They were not nice

[Giggan]

Last Night I was driving home from a movie theatre with my friends Joe and his little brother James, and Joe's girlfriend Emily. It's about 12:20 in the morning, and there's next to nobody on the road. I'm driving in a safe manner as always, so with no one around, I see no need to signal a lane change or go up to the speed limit (I'm staying under, which I'm sure police would find "unusual" at night though it's far from unsafe or even illegal). All of the sudden I notice from a distance a sedan is coming up behind me with its high beams on. I get a little perturbed and move over from the right lane to the left lane without signaling hoping the moron would just pass me. Instead he stays on me, and by this point I don't have very positive feelings for the driver. I tell my passengers that I'm going to brake, a little game I play with drivers that get on my bad side. I start to brake and slow down to like 10mph hoping he'll just pass. If not, I keep my foot on the brakes so my lights are on, but I'm not braking, and speed ahead, which usually leaves them behind. As I start slowing down, Emily says, "wait," glaring back. Then a spotlight blasts on, and the infamous blues follow closely behind. My passengers express a healthy mix of anger and frustration and annoyance. I've been through this three times before, and try to always approach it with a clear mind, but this time the mild anger for the way the officer was driving behind me already leaves me with a bad feeling about how this will go.
Then James, who is sitting behind me says, "What do I do with the gun?" James is 17. I then remembered that I let him look at an airsoft gun I had in the car, and while harmless and unloaded, surely the police would pull their very harmful and loaded guns on us if they so much as saw the airsoft gun. I wanted him to stuff it back in the pocket behind the seat, but in quick response, I tell him, "just shove it under the seat". I forget to tell him not to bend over and do what police identify as 'furtive movements'. I don't know if there are laws pertaining to minors being 'in possession' of airsoft guns, and for a second I wish he'd given it to Joe to shove under the seat so it would be legally within his 'constructive possession'. Once in the situation, you fully realize how ridiculous all of these legal dictates are. I didn't look back, but apparently James must have used furtive movements to hide the airsoft gun because as soon as the cop approached the vehicle he says to me "roll down this back window". I think of how I should have told everyone to say, if asked, is that, "The only information I have to give is my name is _ and I live at _."
I roll down the window and he says to James "what were you hiding when I pulled up behind you?"
"Nothing"
"I saw you shove something under the seat, what was it."
Joe cuts in which helped redirect the tension well.
"You talking to me?"
"Hold old are you?"
James: "17"
Joe: "19"
"Lift up that bag for me."
Luckily I have some random crap in the car. My criminal justice textbooks, Ron Paul flyers, a good-sized US flag. I didn't think of it at the time to protest an order to 'lift up that bag'. I couldn't see, but I imagine James did it and there was nothing there that shocked the officer. Then he finally redirects his attention to me, the driver, and I'm ready for it. I hand him my license, but I don't carry the registration on me. In the three other stops, it hasn't been a problem, and I don't expect one now. I know he can get all that information on his computer anyways. I notice a second cruiser pulls up behind his.
"How come you were swerving from lane to lane?"
I wouldn't have classified it as swerving. I wish I'd have gotten his name, some officers are at least nice enough to introduce themselves first, rather than making their first approach a patronization for whatever harm you've done against mankind.
"To be honest I got a little creeped out when I saw you approaching with your high beams on and changed lanes hoping you'd just pass me."
I figured 'creeped out' would come across better than angry/annoyed, which was the actual emotion I felt when he approached.
"I didn't have my high beams on".
That threw me for a loop. It's quite a disorientation to think just for a second that you were wrong when you know you were right.
"Oh...well, to be honest, it really seemed like they were on."
He said something about running the information and went back to his car. I was glad he only took my ID. Once before an officer ran mine and three passengers. Then there was some talk in my car about if he comes back for ID, to respond that they don't have it on them. I tell them not to lie, but if asked, just give your name and address and say that you have nothing else to say. I ask my passengers if his high beams were on, and they all agree that they were definitely on.
He's gone about 5 minutes before returning and hands me back my license. I say 'thanks' and wonder why I did, trained response I guess. I believe he was waiting for me to say something, but I've learned being talkative can have ill effects. I wait for him.
"If you ever feel uncomfortable about how someone's driving behind you, best thing to do is stay in your lane and let them pass rather than going from lane to lane."
I forget my response. I probably just let slip an 'OK'.
He walks off and I leave, feeling a little freer with each inch of distance I put between myself and the cruiser. I was as close to overjoyed as possible after an encounter like that when the cruiser took a different road rather than following me onto the highway.
As much as I was angered by the officer's driving and the stop, I found it to be a positive experience as I'm less nervous with each encounter with police and having experienced a liar I feel I've overcome something. That really bothers me that he'd do something to antagonize a driver and then deny it when I pointed it out to him. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, it is possible he didn't realize his high beams were on earlier, but in that case I would have expected an apology when he returned to the car to give me back my license.

