate and the VIN of the jeep and found common ownership. All of this could have been done without waking up the owner. And again, how did the officer know that it was a "cold plate?" Was it just luck or was he fishing (running random plates to find something)? How was a vehicle, parked on the street suspicious? After reading the original post several times, I have to assume the police found the stolen plate and were in search of its owner. That being said, why wake up someone at O Dark Thirty? Tact and good judgement go a long way toward community relations. |
Some drunk asshole came into jail a couple weeks ago and accused us of taking the job for that reason. He shut up when I made fun of him for having a little card of his diploma in his wallet. "Who got picked on in high school? Do you carry this to prove to people that you actually graduated?" |
Can't an officer determine that without waking up the owner? If he ran the "cold tag" and the VIN and saw the same owner, wouldn't logic determine that he was not involved? I am not LEO, but assume this could be done. |
Because until he filed a report for his stolen sticker the cops cant arrest the suspects they found in possession of his stolen property. They would have to let them go. That's SOP when you recover unreported stolen property. |
How do they know? Your vehicle is has illegal tags. And you did not report yours being stolen. So you get questioned. Makes sence to me. |
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Gees you guys. The reason he was asking questions is to make sure your story made sense. Like if you find a wallet, you don't ask someone "Did you lose a green wallet with the initials 'G.J.' and 50 bucks in it?" "Oh sure, that's mine!" Are you going to be a dick if someone asks you a bunch of questions about your missing wallet first? One question - was the temp tag on the outside of the vehicle? Every one I've seen is a paper that stuck to the inside of the back window. |
he asked if I was at the mall because the person with the stolen vehicle with my tag on it had already admitted to taking it from my vehicle there. |
Well that makes sense, but he already had the guy for a stolen car. I guess they needed my confirmation of theft of the plate for the next charge then. |
No, he could not. Considering you had the wrong plate on your car, plus your plate was found on a stolen car, it is suspicious, and so are you. His job at that point was to investigate which included talking to you, at his convenience, not yours. That includes waking up the potential lawbreaker which is in this case, you. |
I don't know why, but many officers feel the need to treat everyone like a criminal. Their "us v them mentality" has gone a long way, over the years, to developing the same mentality in me. I must admit that I am one of the worst offenders on the board when it comes to "cop bashing" That having been said, I'm gonna side with the coppers on this one. Sorry, but IMO you shoulda reported it ASAP and putting a plate that doesn't match is an invitation to trouble. Had the guy ticketed or towed you, which he could have done, I would be the first one to declare that the guy is a dick. Under the circumstances, however, it sounds like the responding officer was a decent guy. |
In Illinois, they look just like yellow cardboard license plates and have a "plate number" and are to be affixed where a plate is to be affixed. |
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If I were the officer the thought that you could have given you nearly expired plate to a friend for the stolen car purpose and then just claim that since it only had 4 days left on it you did not report it stolen. When they are attempting to figure something out they are the good guys and everyone else is a possible suspect/criminal. It's what they do. When they fuck up and perform a legal act they run out of leway and need to be informed. Anytime you are talking to a police officer you must act as though they believe you are guilty of doing something illegal because that is why they ask so many questions. Such as the idio that gave the officer to search everthing on the property except the garage. They got a search warrant on the grounds of the specific refusal and found a meth lab. Those cops were responding to a desturbing the peace or some other trivial B.S. call and asked if they could look around. |
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OK, here's my theory as to why LEO's treat citizens like criminals, though I don't think that is a total truism. I am not a Poleece so if any of you guys that are find my reasoning to be half baked, ignorant or otherwise shaky feel free to say so. Also, this has little to do with your situation it is just a general thought. Seems to me the course of a normal work day for a LEO is quite different from that of an average joe's. Though I, as an example, deal with my share of rudeness and dick witted behavior in the day most of the folks I deal with are legit. To my knowledge they are not sociopaths, recidivists, miscreants or perps of evil. Mainly just run of the mill average assbags. The dailey grind of the Laws is an entirely different situation. By the nature of the work the Poleece are immersed in the dregs of our culture. What they see and deal with every day is, no doubt, enough to alter their perception of humanity in general. I think that if you encounter evil every day at some point your trust and belief in humanity is diminished. Consequently it seems logical for them to approach anyone in a situation on the job as a potential criminal. Unless your rights under The Bill of Rights are violated, I would not take it personally. So, that is my theory considered from the standpoint of an outsider to the world in which a Law resides. On a personal note, all of my dealings with Lawmen have been pleasant and respectful. At least in the verbal department. It is never pleasant to receive a ticket of any sort. |
He just did a quick investigation and wished you a good evening. I don't know your laws there, but here he could have charged you with displaying an illegal or altered tag. |
This officer was investigating a crime. He needed to get answers. Yes dark 30 isn't always the most convinent. If the peson had reported a lost or stolen plate he most likely would not have been woke up. If I find a stolen car with a stolen plate from another car I'm going to see if the person who's car it belongs to knows any thing. When I show up and find a car at the residence which has another plate on it I'm going to think somethings fishy... I think that the officer did an efficient job of getting the facts. He didn't go after the guy who was the original victim. I have dealt with dumb crooks. Yes they even use a plate registered to them to steal someones car. I know it sounds absurd. It happens.. Most people here will never have any interaction with lawenforcement other than the occasional speeding ticket. I |
| Sounds as if he did a bit of police work, determined that your temp was stolen and left you be even tho he could have messed with you. Don't really see the problem. What if your stolen tag was used in a felony/shooting/murder. I doubt you would have been let go as you had illegal plates on your ride and your temp. was gone. I'd keep quiet on this one, especially if he did not ticket you for improper tags. Even a quick call about the theft of your temp to the cops would have covered your butt. |
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Complaining about him waking you is lame too. What would you prefer he did? Sit outside your place until your lights come on? Sit there until you leave for work? Wait until you're at work and have you called off the job? He knew you had a vehicle with a stolen temp plate, but got there and found a "licensed" one. I'm sure he's never seen that trick before.  I just don't see a better scenario than what the guy did. |
 chocklet!
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