Ask A Trooper Anything

Thanks DB.

In my 2 million+ miles of trucking I've had encounters from nearly every state with some form of law enforcement. From the local yocal cop in Georgia that stopped me for speeding and let me "pay my fine" on the spot with no reporting the infraction, clear to the total tearing my truck apart on the side of I-10 in Texas. I have stories galore about many stops from cops, many/most were good. The Texas stop ended up with them finding nothing, writing me up for a log book violation for not signing a page correctly and they pulled off leaving me standing there with ALL of my stuff strung all over the side of the road in the wet grass. MANY many times I've been cut loose with just a nod and a verbal. I can't even remember the number of times that the cop and me ended up just standing there shooting the breeze for awhile. The times are very much different now. Drivers, cops, attitudes toward truckers, laws, etc. have changed so much! Things have gotten so formal and serious nowadays. Yes, I'm getting a bit nostalgic about the bygone days. I think the newer breed of cops(and even some older ones) need to learn that 99% of drivers out here are just blue collar, hard working, honest minded good ol' boys(and gals) busting our assses to make a living. The extreme scrutiny that we are under nowadays would make it difficult for anyone to do their jobs. Everyone has to bend the rules from time to time, e.g: squeeze log books to get home or get a load delivered, push the speed limit a little bit, accidently get on a "non-trucking" route, etc.

I'm also ex-military and know that "yesir and nosir" goes a long way. Attitude helps a lot, but not as much anymore either. Showing respect and a dab of understanding goes a long way, on both ends of the stick.

It's been over 10 years now since my Texas incident, but that one scarred me and always makes me nervous at a traffic stop or scale stop now. Understandibly, drivers are nervous when they get stopped by ANY cops now. THen the cops look at us and wonder why is this guy so nervous.

BTW...I don't truck out west anymore, but I sure do miss trucking out in WA and the Great North West. I go out there now as a tourist, my daughter lives in Portland.

 

I can honestly say I've only once been harassed by a LEO while driving a big truck, and that was partly my own fault. A pick up truck pulled out in front of me on a 2 lane road and decided to only go 40 mph in a 55 zone. This pick up had an ATV in the bed, but certainly nothing that would prevent the driver from going the speed limit. I was stuck behind him for nearly 5 miles when he finally put on his turn signal to turn into his driveway. After he nearly came to a complete stop before turning, and my temper couldn't take any more, I blared the airhorn at him. About 15-20 miles later, I see a county mounty on my back door with the disco lights on. I moved onto the shoulder and was shocked when he pulled right in behind me.

The guy got out of his squad car and I noticed he wasn't in uniform. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans with a gun on his hip, but he did have a hat on that said "Sheriff" on it. He came up to my truck and asked for my license, proof of insurance, etc. I asked him for his badge and ID. He got an attitude with me and then explained that he was off duty, but that he had been driving the pickup that I was tailgating and honked my horn at. I asked him again to see his badge and county ID. He proceeded to tell me how much trouble I could be in if I didn't cooperate, but finally did show me his badge and ID. Now, I couldn't tell a phony ID from a real one and the thought crossed my mind to continue to scrutinize this LEO, but I figured he just got ticked off at me and decided to let me know that I had "messed with the wrong 4-wheeler." (those where his exact words to me) He also let me know that I needed to let all my trucker friends know that he could sit in his drive way and write tickets all day long from nothing but big trucks, but he tries to be nice. He then proceeded to chastise me for my unprofessional driving (admittedly, I was tailgating him). I made a remark about how unsafe it was for him to pull out in front of me and to remain at speeds below the speed limit. He let me know that US and state highways don't have a minimum speed limit and that he could go as slow as he wanted to on that road. The smart alek in me kicked in and I told him that wouldn't be very professional of him.

At the end of the day I just got a long winded lecture from the guy, and he got back in his squad car and left. I went on my way and never saw the guy again, even though this road I was on was a somewhat regular route for me at the time.

I figure in my nearly 6 years out here on the road to only have this one bad encounter with one LEO when I've dealt with dozens more since then isn't too bad of a deal. Every other officer I've encountered has been nothing but professional and courteous. Many of them have given me a break and over-looked things that could have meant serious fines for me.

I treat people the same way they treat me. If I'm being spoken to in a polite and professional manor, I'll gladly return the favor. If you come at me with attitude and hostility (like that lowly IL Deputy Sheriff), I'll likewise gladly return the favor.

 

If you have a problem, don’t just whine and snivel about it. Do something that might actually do some good. Just coming on a forum, where you can remain safely anonymous and making blanket statements about all cops being (whatever) may make you feel better for a bit. But it shows everyone else just what type of person you are.

If you have been a “victim” of “abuse” by a law enforcement officer, there are steps you can take. In this litigious age, department administrators are usually quite sensitive to citizen complaints. While one complaint of a “he said - he said” nature, probably will not lead to disciplinary action, a pattern of collecting these complaints will.

Contact the officer’s supervisor. You can plainly see the department that the officer is representing. It will be on his uniform patch, on his badge, and on the markings of his car. If he is driving an unmarked car, but in uniform, get the info off of his uniform patch, his badge, and his name tag.

If he is in an unmarked car, and is NOT in uniform, he still has to show you some type of identification. If he refuses to do so, you may have somebody who is really NOT a cop, but is posing as one. Get his vehicle license number, and the description of his car. As soon as you are away from him, call 911 and report it!

