i had only been carrying for about 4 days and i get pulled over so i was kinda nervous about having a gun on me.
we were going to my parents wednesday night driving my wifes car.
we get to the little town for the turn off to go to my parents fixing to exit the highway when this cop comes flying up behind us for some reason. i wasn't speeding or anything so i was confused when he turns on his lights to pull me over.
i get stopped and get my drivers license, handgun permit, and insurance card out to hand them to him when he gets to the window. he asked for my info and i hand him my info and he looks at all 3 for a few seconds each. he looked at me and told me that my insurance card had expired the day before but it was ok just get me a new one. my wife then tells him she has the new one she had just giving him the old one.
while she was looking for the new one he informed me he had pulled me over because her license plate light was out. she handed him the new one, he looked it over for a second, handed me back all of my cards and told me to have a nice night and get my light fixed. i said thank you and we would get it fixed. he turned around and went back to his car and drove off. :wave:
he never mentioned anything about my permit, if i had a handgun or where it was. just told me to have a nice night and was gone. i was very happy that it was so uneventful.
i would like to think that the CHL made him think that i was a responsable person that did have insurance but just didn't have the new card with me that's why he was going to let me off with (kinda of) a warning.
Good to know. Honestly.. that is pretty much how I would expect an interaction to go with a LEO. If you are providing him with your carry credentials, he really shouldn't expect any "issues" from you.
Glad you had had good experience and got off with the warning!
I like to see when they look around in my vehicle, quite honestly.
If someone had just kidnapped a child the LEO whos actually LOOKING might actually catch a bad guy now and then.
Just like I love it when the cashier asks for my ID when I use a credit card. I wish they would all do that. If they did then it would be harder to use a stolen credit card so it might not be worth stealing as much.
Fairly good chance that it was a slow night for him, and the light out was PC for stopping you. Most guys will let you go if there is nothing else out of place.
I agree with the rest of the group, it should always go just like that. Glad to hear you had a good experience. :hand10:
Have you actually CHECKED to see if the light is out? I know that many California LEOs will use that excuse for PC to stop a vehicle for a fishing expedition even if the light is working. If that is the case, you should make a call to the PD where this occurred to let them know that their officers are taking liberties with their authority. Most departments frown on this type of activity.
Glad everything went smooth for you. Don't be so elated about not getting a ticket that you tolerate violations of your rights, though.
I agree with Keith. I also wonder about your statement that "he came flying up behind you" I can't see a reason for excessive speeding to pull over a broken license plate light. Just too dangerous.
Sounds like a good stop...If you're around DFW, then I suspect your interaction was pretty much the norm...Most TX LEO's can run your DL, know the status of your insurance and CHL, pretty simply...
Granted, stopping someone for a defective license plate light is clearly a fishing expedition, but once he profiled you and your spouse, it was obvious that you were not what he was hoping for.
Regards,
Dan
I have been stopped three times since I started CC. Two resulted in the "slow down next time" ending. The other was by a Texas DPS officer at 1:45am New Years morning. I wasn't doing anything wrong - nor had I been drinking...my wife on the other hand...:Eyecrazy: Anyway, the female DPS officer was more than nice and off we went.
I can't help but believe that here in Texas, having a CHL may actually be a good thing.
Granted, stopping someone for a defective license plate light is clearly a fishing expedition, but once he profiled you and your spouse, it was obvious that you were not what he was hoping for.
Regards,
Dan
"To my mind it is wholly irresponsible to go into the world incapable of preventing violence, injury, crime, and death. How feeble is the mindset to accept defenselessness. How unnatural. How cheap. How cowardly. How pathetic." Ted Nugent
my license plate light was out. it was the night before thanksgiving and he was parked on the side of the highway waiting for someone to pull over. there was lots of different police on the side of the highway waiting to pull people over on our way down there, mostly DPS. i seen him parked on the side of the road, then the next thing i saw was him coming up behind me. i think he was just looking for someone drinking and driving because he didn't run my drivers license number, unless he can get all my info from my license plate numbers.
from the way i understand the law in TX is we are supposed to give our CHL to the LEO when they ask for ID but if we don't give them our CHL there is no fine anymore.
I was pulled over my a Sheriff's Deputy for having my tag light out a few years back (before my CWP), bad story for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO). I apologize if this story comes out long, but it aggrevates me.
I went to pick up my fiancee from work and we were driving home. It had just gotten dark, and I was driving my usual way - the speed limit or thereabouts (I never drive more than 5MPH over, for the record). I'd been in the same lane for about 3 miles... so I couldn't imagine what a Deputy had left his hiding spot next to another deputy for.
He pulled me over, walked up and did the license, registration, insurance thing. Everything was all well and correct, no problem. I ended up having to ask him if he'd mind telling me why he pulled me over.
He responded that my tag light was out. I explained that it was my fiancee's car which I didn't normally drive, but thanked him and let him know I'd get it fixed straight away. I'm thinking it's not a problem, he'll just let me go or at the most give me a written warning.
Wrong. He walks up with a full-on unsafe equipment ticket. Something like $75. I asked him politely if a written citation was necessary in this case. He explains he's writing me a ticket because drug dealers take the tag lights off of their cars so they can run from the cops and they won't be able to read the tags. I'm thinking "I'm sure this guy ran my plates... am I a crack dealer and I just forgot about it?" He said if I got it fixed and had an LEO sign off on the ticket I could just mail in the $7 (or something like that) dismissal fee and it'd be taken care of.
Wrong. I did just that. I fixed it (the bulb was like $4... not a big deal at all) and had a neighbor who is a Lieutenant with the PBSO sign off on it. Made copies of everything, mailed it in and let it go.
A month later I get a call from my Dad (my drivers license still had my folk's address at the time because I'm a college student here for school) saying he'd gotten a letter saying my license was going to be suspended for an outstanding ticket. I was furious and called the Clerk of the Court to try and get an explanation.
The woman I spoke with at the CoC was very nice, and it obviously wasn't her fault. She explained that the LEO that wrote the ticket was completely wrong, and a tag light violation was not dismissed for the $7ish fee as I was promised. If I fixed it the county reduced the fine by $7, making the penalty $68 instead of $75. She explained that LEOs don't really have any idea what traffic citations cost or how to resolve them and she hears my exact story dozens of times everyday. Unfortunately even though I was misinformed my the LEO I still had to pay the full fee... oh yea and a $12 LATE FEE because it was not paid in full by the required date.
In the end, it isn't even about the over $80 that was needlessly wasted by the LEO being an idiot and a *****, it was the principle of the thing. What if I hadn't ever gotten that letter and my license had been suspended?! I could have never known I was driving without a license... which could have been a major problem if I was pulled over again. I wrote a complaint to the Sheriff's Office and never got a reply, big surprise. PBSO is just a joke.
I had a $10 parking ticket (late 1989 or early 1990 or so)that I paid by mail one time and 'supposedly' it never was recieved (paid with a quickie mart money order, I dont do that now).
Anyway, I was driving for months with a bench warrant and didnt know it over that stupid parking ticket.
I was hit by a man who ran a stop sign and basically totaled my car. When the LEO ran both of us he found out that I had this bench warrant. It was that stupid parking ticket.
So I have to pay it again.
But what kills me is that they knew my address and I never did recieve a thing saying that the ticket wasnt paid or that there was a bench warrant.
They really do need to get things ironed out better.
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