When in my twenties, I first started driving around in my red TR6. I was
very rarely alone. I always had the company of a police car somewhere
nearby. I have seen police cars pass me going the other direction, slam on
the brakes and nearly hit people just to turn around and follow me around
for a few blocks. At one point I had tickets for every conceivable stupid
thing one could imagine from headlights that were "uneven" (one slightly
brighter than the other) to dangerous driving at excessive speed (35 miles
per hour in a 30 zone at 1:00 AM on a deserted 3 lane road).
The sight of somebody who stuck out or was in their "radar" was a constant
irritation to the police. It would be wearisome to the list to describe the
details of how my LBC was the original red flag in front of the bull
(strangely enough in Quebec the police are referred to as "les boeufs"
literally "the bulls"). Suffice it to say that until I took the car off the
road for 10 years for a complete rebuild and got older, I was hounded
everywhere. I too was dragged off the cells a few times for fabricated
"offenses".
The news of this ruling made headlines even in Canada. I live in Quebec
which is a joke as far as deomcracy and the people's rights. There are none
here, just lip service. The provincial government just gerrymanders (sp?)
whatever they want to do so that it benefits "the majority" and then
steam-rollers it through parliament. I must say that I truly thought the US,
even with all its headaches, was better in this regard. I was shocked to
hear the news. Here in Canada we tend to regard the US as a sort of leader
in many areas related to the protection of liverties (sometimes they forget
the responsibilities part but that's another discussion) and what happens
down south often is copied or used as an argument. Now I am worried for us
too.
Mark Hooper
72 TR6
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael D. Porter [mailto:mporter@zianet.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2001 9:36 AM
To: triumphs@autox.team.net; spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Admittedly, I try not to inject politics... (long)
... into list subjects, but I feel compelled to do so now, given a
recent Supreme Court decision relating to the rights of citizens with
regard to police on-the-spot decisions. There has been a case recently
decided by the Federal Supremes that any police officer can detain,
handcuff and jail any person for any infraction, however minor, if not
specifically exempted by state law.
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