When Is A Cop Not A Cop

Its a scary story.
When i was a teenager growing up in Chicago. Me and my buddy went to pick up two girls we were dating, they were sisters. Well after picking the girls up and leaving in my buick we got tailed by a unmarked crown victoria, Im talking about this guy was on our bumper. Then came the lights, im talking about the same lights you find on unmarked cars, so we pulled over. We were in a pretty crappy neighborhood, we figuered it was the cops, so we pulled over and waited. Then the car pulls up next to us, at this point my heart dropped, the occupants of this vehicle were nothing close to cops, it was 4 young punk gangbangers! They pulled up next to us, flashed us there gun then speed off! Thank God they didnt shoot. Anyways, Im assuming those punks bought a used police interceptor, which is common in chicago, there are a lot of dealers that sell those, but the issue here was the stroblights were not removed, or were reactivated by those punks. Im always cautious about pulling over for unmarked vehicles, ill usually drive to the nearest gas station, or any public plase were people are around.
 
The only problem is that no pln survbives contact with rea;ity.
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little confused - not sure if it is me or you don't proofread often(you had other examples):D:

when I was a teen this wannabe fed teenager troublemaker into real grenades, sawed off shotguns, you name it had one of those bubble blues mentioned earlier. He scared me half to death back in the days when we ran from cops for a livin'(late teen drinking years).:cool: I went down a huge steep hill, lost my beer, my humility, etc. It was all a joke:). He had driven up on us as we drank and smoked one day. He had one of those old cop cars too(not cop car but the ones that look like it with the side mirror and all). Anyways, he grew up to be a good man: he is with the coast guard police nowadays unless he made a transition to the non-military LEO's.

These cars exist today! You know, the ones that you slow down for on the hwy only to find out it is just some joe schmo who has the vehicle for whatever reason. People need to be careful first! I agree w/Glenn about that. If you have any issue, you need to trust your gut and do what conn trooper said too.

I got pulled over today. Guy didn't even run my name/license. This is Very Rare...even when I am cut a break usually my license is run. Maybe it had to do with me having an answer to his question and probably more that I continued for 1/8 mile and pulled off the major two lane road with only a curb into a little side street.

We had no conversation about guns, but I did not have my firearm on me. I had an apptmt and had to run out the door(bad excuse but I could not be late for that one).

all the best
 
ary I concede it is not a perfect world. My suggestions are based on 15 years as a part time II depupty in Ouichita county AR. This rural county is the largest in Ar. Typically we had two units on patrol. When my partner and I worked it added a third unit.

Our primary dutys were DUI enforcement, security checks of isolated homes, business',churchs and driver assistance on back roads.

When a stop was made we selected the location so as to ensure safety of the vehicles, Officer safety and civilian safety in that order. I only had two run on me. One time we had five DUIs at the same time. The jailer had to come out and collect 4 of the drunks and we called on local Volenteer fire men to secure the vehicles.
 
QUOTE: Secret Agent Man
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What, no pants? That must be a sight to violators just passing through for the first time. Must be a graduate of the Aggie College of Law 'n Order...
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Lets just say the small town police, wear slacks or blue jeans. County seat towns the police might rate a proper police uniform. Small towns don't spend the money the bigger ones do for their police officers. Nonetheless
if you are pulled over by one you can count on paying something, when the JP gets thru with you. The only ones I see are the ones working for the sherrif's dept, and of course the state troopers wear the striped pants.
I have been pulled over once by a trooper, one of the tag lights were out.
I asked my brother about that, thinking it was nitpicking, and he told me they catch a lot of drugs that way. :D
 
When is a cop not a cop?

When it's Robert Birmingham the Blue Light rapist in Arkansas, 1996. Used a blue light on dash to stop single women on remote roads.

The local law did indeed put out the word for women not to pull over for unmarked vehicles until they had reached a well lit public place.
 
Aryfrosty

It was me that made the comment about sometimes people forgetting who the police work for. And I stand by that statement. The Police work for the people. The police derive their power from the people. The police represent the people. Keeping in mind that we as Americans are governed by consent.

Of course the police pay taxes... often more than most of the people they serve. But that dont make them exempt from their responsibilites. IMO every police officer should have to review the constitution, and take a civics course as in service training every year. The police it seem's have joined every other political jerk in thinking the people are here to subjicated by them. As evidenced by the militarization, and generally negative attitude of so many officers today. Being a police officer is NOT a entitlement, or a right, nor is it an oppertunity to play catch up on people who took your lunch money in middle school. It is a privledge, an honor, and a responsibility. All taken on for the greater good.

Glenn.
 
WOW! It seems to me we have a very large number of people here who are stopped by the police on a regular basis. Maybe if you didn't give the police quite so many reasons for wanting to talk with you, you wouldn't have to worry about marked and unmarked cars quite so much. ;)
 
IMO every police officer should have to review the constitution, and take a civics course as in service training every year. The police it seem's have joined every other political jerk in thinking the people are here to subjicated by them. As evidenced by the militarization, and generally negative attitude of so many officers today.
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GlennD, I cannot speak for your experience. I am sure that some cops are exactly as you described. Respectfully, my experience has led me to a different point of view. The Maine Criminal Justice Academy requires cadets to memorize the bill of rights. Most police hiring panels (here in Maine anyway) have citizens of the town appointed by the town's selectmen as voting members of the panel. Every rookie cop has the definition of "Reasonable Articulable Suspicion" (The legal standard that must be met before someone can detained for further investigation) drilled into his or her head. Most cops that I know, could teach a civics class.

