If I was somehow able to attract the attention of and get him to pull over, could I in theory use the officers traffic citation book to write him a ticket for a traffic violation I had just witnessed him commit? Say running a stop sign/didn’t come to a full stop as an example or even speeding. Assuming of course the officer is not enroute to an emergency call of some kind.
My ex police officer coworker said no but he was not sure of the legal background as to why or why not.
I have a feeling that would go over astoundly badly. You’re in the States, so this link applies - I see the word “felony” mentioned a couple of times, and I can’t imagine running a stop sign as counting.
Depending on how cynical you are, I think your only viable options are
Get depressed and go home
Complain to a superior at a police station
Videotape said offence and mail it to a local media outlet.
I wouldn’t try it. What would you gain? Maybe bragging rights… but that’ll come with PISSING OFF A COP.
Even if it is possible (which I have no idea if it is or isn’t) you’ll gain nothing… probably waste a lot of time and maybe have to go to court and the police station.
If you live in a smaller town don’t expect any cops to give you slack for any shit you do after that.
Or you could just watch him do it and not try to chase him down.
Most police encounters of the traffic kind only have personal testimony by the officer and the violator. The officer generally wins because his testimony is is considered more trusted: he has prior training in the subject and has no vested interest in persecuting you. Can you say the same?
Police officer ticket books are issued to the officer by the citation numbers on the tickets. That officer is the only person authorized to use those citations.
And under most circumstances, police officers are not compelled to obey traffic laws during the commision of their daily duties. In fact, attempting to perform a traffic stop on an officer would probably result in your arrest for interfering with the duties of a police officer.
The above info was given to me by a deputy with the Pierce County, Washington Sheriff’s Department.
The police offer has been granted permission by the government, at some level, to violate traffic regulations in the commission of his duties. You haven’t. If you suspect that an officer is abusing his or her position, the proper response would be to file a complaint with the police department.
When they ignore you, file a complaint with a concil member or your local representative. Some of them like beating up on the man to impress a constituent.
But you don’t get to pull a cop over to give him or her a ticket. You don’t get to place a police officer under citizen’s arrest. And just because you pay taxes does not mean you pay their salary and they owe you some measure of special treatment.
With only a few exceptions (emercency run, pacing a violator, etc.) while on routine patrol a police officer must obey the laws of the road the same as everyone else. In fact, one of my fellow officers was on duty, in a squad car, in full uniform, when he was pulled over by an officer from another department (State Patrol) and given a ticket for speeding!:eek: I shit you not. This really happened!
As for a “civillian” writting a ticket? Not a valid, legal option.
Make a complaint to a police supervisor or call your city councilman.
Although before you do, you may want to consider the following facts:[ul][li]For cops it’s childs play to find out where you live, what kind of car you drive, where you work, etc.[/li][li]If a cop does A Bad Thing (which could range from petty and vengeful to felonious and fatal), he has friends capable of helping him avoid the full consequences.[/li][li]Cops carry guns.[/li][/ul] No, I’m not paranoid, I’m just saying…
Well, I came close to saying “do you really want to piss off someone who can make your life miserable?” but avoided the temptation.
But if a cop does something that is really bad, report it! I’ve met a couple of people who slipped through the cracks and got a badge on their chest when they shouldn’t have. I had the unfortunate opportunity to work with a man who was truely mentally ill and working the streets. Some of the things he did and said were down right sick. He even pushed a gun into another officers chest once and made a bunch of threats!
His downfall came NOT from reports the chief got from other officers, but from an investigation that started from a citizen complaint when he was working on a patrol boat on a lake!
Let’s be reasonable, though. Just because some patrolman makes a rolling stop or speeds a little now and then, doesn’t mean he’s a bad cop or needs to be fired.
It seems to me like the OP is wondering whether it’s legally possible, not whether it’s feasibly ever going to happen or a good idea to try. Say my friend is a cop, and he humors me by letting me pull him over and write him a ticket using his own ticket book. Would the court hold it up? If not, is it because, as a civilian, I’m not allowed to write tickets to anyone, or is it because the offender is a cop?
I live in the uk and unless police are responding to an emergency call they must abide by all road laws. They can only violate them if using their emergency lights and/or sirens.
There have been cases where police have been prosecuted for causing accidents at traffic lights as they shot the red light on response to an emergency. The accident was caused because they had their lights on but did not have their sirens going.
It is not possible for us to issue tickets to police but you can try and flag them down for a laugh.
3 years ago at about midnight I was bored and saw a police car driving along without his headlights on so I followed him, flashing my lights for him to pull over. It was over 2 miles before he finally stopped and stormed over to my car very displeased to see what I wanted. I told him I stopped him as he had no lights, he spun round saw I was right, glared at me, stormed back to his car grunting under his breath and drove off.
A traffic ticket is a legal document. It is a summons: it command you to appear in court to answer the charge placed against you. If you fail to appear as the summons directs, you are commiting a separate crime, and are subject to arrest.
The law permits police officer to issue such summons. It does not permit just anyone to do so.
However, it’s perfectly possible for you, a private citizen, to appear before a magistrate and swear out a complaint that says you observed officer such-and-so violating the law. The magistrate, if he found probable cause to exist, could conceivably issue a summons or warrant for the offense.
As other posters have indicated, there are a host of practical problems with this plan.
I once saw a police car parked across two parking spaces in the lot of a convenience store. I went in and ragged on the two officers about it, although in a friendly sort of fashion. The driver was a bit shamefaced, and said, “You’re right; I’ve ticketed people for doing what I just did.”
I have no idea what would have happened if I’d asked him to ticket himself…
Well, as long as we’re being reasonable… just because some citizen makes a rolling stop or speeds a little now and then, doesn’t mean he’s a bad driver or needs to be fined.