If it appears that he is in fact an officer, be it local, county state or federal, then instead of complaining by telephone, do it in writing. Sure, you can call his department, but the chances of it being investigated are much less, than if you write a letter.

An anonymous letter will likely be round filed, immediately. If you are going to complain, then do it right. Have all the necessary information, ie; date, time, location, nature of what he said the stop was about, if possible, his name and/or badge number.

State what you see as a problem, in plain language and unemotionally. Profanity and name calling will get you nowhere. If you know you were in the wrong, admit it, unless you are fighting it in court. But that is a whole different consideration.

Be as objective as possible. Request that the matter be investigated. Do not suggest a punishment. Statements such as, “That dirty SOB should be taken out and hung,” should be avoided.

You are making a complaint here, so be sure that you give them all of your information. Name, address, phone number you can be reached at. Also your vehicle description.

One poster mentioned that he had been subjected to a vehicle search, where the contents of his vehicle had been strewn out beside the road in the wet grass. While this is not against the law, it is something that should not have happened, and most any administrator will certainly see that.

Another poster mentioned that he was stopped by an off duty officer, for following too closely. He stated that the officer had pulled out in front of him, then was impeding traffic. There IS a law against failure to yield the right of way, and in most areas there is a law against impeding.

This poster did NOT receive a ticket. Why not? Because the cop knew that he was completely out of line with the stop. HE did not want to document his actions, either the fact that HE caused a traffic hazard, or that he became Billy Bad Butt Copper, and made a bad stop.

Had he really wanted to take legal action, he could easily have written a ticket, even though he was off duty. That type of thing is frowned upon, but he could have gotten away with it. Had he wanted to handle it in a professional manner, he would have called it in, and had another officer make the stop. Then the off duty officer would have met with them, and either given his statement to the arresting officer, or written the ticket himself.

What this was, was a “road rage” incident perpetrated under “color of authority.” UH that is a BIG NO-NO.

Nobody likes to have a complaint filed against them, and anyone can make a mistake. However, if any one officer acquires a number of complaints against him, action of some type or another will likely be taken. Administrators do not like civil suits, and will do just about anything to avoid them.

The last thing I want to say here is that you should cool off and think about the situation before you file a complaint. Try to be as objective about it as you can. If you still feel like the cop screwed up, then GO FOR IT!

 

I know a couple good deputies in my county and whenever I have a problem I will only speak to them. I was driving on I95 home from a friends house and I see lights. I pulled over and hear the words "get out of the car." No problem but I do not deal with city cops who accuse me since I have had bad experiences. I asked the cop to call a deputy Fergi. Two minutes later I was on my way. They had the wrong guy and Fergi proved it by saying they caught the guy two miles away whom was north of me.

I've been friends with this deputy and he knows I wouldn't pull a bonehead move like that.

 

That incident was dec/feb? Not sure exactly but I do remember it was a real snot dripping cold day. He hopped behind me a bit south of Algona and popped me just south of Humbolt. The "I am the law" BS is annoying but I can deal with it. This guy was either new or a born slang for a male member. He wanted fuel receipts and stopped just short of calling me a liar when I said we fuel at Pilots and thus don't get receipts. Couldn't resist pointing out that fuel tickets don't have time stamps on them.

There is nothing to fight in court as that he just gave a warning. I was annoyed though because it was a BS thing he wrote up but anything wrong results in me not getting my bonus. I have dealt with other IA troopers and DOT and had similar experiences with THEIR interpretation of the HOS. They didn't do the warning bit though and I got my money.

 

I've always been kinda concerned about that. So much so that I actually considered starting a business to allow people to have a used vehicle K-9'ed and certified drug free before purchase.

I bought a car one time from a roommate who was a dope head. I took the car into Canada and they searched it at the border. As the dog was going through the car, the only thought in my head was, "Crap, I hope he didn't hide some weed in there somewhere!"

 

I can remember about 20 years ago I was driving my pick up one night when this on coming car kept the brights on. I flashed mine, and they stayed on so I flashed again. Still no dims. So I grabbed my spotlight from off of the seat, and I gave him a REAL bright light. That was when the bubble gum machine came on. He never wrote me a ticket, but I never used my spot light again also.

 

You've hit the nail on the head with your entire post, Don. I snipped this part to add to your post to substantiate what you said. I later spoke with my sister's ex husband who is the chief of a small town police department in the same state (IL) but not the same county. I described the incident in a very unbiased fashion (meaning I admitted that what I did was wrong), and he basically said the exact same thing you did here. His exact words were, "Sounds to me like both of you lost your cool and he wanted to show you that he was a 'bigger' man than you. He knew he could have problems if he did cite you for anything given the way he handled the situation, but he knew he could try to intimidate you. When he discovered that he couldn't intimidate you, it would appear that he became even more irate."

Mind you, I'm well aware that this was one isolated incident that has not and will not effect my opinion of LEOs. I don't harbor any ill feelings towards them collectively. Much like I don't collectively place all truck drivers in with the bad seeds I've ran into over the years. Not to get off on a tangent, but I've ran across far more unprofessional and inconsiderate truck drivers in my time than I have LEOs. Back to the point I was trying to make, I have nothing but respect for the job that LEOs do. Likewise I also understand that they are just doing a job just like I am. They have a boss (or two or three), just like I do. They have a family they would like to go home to when their work is done, just like I do.