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Pulled over after the cop lost the race

Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Messages
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Location
Greenville, Texas
First Name
Jack
Last Name
Sands
I was coming home from Fayetteville after Bikes Blues and BBQ last Sunday a week ago. I had gotten up at 4:30am so I could be at my home church at 10 am. It was an uneventful ride until I got down to McKinney on US 75 southbound. I was rollin along about 80-85. I came up behind a lady who was in the left lane, talking on her dang phone, oblivious to the fact she was road-blocking the left lane. Well, an opening came and I was able to bop over two lanes and back over and continue to motor on down the road in the left lane, except the other vehicle I moved around in the process was an all blacked out Ford F150 with private plates. Now I'm not saying I was wrong or right, but he started shadowing every move I made. Finally after a couple miles of this cat and mouse dance, traffic cleared and I could see down the road for about a mile or mile and a half. "Ok big boy, lets see what you have"...…. I open up the Goldwing for a high speed run up to about a buck 25...…… well it's bad sportsmanship when you lose the race and turn on your red and blues. I said to myself...…."I'm going to jail, not church". I eased off to the shoulder and put my flashers on. I stopped and he got out and came up to me and said...."You need to slow that bike down!", I said this..."I would have taken off if you hadn't started shadowing me, that not cool in this day and time, I have no clue if you intend me harm!", he says: "I get it, but I had to slow you down, I turned my lights on at 110 mph, just slow it down." Me: "Yes sir, thanks and have a good day." I had hit 125 mph. I cannot believe I walked on this ticket. He wasn't running any radar either. Just a Collin County Deputy out on Sunday morning commute. I guess he thought I was gonna run and he was gonna get to chase me down. Yeah, I know it was stupid, but a heck of a story to tell. Oh and I half blew out a Plug and Go plug in the process as a few miles down the road my FOBO app on my cell started saying "Unsafe Tire Pressure". Made it on to church with about 27 lbs left in my darkside rear tire.
 
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If it's got no markings, I ain't stopping. Anybody can get lights. We have a couple stealth cars with discreet lights, but even they have subdued markings.
 
I have police lights on one of my cars. In Texas, lots of cops do.

They are for working off duty jobs. (consturction zones and traffic contril for events mostly)

It is occasioally tempting, but turning them on for traffic violations is an 11 on the scale of bad ideas. It is against policy pretty much every where. If I see a road hazard or a crash, sure, Ill turn them on when I pull off to the side of the road to help. Perfectly fine. If I saw a heavy felony, there are some situations where it would be ok as well.
 
He didn't write you because he wasn't supposed to be pulling any body over in his POV. I wouldn't have stopped for him.

You technically do not have to pull over for an unmarked car....but it is still a legal stop, even if unmarked, even if a POV. If the POV off duty guy tries to pull you over....and you don't, you can not break any laws not pulling over, but you are not in the wrong for not pulling over. However, just an FYI, if he gets a marked unit to pull you over, whatever he wanted to pull you over for, even in an off duty, POV, he can give you a ticket for or arrest you. In Texas, cops have their powers 24/7 and statewide. (there are a few details to that but that is another issue)

Having said, that, it is probably against that agencies policies and some judges may not like it....but it was still likely to have been legal.


A few technical things to know. Like it or not:

Some elected officials, specifically a few Constables, use POVs for patrol/to make stops. They are well within their rights to do so. No matter how bad an idea that is.

Some legitimate, agency owned, undercover cars have private plates.

If you are lit up, you are very unlikely to know if it is legally marked or not. You better call 911 if you are going to not pull over. If you don't, you lose a lot of leverage on your claim that you thought it was a nefarious act. If it is legit, then, you will be told. If it is a cop, legal as it may be, doing something he shouldnt, you also establish a record by calling 911.

It is never a good idea to blow it off.
 
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If you are lit up, you are very unlikely to know if it is legally marked or not. You better call 911 if you are going to not pull over. If you don't, you lose a lot of leverage on your claim that you thought it was a nefarious act. If it is legit, then, you will be told. If it is a cop, legal as it may be, doing something he shouldnt, you also establish a record by calling 911.

It is never a good idea to blow it off.

We live out in the country and I always tell the wife of she gets lights behind her at night to keep driving with her emergency flashers on and call 911. I told her to tell them you have lights behind you and you don't feel safe and drive home or head into town to a public location.
 
