Apparently a driver ticked off a cop by passing him on the road. When pulled over, the unarmed driver put his hands on the steering wheel. Coo shot him at the same time he was says hands up. Killed him.
No doubt there will be some sort of investigation.
The obvious suspicion will be that somehow the cop will, as in so many previous cases, be found innocent of any wrong doing.
Damn. I see two possibilities;
1> Stupid cop (who has enough experience to know better) violated one of the primary rules of gun safety and put his finger on the trigger. Due to his anger and fear, he squeezed the trigger hard enough for the gun to go off.
2> Murder under color of law.
Stop resisting.
Here in the great State of Washington, it is illegal to block traffic by left-lane camping, no matter if you are doing the speed limit or above. Just a few days ago the local news had a small bit about this. In 2010 (or maybe 2011, forget which) there were over 10,000 stops made by the State Patrol because of this, and over 1,200 tickets were written. I think the cost of each is $124.
Dude. Yeah, man. Here’s a hint, dude: If it had nothing to do with what I said,
put it in it’s own thread.
Is that what all those Yield signs secretly imply?
What, you don’t see the subtle “to authority” underneath?
And I suppose I’m the only one who sees “disobeying” under the word STOP?
I hear you. I was confused as well why they all assumed you were on a road with multiple lanes.
I generally have no issue with cops and have been let go with a warning far, far more than I’ve ever been given a ticket so no sour grapes here, but I totally agree with the OP. I’ve seen cops do this and I’ve always figured it was an intimidation thing and just take my foot off the brake and slow down until they pass me. Obviously I’m not going to slow to an absolute crawl and block traffic, but I’ll slow down.
It seems silly.
They’re running your license plate.
And trying to make you fuck up so they can use the flimsiest pretext for a stop.
Happened to me about 10 years ago. Coming home from a very long and fancy dinner, I have a car get so far up on me that I can’t see its headlights (I drive a truck). It follows me like this for four miles, through a four-way stop and two turns.
I’m both nervous (because I had beer with dinner, though I knew I wasn’t close to the limit) and pissed off (because these are rural roads through wooded areas in late November, aka deer-dodging season, and I prefer all my attention to the front), and I make the second turn a tad too quick. By “tad,” I mean my tire was on the yellow line (on, not over, said the cop).
Lights on, pulled over. Confessed to having had beer with dinner. Did the stupid human tricks (shivering in mid-30 degree weather). Blew into the breathalyzer (not even close to red). Then the cop has the gall to tell me he’s letting me go with not even a warning because he “believes my story” about having beer with dinner (clearly implying that he was doing me a favor and that he could have run me in for DUI had he desired).
Fucker knew that he didn’t have PC for a stop in the first place. I hope it ruined his night when there was nothing to show for the time he spent being an asshole, driving like a dick, and endangering other motorists.
Hunh, I’ve been driving almost 35 years, have lived in multiple states, and have driven through most of the others at some point. I can’t say as I’ve ever had a cop tailgate me, nor have I felt bullied or pressured to drive a certain way by a cop following me.
I must lead a charmed life or something
.
Yeah, so all those idiot WA drivers come over to Oregon where there aren’t signs every 47 feet on the interstate reminding the mouth breathers to get the fuck over and they get up in the left lane going 2 miles under the speed limit and they stay there forever. It’s like a little mini-vacation for them or something.
Probably.
I’ve been driving for 46 years, and I have had stupid cops harrass me on several occasions. (I’ve never owned either a muscle car or a beater–nothing that would be a cop magnet.)
Not often enough to generalize from “some cops are jerks” to “cops are jerks,” but often enough to know that you have led a charmed life.
= = =
A deputy in my county used to make a habit of tailgating drivers at night to get them to exceed the limit, then pull them over. Finally, one guy who knew of the situation found an idiot on his back bumper one night and decided to address the issue. As they crossed a narrow bridge, he jumped on his brakes and the cop, with nowhere to go, rear-ended him. When the folks at the house at the end of the bridge came out, the driver told them to call the Highway Patrol, since it was a police matter on a state highway, then told the responding OHP patrolman that he had braked to avoid an animal that had come across the end of the bridge. The cop was cited for failure to assure clear distance and, with the resulting publicity, the sheriff finally made him stop his stupid cop tricks.
I was being tailgates on a 45 mph country road late at night. I had no idea it was a cop, just headlights blinding me. I had been through a very rough day, and was in a crappy mood already.
I did the worst thing possible. I tapped my brakes. I figured he would hit me and the circumstances would hurt him more than me; I’d just let the insurance companies figure it out.
His reflexes were good and I did not get rear ended. But his cop lights went on. I pulled over. I was sober and all my paperwork was in order, but the near wreck had him furious. He was going to ticket me. I told him I hit my brakes because I saw a deer alongside the road. He said he didn’t see one. I just sat there, smug and silent.
He realized I’d get the ticket dismissed in front of the magistrate, and walked off, still angry.
Fuck 'da po-leece.
I haven’t had a good experience with them yet. IF I do, maybe I’ll change my mind. But they’re fully in “dickhead until proven decent” territory with me now.
It’s ironic that a few people thing causing an accident by sudden braking (regardless of whether they are being tailgated) is appropriate. It’s a rather foolish thing to do. If it really bothers you, take your foot off the gas and gradually slow down. You’ll be passed in no time. Otherwise, if it’s some idiot, you’re likely to escalate a case of road rage.
Just last week, I was cruising home, about 10 over the limit, and as I was passing a semi, I check my mirror, and two cars from practically out of nowhere were on my ass. I sped up to about 15 over, to get in front of the semi and move to the right. Sure enough, I was passed very speedily by two state troopers, on in the in the typical cruiser and one in the unmarked Dodge Charger. No lights, no sirens, but they were in a yank.
Also in Washington State is the law requiring a bag in every car for trash. Whenever I’d hear of anyone being ticketed in violation of this, I knew they’d failed the ass-kissing exam at the pullover.
What a bunch of crap. That’s what the passenger floorboards are for!
I thought that’s what empty fast food bags were for!