Tobashadow

You do understand all they did was Bond you out of jail?

If you read that again you have agreed to goto court there on July 2nd.

Roadrunner

You get the same notice for any traffic ticket, if you show up at court you can fight the charges if not you forfeit your bond. Personally I would say get the meanest lawyer you can afford and show up, then let him tear them a new one and make that sad excuse for a police officer buy your next house and put your kids through college. Get him a few nights in the slammer for good measure too. Assuming everything you posted is true that guy is a danger to society and needs to be taken off the street.

__________________
- Kurt
“Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.” ~Pericles of Athens
Primary Carry - Colt Commander .45 in a Brommeland Max-Con V

wyldman

I was in a similar situation here in MO.
Officer was a complete a$$, I was theatened with arrest and jail time, harassed and verbally abused and this was way before I had my CCW or a gun.
I filed a complaint and a week later the ticket was dropped and the SGT. of the officer called and apologized to me for his officers behavior.
File a complaint and stop this person from giving other LEOs a bad name.

__________________
Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do

Jackle1886

Good luck with the outcome. People like this shouldn't be allowed to be officers. Keep us updated on how things go.

cagueits

You really need to pay attention to Tobashadow's post.

You need to get in contact with a criminal defense attorney that works on the jurisdiction your case will be seen before court. Heres an attorney locator tool. Make sure that if you retain him, you have evidence that you did (other than a verbal agreement), maybe a canceled check, fax, email, etc (maybe something happens on your court day and your attorney doesn't show up; now you have an arrest warrant issued out to you without your knowledge). Stay on top of your case no matter if you have retained an attorney - there are good ones and bad ones out there.

File a Freedom of Information Act request for any documents, videos, notes, etc, regarding you. Also make a FOIA request for the radar gun's maintenance record and the LEO's training record showing him to have current authority to use a radar gun (if his training has lapsed... legal technicality). Heres Arkansas' FOIA website, read up under FOIA and start your request ASAP.

Contact a civil rights attorney (if your criminal defense attorney doesn't handle that type of case) and inquire about remedies under 42 USC Sec 1983. Heres a brief guide my jurisdiction has available for cases where you can't find legal representation and have to go at it yourself (pro se). Find your US District Court to see if they have something similar.

Make certified true copies of your evidence before a notary public, that way if you ever have to give the originals to your attorney, you have a backup copy that is as good as the origials (stuff gets lost sometimes). You can also have the vehicle inspected (at your expense) for a faulty speedometer - could make your moving violation into a non moving one (lesser fine / offense).

Time is rolling, usually you get one year from the day you suffered damages to file suit - check the deadlines for the jurisdicition you plan to take action on (local/state/federal). Also, take note that in some jurisdictions you have less that a year (sometimes less than 6 months) to file an administrative complaint against a goverment official (in this case a LEO).

Be advised that sometimes IA may run under the "good ol' boy network". If that is the case, Arkansas may have some State Investigation Bureau or an equivalent (I couldn't find any info on one), look into it. You also may turn to the FBI for "under color of law" violations.

PMme if you need aditional info.

Kerbouchard

He was not out on Bond. He got a speeding ticket. He paid for the ticket. That is why 'Must appear in Court' is checked No.

Jeez, you guys are acting like this is the end of the world and like he'll have the gestapo after him.

He was not arrested. He was detained until he paid a traffic fine. He is not out on bond or bail. He doesn't have to appear in court. He admits he was speeding, at least by a little bit. The fine wasn't too much.

I don't know how many of you hire defense attorneys to fight speeding tickets, but I guess you guys have deeper pockets than I do.

P.S. I still think he should file a complaint, but hiring an attorney to appear to fight a speeding ticket is kind of a stretch. The officer probably won't show up. The judge will dismiss it, and you can send your attorney a check for around 10 times the 'fine'

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Duisburg

for you as well! Thankyou so much and I have just emailed the FBI and will call them shortly!

I do not have deep pockets at all, which is why I am taking all the advice I can get and acting on it. I took the advice from my CHL instructor to contact the ACLU and I have not yet heard back from them.

__________________
1- i am not a felon
2- i have passed extensive background checks by the sheriffs department and the FBI.
3- i have been fingerprinted, trained, and tested.
4- i have demonstrated good character.
5- i obey the law.

Metro 40

The FBI? Yeah, I'm sure they'll get right on that.

Don't know about Arkansas, but in my state, you do NOT have the right to see the radar unit. Period. If you are pulled over for a misdemeanor offense, you would be required to sign the summons and promise to appear in court. If you refused to sign, you would be arrested and booked into jail for the offense.

