David Lieb wrote:
> I....was wending my way homewards at 1am or so....he...pulls me
> over (he really wanted to catch me speeding, but that wasn't
> happening). He assures me that my license plate lights weren't
> working, that a headlight was out (it was, but it had been fine a
> couple days previous when I had last checked it), and that my
> plates were expired, despite the fact that it had a perfectly
> valid sticker on the plate and I had a perfectly valid
> registration in my hand.
And that, my friend, is what is known in police parlence from one end of
the country to another as a "graveyard felony". There are two
purposes: 1) for the cop to stay awake in the dead of night, and 2) to
evade court rulings that hold that the police may not pull you over
without cause. The easiest way to do so is to tell the driver that a
light (usually a brake light) is out. Then he can run a check on the
driver (you would be surprised how many wanted felons are caught this
way), his vehicle registration, and his driver's license (again, you
would be shocked at how many people get caught this way for driving
while their license was suspended or revoked). Once all of this is
over, it is possible for the officer to have you press your brakes and
find that the lights were now working. Or suggest that you check the
wiring for a loose connection.
> If Park Ridge loses a stoplight on the main drag during rush hour,
> they send out a couple of cops to write tickets.
Now, that is dumb as dogdirt! The job of a policeman is to protect the
public (including directing traffic), not collecting revenue (writing
tickets).
> introducing me to a guy and told me his son was the chief of
> police for Park Ridge. He sure got an earful!!!
Not fair. He did not choose his son's job. People should be expressing
their ire at the city council and city administrator. The COP and the
cops on the beat can only do what they are told to do by the political
boneheads!
Buster Evans
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