Re: Police cars--A must read.

[Brad Sheridan <brads@mindspring.com>]

At 06:41 PM 8/25/98 -0400, you wrote:
>>  I wouldn't stop if it didn't look at all like a cop car. There was a
>>string of incidents back east where people were getting pulled over by
>>"unmarked" cars that weren't cops at all. Women were raped, men beaten and
>>robbed. This happened to a good friends grandmother. So if an "unmarked"
>>car tries to pull me over, he has to catch me first. Screw the legal
>>ramifications of it. If I am not 100% sure its a real cop, they won't get
>>me stopped. I've had questionable cars attempt to pull me over before,
>>attempt being the key word.
>
>Legally, if an unmarked car doesn't have the siren thing to put on top of
>the car, are they allowed to pull you over? Would you be charged with
>resisting arrest..? I wonder... maybe consult a cop on this one!

  I think it varies state by state. In Georgia, I had always heard that
they weren't supposed to do traffic duty in unmarked cars. In California, I
think they can pull you over with just lights. I don't really know, and I
don't particularly care, certainly not enough to consult a cop. If I'm not
convinced its a cop, it doesn't matter to me whether or not he has the
right to pull me over, I won't go for it either way. 

  Interestingly enough, not long after these attacks happened in the
southeast, there was a lady who was being pulled over by a SC state trooper
on the interstate at night. She didn't pull over until they got to the next
lighted exit, where she could see the police car, verify it was a cop, etc.
She didn't attempt to elude, she just kept driving at the same speed the
couple of miles to get to the next stop. When she finally did pull over,
she didn't resist in any way, but the cop was raging from the miles of
following her, and beat the tar out of her.

  So its dangerous to stop for a car that hasn't been positively id'ed as a
cop car, its not safe to drive a few miles to get to somewhere safe to pull
over, what does that leave?

Brad


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