Blackmail? by an officer.
 

I have a question.

I have a very recognizable car, and was recently pulled over and given a speeding ticket.

The officer based his pulling me over on "us being called in by an off duty officer who said we were driving dangerously and speeding" - Which wasn't the case at all. We may have been speeding, but not more than anyone else was. We were driving with the flow of traffic except for passing people. Anyways, thats not important. He didn't get me on a gun or anything.

The officer said he was "giving me a huge break" and said that if I dispute the ticket, hes "going to see me and court and will charge (me) with street racing and excessive speed"

There were 4 of us driving together, on a single lane road. We were NOT street racing. He said that driving in a group and speeding is classified as speeding under the MVA.


What I'm wondering is:

A) Is the the officer legally allowed to 'blackmail' me into paying the ticket? Saying "pay it or i'll charge you with other offences'. He literally said: "If i get notice that you're disputing this ticket, I will meet you in court and i will bring the officer who called you in and will charge you with excessive speed and street racing, and will attempt to get your vehicle impounded"

Is this not blackmail? Isn't it my right to fight a ticket?

B) Can i be charged with another offence in court, if i'm going to fight the ticket? If i go to fight this speeding ticket, can i be further charged with something else if i wasn't charged at the time he wrote the other ticket?


Thanks for the insight.

But you just said you did speed and more than anyone else when you are passing people.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

sounds like blackmail
better lawyer up and sue his ass!

He charge you for speeding and you did just that.

What is your basis for disputing?

based on the info you gave, i'd dispute it - it takes 1.5-2yrs for the system to call you and by that time do you really think the witness will remember what happened?

The ticket was handed to you for speeding.

Per your initial post:
We may have been speeding, but not more than anyone else was.

Allow me focus on the main point.
We may have been speeding, but not more than anyone else was.



Also, please don't try to bullshit a car forum. 4 friends in different cars. I'd wager my balls you guys were showing off your cars to each other by driving fast. We've all done it before.

probably one of the worst places to ask if u want an actual answer

blackmail - definition of blackmail by The Free Dictionary

You have the right to dispute any ticket. During the trial evidence will be entered by the crown outlining what happened....all evidence. JP will hear it and yours...and decide if evidence has been prevented to convict you. Crown have up to 12 months after the breaking of the law to enter any further charges, cancel what has been issued and reissue a new VT or just go with what they have already issued. You may call it blackmail...,hardly...others may call it giving you a break.

A) That's not blackmail, that's the officer letting you know he gave you a break, but if you decide to try and abuse that he'll no longer give you a break. B) You can be charged up to 12 months after the offense occurred, disputing and taking it to court has no impact on their ability to do so. Since you only have 30 days to dispute the officer has plenty of time for filing any other possible charges.

Except you have to dispute within 30 days, when the witness is still very capable of ensuring they don't forget anything.

Great argument

OP admits to speeding, gets a ticket for it. Accuses the officer of blackmailing

Lol

Its not the ticket I care about. Its 200$. Minor.

What bothers me is the way he handled it. Was simply inquiring what you guys thought about it.

We were on the way home from a car show. It was me, my girlfriend, another good friend of ours and some random genesis. We absolutely were not driving like d-bags. No differently than I'd drive on my own.

But Zulutango and Underscore answered what I needed. Thanks.

I'm just going to point out that if an off duty cop took time out of his day to phone you in, I'm going to believe his story over yours. I mean be honest, why the fuck would he phone you in over everyone else. Unless this cop is some sort of sadist and loves to see others get tickets they don't deserve...:rolleyes:

Even in your own story you admit to some questionable behaviour:

You admit to driving with the flow of traffic which is fine, everyone does 10 or 15 over the limit, no big deal. But then you go on to say that you were then passing people on a single lane road? Something isn't adding up.

If you were going with the flow of traffic on a single lane road, which is already 10 to 15 km/h over the limit, why the fuck were you passing people? If that's the truth then you can probably start to see the issue..

Either way you already admitted guilt on a public forum, so just pay the ticket, and enjoy the fact that the officer likely did give you a break.

There are always going to be people who drive 5-10 under the limit.. that was who we passed. There were multiple cars that passed us as a group. Again, not disputing the fact that we were speeding.

