# When Cops Lie **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2002, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181 "2002-07-22T06:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Iamsocool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Iamsocool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iamsocool)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/21 "2002-07-22T21:29:09Z")
Also, resting your hopes on a cop not showing up usually isn’t wise, unless the infraction occurred in a rural area. Most urban and suburban constabularies have designated duty for court day. At least they do in Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/22 "2002-07-22T22:01:44Z")
When I drove up to binghamton, I noticed that the cruise control doesn’t keep the speed at exactly what you set. If you’re going uphill or downhill, it takes a few MPH before the engine decides to react to speed up/slow down to the set speed. In this case, if you’re going downhill, the CC could let the car go around 73-74 if you set it to 69. Heck, if I was designing the system, I’d probably put a 5mph buffer zone, it’s a nice round number. Cops tend to hide over hills, so this may be what happened. He got you at the top of the hill at 69, but 74 at the bottom. What I’m saying, is that I don’t think cruise control is an exact science. Just cause it’s set to 69 doesn’t mean you’re always doing 69. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/23 "2002-07-22T22:25:18Z")
I’m curious as to why there’s such a widespread belief that traffic cops have a quota to fill. Most police officers of my acquaintance have never worked in a jurisdiction which has that. I’m willing to bet that the judge operates on what he knows to be the truth than on the UL. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/24 "2002-07-22T22:31:42Z")
BTW, how exactly is catching someone in the act of breaking the law dishonest? ---
**Author:** ![Nanook\_of\_the\_North\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Nanook\_of\_the\_North\_Shore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanook_of_the_North_Shore)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/25 "2002-07-22T22:36:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > \*\*Nanook, from the OP: _…ticket for going 74 in a 55._ \*\* :smack: OK I feel like an idiot for missing that. Oops. Mildly off topic, I found it rather amusing that at the same time I got the e-mail notification for this thread I got a spam mail for **How To AVOID Speeding Tickets!** ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/26 "2002-07-22T23:03:29Z")
Yeah, maybe your speedometer was off, maybe the radar was off? How about a book, ‘Beat That Ticket?’ covers stuff like this. There are several books like it at [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) or [bn.com](http://bn.com), Borders, your library etc. Oh, are cops always truthful? Not in my case, but the judge was an ex-cop, what odds, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/27 "2002-07-23T01:23:52Z")
So the cop perjured himself, hey handy? Proof? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/28 "2002-07-23T01:43:04Z")
What other poster have said/advised. You admit to speeding excessively. Suck it up like a big boy and pay the fine. Go, and sin no more. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/29 "2002-07-23T02:00:48Z")
According to this cop, it wasn’t radar. He said he’d been following me for miles. The road was level, no hills. On this road people routinely go over 65 and as long as they’re under 70 they don’t get pulled over. I know a taxi driver who goes up and down that road every day and he said al the taxi drivers know you can go 69 and you won’t get pulled over. The head of the Virginia Department of Transportation in an online chat on [washingtonpost.com](http://washingtonpost.com) came right out and told the public you will not get pulled over for doing 65 in a 55. In practice, they have been letting drivers get away with 69. Like I said, if I had gotten a ticket for going 69, I would 'fess up, no problem. But why would this cop lie? It just rankles that he would abuse his power like that. It destroys respect for the system of justice. This particular cop is known for being especially mean. He drives an unmarked car. Then he acts personally insulted if anyone passes him, as though his unmarked car is supposed to be an obvious cop car and anyone can notice it’s an unmarked cop car without looking real close. He said he had been following me for over 5 miles and that’s how he clocked my speed, not with radar. Why would he go after me like that? I wasn’t driving aggressively; I was very courteous toward the other drivers on the road (most of whom were going the same speed I was). He must have had a hard-on that day, is my only guess. I’m going to get a lawyer, and I’m also going to get my speedometer calibrated. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/30 "2002-07-23T02:43:28Z")
