Day in court.
This is the statement I plan on reading in court this week regarding the ticket I received a while back...
Your honor,
I understand the nature of cases like this. I realize that I have very little chance of winning my argument here because it boils down to "he said she said" in which case the officer gets the benefit of the doubt. I, however, am here strictly for the principal of the matter because I believe that the officer in this case has made a mistake. Please understand that I have received tickets in the past and never fought them in court because, in every single case, I was in the wrong. I firmly believe that I came to a stop at the sign in question. I believe that the officer gave me the ticket, not because I failed to come to a complete stop, but because she had to tap her brakes when I pulled out in front of her. My view is the officer assumed that I did not stop because of her need to slow down due to my true mistake. To be completely honest I did not see the officer due to the vision, or lack there of, at the particular corner where I stopped. Truth be told, I had no choice but to come to a complete stop because of the SUV at the intersection in front of me. When I arrived at the intersection in question, I stopped at the stop sign behind a large SUV that had pulled 1/2 way into the same intersection making a left turn. The SUV was already past the sign and I was stopped at the line corresponding with the sign. The truck eventually made its turn and I checked to my right, the only direction traffic could come from on the one way street, to see if the way was clear. I did not see the officers cruiser because her car was completely out of my field of view behind a sign for the DUI class I have in this picture taken from the drivers vantage point in my car. I went forward with my left turn and pulled in front of the officer completely by accident. I believe she pulled me over, not because I failed to stop, but because she was, understandably, upset at me for endangering her and pulling in front of her car without having enough space to properly execute the turn. The officer immediately turned on her lights and pulled me over. I complied in a timely manner. I felt bad for stopping where I did because of the nature of the traffic. When pulled over, I prefer to stop in an area that will put our public servants in the least amount of danger from traffic. On this occasion I felt as though I had no choice but to stop where I did so that the officer would not think I was trying to evade.
When she told me the reason she pulled me over, I was surprised and upset. I replayed the events in my head and concluded that I had, in fact, come to a complete stop. I gave the officer my license and she went back to her car to write the citation. As she was sitting in her car, I was becoming more upset at the situation because I believed, and still do, that I came to a stop at the sign and she was making a mistake. She returned to my car and I signed the ticket. As she was walking back to her cruiser I, in my distraught condition, said "Thank you for wasting my time and increasing my insurance rates for no reason." I realized, before I said it, that this was a snipey and rude statement, but I was upset and I felt that I had a right to be upset. The officers response to my statement was. "You better cut it out or I'll arrest you for obstruction." I understand that an officer has the right to arrest me from keeping her from her appointed rounds or "obstruction." I don't see how she can threaten me with obstruction if I already signed the ticket and she was on her way back to her car. Last time I checked, as an American, I have a constitutional right to free speech. I don't appreciate being threatened for exercising that right in a non-threatening manner. I did not curse at the officer. I did not threaten the officer. I did not prevent the officer from doing her job in any way. I felt here threat was unfounded and this is a secondary reason I'm here fighting a minor traffic infraction. I believe I'm a good person and have never been threatened by any public official in such a manner. I feel her conduct was unprofessional and as a citizen of this city, this is not how I want my community to be represented in the future.
I understand that many police cars these days have dash cameras. If the officer can show me film where I failed to stop, I will gladly, plead guilty, pay the ticket, and be on my way without wasting the any more of this courts time. If the officer cannot produce this video, I would like plead not guilty and exercise my right to a jury trial.
...I'm an idiot for trying to fight this thing.
Your honor,
I understand the nature of cases like this. I realize that I have very little chance of winning my argument here because it boils down to "he said she said" in which case the officer gets the benefit of the doubt. I, however, am here strictly for the principal of the matter because I believe that the officer in this case has made a mistake. Please understand that I have received tickets in the past and never fought them in court because, in every single case, I was in the wrong. I firmly believe that I came to a stop at the sign in question. I believe that the officer gave me the ticket, not because I failed to come to a complete stop, but because she had to tap her brakes when I pulled out in front of her. My view is the officer assumed that I did not stop because of her need to slow down due to my true mistake. To be completely honest I did not see the officer due to the vision, or lack there of, at the particular corner where I stopped. Truth be told, I had no choice but to come to a complete stop because of the SUV at the intersection in front of me. When I arrived at the intersection in question, I stopped at the stop sign behind a large SUV that had pulled 1/2 way into the same intersection making a left turn. The SUV was already past the sign and I was stopped at the line corresponding with the sign. The truck eventually made its turn and I checked to my right, the only direction traffic could come from on the one way street, to see if the way was clear. I did not see the officers cruiser because her car was completely out of my field of view behind a sign for the DUI class I have in this picture taken from the drivers vantage point in my car. I went forward with my left turn and pulled in front of the officer completely by accident. I believe she pulled me over, not because I failed to stop, but because she was, understandably, upset at me for endangering her and pulling in front of her car without having enough space to properly execute the turn. The officer immediately turned on her lights and pulled me over. I complied in a timely manner. I felt bad for stopping where I did because of the nature of the traffic. When pulled over, I prefer to stop in an area that will put our public servants in the least amount of danger from traffic. On this occasion I felt as though I had no choice but to stop where I did so that the officer would not think I was trying to evade.
When she told me the reason she pulled me over, I was surprised and upset. I replayed the events in my head and concluded that I had, in fact, come to a complete stop. I gave the officer my license and she went back to her car to write the citation. As she was sitting in her car, I was becoming more upset at the situation because I believed, and still do, that I came to a stop at the sign and she was making a mistake. She returned to my car and I signed the ticket. As she was walking back to her cruiser I, in my distraught condition, said "Thank you for wasting my time and increasing my insurance rates for no reason." I realized, before I said it, that this was a snipey and rude statement, but I was upset and I felt that I had a right to be upset. The officers response to my statement was. "You better cut it out or I'll arrest you for obstruction." I understand that an officer has the right to arrest me from keeping her from her appointed rounds or "obstruction." I don't see how she can threaten me with obstruction if I already signed the ticket and she was on her way back to her car. Last time I checked, as an American, I have a constitutional right to free speech. I don't appreciate being threatened for exercising that right in a non-threatening manner. I did not curse at the officer. I did not threaten the officer. I did not prevent the officer from doing her job in any way. I felt here threat was unfounded and this is a secondary reason I'm here fighting a minor traffic infraction. I believe I'm a good person and have never been threatened by any public official in such a manner. I feel her conduct was unprofessional and as a citizen of this city, this is not how I want my community to be represented in the future.
I understand that many police cars these days have dash cameras. If the officer can show me film where I failed to stop, I will gladly, plead guilty, pay the ticket, and be on my way without wasting the any more of this courts time. If the officer cannot produce this video, I would like plead not guilty and exercise my right to a jury trial.
...I'm an idiot for trying to fight this thing.
posted by Glenn at 1:52 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home