Two Sundays ago, i was pulled over in downtown Flint, MI for driving 45mph in a 25mph zone. First off, i was going 25 to 30mph tops. I spotted the police car following me for an extended period of time (at least 6 blocks and 3 stop lights before "flashing-lights"). No one in their right mind would see a police officer and begin to speed...
Anyway the following is my account of the incident:
-- Police cruiser/suv follows me from corner of Dort Highway and Court Street
-- Police cruiser/suv is directly behind me from Dort Highway to point of “stop”
-- Officer pulls me over just past Crapo and claims that i was speeding (45mph in a 25mph)
-- I accept that i was speeding BUT never past 30mph (especially since he was right behind me all the way until point of stop)
-- Officer ask for my driver's license and registration.
-- I give him the proper info (license and rental car registration).
-- Officer asks for registration again.
-- I explain to him that the car is a rental and the rental registration is the registration.
-- Officer asks if i had been drinking
-- I say “Yes. One beer at dinner which was 2 hours previous.”
-- Officer asks various questions about the beer I had (ie: what kind of beer, what size of beer, where i had the beer) on top of asking where i was going and what i was doing in town among other questions.
-- I answer all questions
-- Officer asks me if i have any weapons/illicit drugs in car or on my person.
-- I say “No.”
-- Officer has me get out of car and searches/fricks me.
-- Officer asks me if i was using any illicit drugs.
-- I say “No.”
-- Officer has me go thru sobriety test and a breathalizer.
-- I pass all test/breathalizer.
-- Officer returns my drivers license and says he’s going to let me go with a warning.
-- I say “Thank you... and may i have your badge number?” (and also ask for my rental registration because he did not give it back).
-- He takes my license back returns to the police cruiser.. Then after a 20 minute wait, he returns and gives me a ticket for speeding (40mph in 25mph).
-- I protest and say/ask “ so basically you are giving me a ticket for asking for your badge number?”
-- Officer says “Yes”
-- I ask “Why cant you give me a ticket for the actual speed i was going?”
-- He then explains that my drivers license has to be taken/impounded (out-of-state license) and i will have to pay a bond to get it back
-- I ask how much is the bond.
-- Officer says $120-$150 approximate
-- I say "Can I pay it now" because i will not be able to take a flight (the next day) due to the fact that i now have no valid picture ID...
-- After another bit of a wait while he goes back to his cruiser, the officer returns and tells me i can follow him down to the police station and take care of it there.
-- After asking him if i would get another ticket for driving without a license, I follow him to the police station to pay the bond ($120 cash / equivalent to the ticket)
the whole debacle took about 1.5 hours...
The good news out of all of this is i did get my license and my money back but the money went to lawyer fees to get the speeding points on my license stricken from record... awaiting final notice on that ---- wow.