**Monty** , I’m not sure I understand how you don’t undertand why **Jomo** is upset. “If he had written me a ticket for going 69, he would have been within his rights and I wouldn’t protest. But he lied and made it 74 for no reason I can see, other than to be abusive of his power.”-\> thats the dishonest part you were looking for. To me this smacks of being arbitrary. It is apparently a standing practice to allow minor speeding in that area so he is dishonest and says the speed is above grace mark. But anyway **Jomo Mojo** I don’t think you have a chance in court. Maybe bring in the Washingtonpost chat log? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/31 "2002-07-23T02:54:10Z")
Blah blah blah whineycakes. You were speeding. The fine is the same. Perhaps the cop is calling it as **his** speedometer saw it. You can’t know what he saw or why he chose to say you were going 74, nor can you definitively prove that you **weren’t** going 74. _You Were Breaking The Law. Face the Consequences Like an Adult, Pay Your Fine, and **Drive More Slowly**._ It doesn’t matter if people routinely get away with speeding on that road. It doesn’t matter if the cop said that you were going four or five mph more than you think you were, all that matters, in the end, is that you were **wrong**. It’s a matter of degrees, perhaps, but wrong nevertheless. It’s appalling to see someone whining about a cop’s supposed misdeeds when they’ve been caught dead to rights. Suck it up. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/32 "2002-07-23T09:29:29Z")
The Virginia DOT said outright they will not pull you over for doing 69 in a 55? Then what the hell’s the point of the speed limit? Listen, I’m a flagrant abuser of speed limits. (My official European record is going 240 km/h in a 120 km/h zone for a half hour.) However, you are speeding. I don’t care what anyone says, even the Virginia DOT. It’s a speed _limit_, not a suggestion. Every time you go over it, you take a calculated risk. I’ve hung out with enough traffic cops to learn that they hate the question from friends “how fast do I have to go over the speed limit before you pull me over?” There is no rule. It’s the officer’s discretion. And you were exceeding the limit by a full 25%. If Virginia wants to change their limit, then by all means they should change it to 70. Otherwise, I don’t understand your argument. You admit to breaking the law. Maybe the cop lied. Maybe he didn’t. Speedometers tend to overread, especially at higher speeds. It is possible the cop over-read your speedo by 5 mph. That’s not a huge error. You were still speeding. I’m not saying the cop is not lying, but there’s too many variables here to determine what the exact speed you were going is. One thing is certain: you were speeding and you got caught. The cop did his job. ---
**Author:** ![cookeze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@cookeze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cookeze)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/33 "2002-07-23T11:50:59Z")
Gotten new tires lately? Or tires that are of a different diameter than those stated in the car manual, like snow tires? Are your tires overinflated? All of these things will make the car go faster than what the speedometer says. Ever heard the expression, “Don’t make a federal case out of it?” The cop did you a favor. But go ahead and go to court. I wish I could be there. The judge is gonna tell you that you are accused of speeding at 74 in a 55 zone and you are gonna say that’s not so cuz you were doing sixty-nine at the time. They can use the comic relief. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/34 "2002-07-23T19:05:04Z")
Sure Monty, the case was about that three cops didn’t communicate to me in any form when the stopped me so how was I to know what they were saying? This has been going on for too long, so I finally just sued them. Yes, the first thing I told them I was deaf when they stopped me. So, in court, only one cop came, & he said that he communicated everything by writing. So the judge sided with him & to this day, I still don’t know what they stopped me for exactly. Even the judge, an excop (I asked his secretary if that was true) wouldn’t provide an interpreter for the court case (has to). So, I was suing cops for not communicating with me, in a court with a judge thats an excop & who would not make provisions for his courthouse to be accessible for communication. You can imagine the odds. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/35 "2002-07-23T20:05:54Z")
What’s that got to do with the perjury? You are aware, are you not, that perjury is a specific crime? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/36 "2002-07-23T20:30:51Z")
**Monty** - according to what **handy** wrote, he advised the cops that he was deaf, requesting interpreter/accomodations. **handy** states ‘they didn’t comminicate in any form that I could understand’ (which I’m assuming is either written or ASL maybe). **handy** also states that the cop said ‘they communicated everything in writing’ in court (ie under oath). Sounds like perjury to me, right? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181/37 "2002-07-23T23:06:22Z")
That is is wring… He did that right in front of his boss too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-cops-lie/120181.md?page=1)