We live out in the country and I always tell the wife of she gets lights behind her at night to keep driving with her emergency flashers on and call 911. I told her to tell them you have lights behind you and you don't feel safe and drive home or head into town to a public location.


Cops in more rural areas should not have a problem with it. You get lit up, you slow down, call 911, and the problem gets solved.

In urban environments, it can cause some hostility. For the most part, cops light you up where they want you to pull over and have their reasons for doing so.
 
Working a rural part of Texas, I've had more than a few violators throw their hazards on, slow down, and keep rolling until we get to a well lit/populated area, and I am in a marked unit in full uniform.

I've also had a few call 911 to verify I was a cop. One was particularly funny because it didn't go to my dispatch, it went to a neighboring county's.

Personally, in that given situation, I would have called it in and let the on duty guys handle it, but that is just me.
 
Was he tailgating you prior to the race?
Not tailgating, but shadowing my every move. I was watching him do it. Not close enough to call tailgating though. But when I see the red and blues come on, I pull over.
 
Not me...anybody can put pretty little lights on their car, but then I don't cruise around at 100mph either.
I was only cruising about 80-85, not sticking out as way faster than the traffic that was around me, I don't like to stay beside anyone as you can be in a blind spot, so I move on through a pack of cars. I didn't hit the hyper-drive switch till the traffic had cleared out.
 
One night I got stopped by an off-duty HPD officer well outside his jurisdiction in his POV. I didn't realize it wasn't a marked unit until after I pulled over.

He must've been going in or getting off as he was still in uniform, I was already a cop at the time. Before he had a chance to say anything I asked if his LT was aware he was making stops in his POV outside his jurisdiction while off duty, then drove off. Yeah the guy had stripes and still didn't have the snap to understand his actions weren't bright.

It's ridiculously unsafe and idiotic to make traffic stops unless you're in a marked unit and on-duty. Some little town PD or Sheriff's office out in the sticks might allow it in their policies but none in the greater Houston area do for good reason. It's something I tell my new guys all the time, if you want lights on your POV have at it. Don't flip them on and congrats now car burglars could target you knowing it's possibly a cop's car and could have toys inside.

Any agency that's squared away will have a policy that requires a marked unit to make a traffic stop. If our undercover or detectives need a car stopped, they radio it in an there are more than enough guys around who are eager to assist.
 
informative thread.
Thanks to our LEOs in the group for sharing their insights and knowledge.

To thr F-150 officer's credit (if the quote is accurate) he turned on the lights to slow down the rider; not necessarily pull him over. However a reasonable person should expect a driver to pull over when they see reds and blues. He may have chosen that specific verbiage to protect himself.

I see anecdotally the OE top speed for regular F-150 is 105mph. May look like 110 on the dial. He likely lit you up when the engine limiter started and you were still pulling away rapidly. :lol2:
 
Quite often, there is no way to tell POV from a duty vehicle. My neighbor is a HPD officer. Not a moto cop, but he qualified and has had a POV Harley for many yrs now for doing side jobs (funeral, crane escort, etc.) Other than the POV plate, it looks just like any other police bike. A motorist can't see the plate in the rear view mirror.
 
I see anecdotally the OE top speed for regular F-150 is 105mph. May look like 110 on the dial. He likely lit you up when the engine limiter started and you were still pulling away rapidly. :lol2:
lol
 
Had no idea of not having to stop for officers on POVs, but very difficult to discern in most situations. . .
 
When you look in your mirror at 120+ mph, reds and blues tend to mean you're going to jail. And they all look alike too.
 
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The radio is always faster than the bike. I saw two white police vehicles today, one a car and one a SUV. Not sure the agencies but they had white markings on the cars that I assume are reflective at night. Maybe Collin Co. uses unmarked vehicles in some cases? I have also seen some F150s used as LE vehicles as well.
 
Had no idea of not having to stop for officers on POVs, but very difficult to discern in most situations. . .


Yeah, the laws are written to express two realities. The stop is 100% legal, but unless it is a marked car, (and they define marked, which is why you see the cars with ghost markings, those qualify) You do not actually have to stop. The thinking is, the unmarked car should have a marked car available to make the stop. Again though, keep in mind, whatever the unmarked/POV/off duty guy observes, is 100% actionable. (no matter who stops you, you can still be charged/arrested)


As a Husband and father, I utterly understand the legitmate fear some folks have with "is that really a cop," especially in rural areas.
 
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