Everything quoted of course is from memory so it lacks 100% authenticity.

[slim]

Sounds like the cop was sniffing for drugs or alcohol (I know alcohol is a drug) I use my turning signals even when I am sure no one is around me because just incase I did not notice someone driving around me, I do not use the turning signals because they are mandated by law but because I like to notify other drivers and pedestrians of my intentions. If you were driving and signaled I see no reason why the blue light gang would of had to pull you over unless you crossed one of their lines in the road which does not sound like you touched the lines.

[Kat Kanning]

Man, what a thug.

[J’raxis 270145]

Drive aggressively so as to cause another driver to inadvertently violate a traffic rule in order to get out their way.

Nice. Is that one of their new entrapment techniques?

[41mag]

Drive aggressively so as to cause another driver to inadvertently violate a traffic rule in order to get out their way.

Nice. Is that one of their new entrapment techniques?

I thought is was an old technique.

[Raineyrocks]

I don't know if anybody remembers the post I put up about an undercover cop trying to make himself a 3rd lane in a 2 one-way lane street in Philly one time, trying to pass up my boyfriend when there was absolutely no room between the 2nd lane we were in and the parked cars on the side of us.  Finally as soon as he got an opportunity he pulled into a 7-11 real fast in front of us and blocked our way, pulled a gun on us and didn't identify himself as a cop for over 15 minutes.

People just stood around watching even after he identified himself and we asked people to be witnesses to his behavior but nobody would and my boyfriend got a couple years probation for attempted assault, (he tried to find a roofing tool to protect us not knowing this asshole was a cop), and driving recklessly.   Eeerrrr, it still pisses me just thinking about it, the cop didn't even show up at the court date!

[Dave Ridley]

did you say you got into the *left* lane when a motorist was coming up behind you?  or did you mean the right lane.

[Raineyrocks]

did you say you got into the *left* lane when a motorist was coming up behind you?  or did you mean the right lane.

We were already in the left, (2nd), lane when the cop came up behind us trying to create his own 3rd lane that didn't exist to pass us up.  He expected us to move over into the other lane, I could tell by his aggressive nature but there were cars in the 1st lane so we couldn't even if we wanted too.  Plus my boyfriend was one of those, "screw you, your not going to bully me" kind of guys. 

I think that answered your question, did it?   Seriously let me know because I get confused a little with right/left things.  (Head banging against book)

[Giggan]

did you say you got into the *left* lane when a motorist was coming up behind you?  or did you mean the right lane.

If that was for me, I was in the right lane and went into the left lane. Though the left is normally treated like a passing lane, on that strech of road it turns into a turning lane only so there isn't really a passing lane.

[firecracker joe]

bullies and thugs with badges especially the younger you are the more arrogant they are. I tend to smile laugh and ask why they're pulling me over. then cj growls and that always throws them on/off guard and chills e'm right out.