If an unmarked car signals to pull me over along a deserted stretch of road at night and my senses tell me to be cautious; I will turn on my hazards, obey all traffic laws, call 911, and drive the speed limit to a well light populated area before I pull over. I would be taking this action out of a sense of self preservation, not because I think the police have forgotten their place in today's society.
 
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I will go so far to add a little. I think every woman alone at night has the right to drive to a more populated area before pulling over for someone she KNOWS is a cop. The more susceptiple(spelling?) ones are hookers, strippers, and the like. There have been many documented caes of uniformed officers taking advantage of these women(or other women). I am a man, so I can't understand these things or I should say fears like a woman can. That being said, every American has the right to feel safe. Let's face it, there are some people in some parts of society's ranks that are victimized more than others and that "turn the green lights on" for predatory males. Many times the predators prey on all types of women anyways. If you have any doubts, play it safe.

PS(and on a side note/slight tangent): Being an adult with children, this is what scares me with predators. We all know they are out there, and they know when they can make their move. I don't really even like to talk about it.

PPS - Those guys(impersonators in Colorado) from my earlier posting in this thread with the news story. They had probably been seeking a woman. After ending up with a man, they were trying to decide what to do(robbery? car theft?). Either way it is speculation, but a woman might not have been that lucky.
 
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question for LEO's

What is your reaction when you stop a car and walk up to it, and the person driving is packing and its in full view, or laying on the seat next to him...

I only ask because when I had to carry for my job I was stopped twice and one LEO was rude and pulled his gun while the other that stopped me just had me get out and then he took my gun until he was done....

my permits were good and the job was Fed. just not LEO
 
He'd better be LEO, Here in Texas with a conceiled license that what that means is conceiled. Every cop in their personal vehicle aint that stupid anyway or the ones that I stopped werent to have gun in plain site even if the can. If I walked up to a vehicle and they had a handgun on the seat I definitely would draw my weapon until we got it figured out. I do plan on going home after my shift.. In Texas if you get pulled over, leave conceiled gun conceiled. Wait for officer to ask for your information and give it and tell him you have a conceiled weapon in vehicle. I ask where and tell him to not reach around it and we continue in the reason for the stop and I usually let the person continue on. Im not one of those who hear of gun and want to remove it, unload it, and everything else.. The best thing is let the officer be aware first off. I hear of alot of others stating they are from another state who dont have to let the officer know in Texas, fine but if I have probable cause to search a vehicle and find a weapon it may not work in their favor. I'll say this it certainly wont speed things up
 
Didn't read the article, but in answer to your question, yeah you have to stop for the lights, ID, or badge. I have worked many plain clothes, unmarked assignments and I've done stops and made arrest. Worked drugs for several years and never wore a uniform or drove anything like a police package, but still made stops and arrest per my assignment. M.G.L. Ch. 90 sec. 25; operator must stop for a blue lights or police officer who has his badge displayed. No mention of marked cruiser or uniform in that law! If the single female driver goes to the nearest well lit parking lot it's common sense for the LEO making the stop. If you rob a bank that the FBI is sitting on and several agents try to stop you, (they don't have cruisers or uniforms,) you had better stop and submit.
 
well farmerboy the one that stopped me and pulled his gun done it with mine in its holster and my hands on the steering wheel as there was no way to let him know and i didnt want him scared. The one that had me get out, without drawing his gun , it was sitting on the seat and I had my hands on the wheel ..oh and one other detail both times my plates were federal plates
 
Can't speak for no one but myself, but like i said I'd let the officer know up front and it is sometimes stressful out there by yourself at three I'n the morning and your nearest backup is 20 min away. And then you have multiple people and gun or guns are found. And if you find a gun does that mean you found the only one there? Don't know just the officer trying to protect himself and sure there are people who shouldn't get to be officers too. But this isn't a perfect world. And personally I'd be the same, if it was a legit stop i wouldn't care the plates federal or not.
 
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Showing a badge or ID doesn't mean squat these days, especially when it's dark. Heck, anybody can buy a replica police badge, e.g.:

http://www.lawmanbadge.com/

www.epolicesupply.com/

For all that matters, you can buy very convincing toy plastic badges in a toy store.

I've often wondered what I'd do if some plainclothes guy pulled me over in an unmarked car in an isolated location and showed me his "badge."
 
The minivan I saw was in Southern IL, it seems IL has a penchant for odd unmarked cars, although a lime green focus would have been even funnier than the minivan to see
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Law Enforcement in Illinois absolutely loves to confiscate vehicles. From local small town police, game wardens, to State Troopers. If there is a way, real or made up, they do everything they can to confiscate your vehicle. The less then perfect vehicles get sold for funding for the Departments. The nice ones get saved and used as duty vehicles. If you own a newer Mustang, Camero, Challenger etc, and have a roach in the ashtray, you might as well hand the officer the keys when he walks up to you on a traffic stop. The car will no longer be yours.

I went to school with a guy that’s Illinois State Trooper. Right now he has a lime green 2010 Dodge Charger as his duty car. Before that was a fire engine red 2000ish Camero. All confiscated vehicles.

But getting back on topic. Would I stop for an unmarked patrol car? Yep. Most are in Illinois. But if a non-uniformed person stepped out, it would be a different story. I would lock up my car and call 911 to confirm if it was a valid stop. I would tell the person that stopped me, through the locked door and closed window what I was doing. If he didn’t like that, it’s too damn bad. My safety is every bit as important as his / her safety.
 
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