And that's what your ticket was for correct?

Which, when you think about it, makes sense and is A-OK, because the MAXIMUM speed you're allowed to travel is what is posted.

Just dispute it.

See what happens and update in a year.

If you were in the right, then it'll be thrown out.

If you bullshitted us about the event and had the book thrown at you, you will either

a) whine about lack of right like that other retard that got held up at a road block for 20minutes

b)Say nothing because you were embarrassed for being an ass and this thread will die.

see? easy.

Actually, I side with OP.
I was driving my S, minding my own business pulling up to a VPD cruiser.
I wasn't speeding since it was light out and I could clearly see the marked vehicle.
As I pull along side. the officers slams on the brakes, pulls behind me and flips on the lights.

One officer comes to the driver side window and asks to see my driver's license while the other office does the walk about.

The first officer asked me if my address on the license is correct and I said no. I informed ICBC and they said they were going to mail the sticker out to me.
Then the other officer notices that my front plate was on my dash and not mounted to the front of the car.

So the officer writes me up for the front plate and not having the correct address on my DL. and then crosses the second charge off and tells me that he will write it back on if I dispute the ticket.

Well, I disputed the ticket, even phoned the officer and left him a voice message asking for his notes from that night.
Never heard back from him and he never showed up at court.

To me, it wasn't blackmailing, but a form of intimidation to get me to pay the fine and not dispute the ticket.

If I was op, I would dispute the ticket. From what OP has told us, the officer who wrote him the ticket only heard from an off duty officer that OP may have been speeding and the ticket issuing officer never caught OP speeding. The intimidation, imo, was used to keep OP from disputing the ticket which he has the right to do so.

OP has the right to question his accuser. In this case, the accuser is the off duty officer.
I would love to see OP dispute the ticket and see what the officer has to say to the JP if they actually do show up.

To have avoided those VTs...install your front plate instead of having a sharp-edged piece of metal sliding dangerously on your dash. You can change your address instantly if you visit any Autoplan agent and tell them. You were issued the VT because the database still showed your old address. You are required to let them know of the change within 10 days.

If you are requesting legal disclosure it must be done in writing and you must describe exactly what you want.,..and what you want must be able to be disclosed. When you get legal you get handled legally. A phone call fishing expedition will not get you results. He gave you a break on the fail to notify and he is correct in that he has up to 12 months to lay the second charge if he wants. You show up and question him...and if you testify he has the right to cross examine you too.

I wasn't pulled over for the front plate violation. We were east bound with the sun starting to set.
If the officer looked in the mirror, all the would see is the setting sun.
This is backed up by the fact they were not aware of the plate until the other officer did the walk around the car.
And I did go to an autoplan agent to get my address changed before getting pulled over. I received the sticker in the mail a few days later.

As for disclosure, either way, the officer that issued me the ticket never showed up and I would love to hear what happens in court to OP.

And the way I see it, the officer could have said it in a less dick way to seem less intimidating.
He could have said to OP "I gave you a break this time. I could have charged you with XXX other motor vehicle offenses but I am only issuing you a ticket for XXX"
But "if you decide to dispute the ticket, I will tack on XXX motor vehicle offenses" is something that doesn't need to be said.

Inb4 OP emails the cop's dean.

If I remember correctly, don't the cops needs a reason to pull you over? They can't just pull you over for no reason, inspect your car, then ticket you from that inspection..

If the reason was to inspect the condition of the vehicle, thats reason enough. You can be pulled over to confirm drivers licence (and compliance with any restrictions), insurance, sobriety and vehicle condition, without having observed a violation.

You disputed a completely legitimate ticket? This is why our courts are so backlogged you dunce.

I don't even know where to begin with this statement.

First off, the courts being backlogged have nothing to do with me disputing a ticket.
If Crusty Clark deemed the courts being backlogged was an issue, then she'd allow them to hire more people or stop the OT freeze.
Heck, they would reopen the Burnaby courthouse if the issue is that bad.

Secondly, at what point was my ticket a legitimate ticket? As I said, I was given a ticket for having the incorrect address on my DL, which I did go to an autoplan agent to have the address corrected. It's not my fault ICBC takes a week to snail mail the sticker with the amended address on it.

And really, calling someone names. FailFish