It's been my experience that southern states take speeding a little more seriously than up here in the midwest. Here in Indiana, you cannot be arrested for speeding. (Unless you are going WAY over the limit, which gets into the offense of "reckless driving") Speeding is an infraction, you are simply issued a ticket, and you don't have to sign it. You can either pay it, go to court, or ignore it. If you ignore it, your license gets suspended. That's it. No warrant, no jail. You just have to pay the ticket (and exorbitant reinstatement fees) to get your license back.

In some states, speeding is still considered a criminal offense (misdemeanor), not a simple infraction. You can go to jail for a misdemeanor. Again, I'm not familiar with Arkansas law, except that it seems that speeding is a misdemeanor there. I would imagine that you were handcuffed and taken to the station for demanding to see the radar, then refusing to sign the ticket. I'm betting that this is well within the scope of the trooper's duties.

Your best bet is to make a complaint to the trooper's Internal Affairs division. The FBI and the ACLU do not have time to deal with a rudeness complaint.

I don't know an officer that I've ever worked with who would NOT lock up somebody who wanted to argue on the side of the road and refused to sign a summons.

In short:

1. You argued and refused to sign the ticket.
2. The side of the road is not traffic court.
3. You were taken into custody after refusing to sign the ticket.
4. Your van was searched properly, incident to arrest.
5. You were transported to the station in handcuffs, also proper.
6. Police are not required to read you your rights (Miranda warning) unless you are being detained and questioned regarding the offense which is being investigated. The trooper likely doesn't need any of your statements to use against you. It's a speeding offense, not the Kennedy assassination.
7. Finally, at the station, you did what you should have done on the roadside....sign the ticket and fight it later, or pay the fine.
8. The police don't owe you a ride to the tow lot after you refuse to cooperate.
9. The radar gun said "58." Please provide your certification in traffic radar to prove that you are qualified to interpret the display on a certain piece of radar equipment. Many radar guns list the target speed and the patrol car speed. There is a good chance that you really don't know what you are talking about. If the police have to be certified to interpret radar unit results, why don't you?

The ONLY issues I see with the trooper:

1. He was rude and overbearing. (If your characterization is accurate) Troopers shouldn't be rude, but this is not an FBI matter. It's a matter for his department's IA division. Your complaint alone will not cause any adverse action against him, but if he's had similar complaints before, the department can't ignore a pattern of behavior.

2. He threatened to take your CHL. Check into Arkansas state law for valid reasons for revoking your CHL. Revocation for a misdemeanor traffic offense seems harsh, but it might be that way. Know the law before you include this in your complaint.

By the way, I doubt you'd have gotten a warmer reception to arguing with the Polizei on the side of the road in Germany.

__________________
"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." Wyatt Earp

Supertac45

A misdemeanor other than Domestic Violonce has no bearing on gun ownership. I really doubt that the rest will effect your CCW. I'd contact a attorney that is licensed in Federal Court and go from there.

__________________
Les Baer 45
N.R.A. Patron Life Member
M.C.R.G.O.

Hopyard

It seems to me that it all depends on what Arkansas law is. Are police there allowed to detain, arrest, or whatever you want to call it, cuff and drag an individual who has committed an ordinary traffic offense in?

In some states the answer is NO, especially if the license holder is a resident of that state.*

If this is the case in Arkansas, then that officer was way out of bound--
yet, it might be hard to prove why you were taken in because he failed to specify the charge on the bond form.

And for that reason alone, because I doubt it was an innocent oversight, you need some professional help if you want to pursue the matter.

Of course, if you go to court--especially by yourself-- the cop (if he shows) will just tell the judge, "sorry, honest mistake, I'll amend that form now so everyone knows what the charge is. And just maybe, the judge will allow that. You won't be in a position to argue.

File with IA as someone else suggested and ....I'm not sure what else except don't go back there on your own without counsel who practices in that jurisdiction.

BTW, $110.00 fine for speeding seems rather modest these days.
Notwithstanding all the crap that went on between you and the officer, maybe you actually got off fairly easily, but with quite a fright and some minor injuries to your wrists and shoulders.
__________________________________________________ ___
* Back in the late 1960s, in Des Moines, IA, a school teacher took a bunch of kids on a field trip from a couple of counties away from Des Moines. She committed some minor traffic infraction, didn't have the cash to immediately pay the fine, and was arrested. The school kids were left abandoned on the side of the road.

Needless to say the next day the Des Moines police had public egg all over their faces, and the Iowa legislature quickly changed the law so that this sort of thing could not happen again.

It was common practice back then for non-locals (all across the country) to be arrested for minor traffic offense. No one was safe and AAA fought these arrangements as did trucker's organizations.

I doubt if what happened to the OP is lawful today anywhere, including
Arkansas and Louisiana. But I don't know that.