Cops

Ok this is just stupid. I was just pulled over 5 minutes ago in Greenwich CT. Yeah I know its late at night. Matt offered to let me crash at his place for the run tomorrow. He is in NYC tonight so he locked up his house when he left. So as I'm hanging out in my car I decide to drive around and get to know my way around the back roads. I'm driving along and then decide to head back so I turn in the next street and turn around. Then I see a cop pull out and start following me. I'm minding my own business going under the speed limit because the roads are still wet and somewhat slippery. Plus I didn't want to give the officer any excuse to pull me over. I signal at every turn, stop at every stop sign, etc. I'm less then 1/2 a mile from Matt's house and he turns his lights on. Now I'm just annoyed honestly. I did nothing wrong to warrant being pulled over but I did....w/e **** happens. I roll down my window and give him my license, insurance card, and vehicle registration. He starts interrogating me asking me what I'm doing, why am I driving around, where I'm going. I answer all his questions. He tells me he will be right back to run my plate and all that fun stuff. Then I notice 2 more cop cars with their lights on. Is it necessary to have 3 police cars? Come on now. Then the other officer asks me what I'm doing driving around and I explain everything to him. Then the other officer finally comes back after 5 minutes and hands me back all my info. I look at him waiting for some sort of response. He goes on to tell me that "They don't like people driving around at night".......WTF!! Is he serious?! I can understand suspicious behavior but I don't think driving around is considered suspicious. He also told me he knows it is my right to drive around.....wtf again. Why was I pulled over then? Seriously cops in this town have nothing to do so they will go after you for anything they can think of. Oh well....


Funny as I'm typing this I hear a cop turn on his siren on the next street...lol!!

Also why did the cop ask me for my cell phone number and proceed to write it down? I don't quite understand that and if anyone can chime in specifically on that I would appreciate it.
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See what happen when you drive a VDUB! LOL JKJK! They probably were suspicious of you driving back and forth. Alright! You're no longer a Virgin (at getting pulled over that is)

 

Haha. I was driving around...not back and forth Unfortunately I was pulled over once before when I was driving behind a cop on the highway. That is being taken to court though because it was complete BS.

 

Cops can be a pain sometimes. Some are just plain stupid. This exact situation has happened to many COUNTLESS times from driving a regular carr to driving one of my sports cars. I just laugh it off and them being stupid.

 

The reason why they asked for your cell number was to check if you were using it while you were driving around. I suspect they have had break in's around the area and that's why you were pulled over. They ran your plate and it told them you were from out of the area. You most likely were doing a casual drive which didn't have an end point in mind giving them cause to see if you were the owner of the car. Your best bet was to tell them you were lost and then ask them where the house was that you were going to.

 

The police department in Greenwich is different than it is anywhere else in Ct. The entire department was actually started back in the day as a private security force for 1 wealthy gent in the area. When he was on vacation he would lend their services to others in the area and started adding to his group of guys.. Then it grew so large the town hired all his guys and added some more, put a few on greenwich avenue (originally to show that there were an abundence around) and it became the Greenwich PD. The cell phone question is one of many they ask for a few reasons.. The first reason is to watch your response.. If you give it up without hesitation they know there is no issue.. Also they will have a contact for you in case thye have any more questions.. Also they DO have the ability to check if thats actually your number.. If anything DID happen in the area they can trace who you called and for how long.. That increases their chances of carthing you and your cohorts if you were calling in descriptions of the houses or security systems etc.. Thise cops are actually strategically placed after midnighet all through the neigborhoods all the way to north of the merrit parkway..

I know it sucks but a lot of us on here live in neighborhoods that pay for a private police force.. And being that your paying for it im glad they do notice suspicios (even when unintentional) behavior.. I know I sleep a lot better than when I lived in Queens..

Hope this helps a little..

amante

 

Okay.. this just grinds my gears.

WTF happened to protection against unreasonable search and seizure?
I wouldn't have handed over my phone number - not criticizing you for giving them yours, that cops violate people's rights because they are not versed in every nuance is, in my opinion BULL****.

 

Jason we had this talk the other day, police in Greenwich have nothing to do because there's no crime, lol. But it is true that they get suspicious with people just driving around, some towns even have 'no cruising' laws.

 

That is lame....but its the same thing when you cruise Woodward avenue all day. One little spin of a tire and you get a careless driving ticket...some cops were even hiding in cherry pickers up above the trees looking down at people.

 

Good to know. Well worth it in my opinion.

I'm sure you were disgruntled with the hassle though Jason...and understandably so.
A few positive leads is worth a bunch of suspiscious false ones.
About the cell phone issue...i honestly (as do you) have nothing to hide in that matter..so why not give it haha... Funny thing would be if it was a hot lady cop...and you say..."ohhhh dammmnn this is turning good," then give the number... or the guy cop: "OK...but i'm not gay!"

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoBOZpB37I8

That's Jason from 4:15 to 5:15

 

LOL...yellow testarossa was hot.

 

If you think that's bad, try being a stranger at 3:00am driving through Asharoken...

 

You should have asked if he smelled bacon
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Is that a Wendy's Baconator? My friend gets one almost every night at midnight, just the smell of that thing makes me sick.

 

100% correct. This is just another example of the erosion of personal rights in this country. You are wrong that cops are not well versed in the law of search and seizure. They are trained in it, but they simply ignore it. It only becomes an issue with someone actually sues them, like the ACLU, for patterns of abuse of Constitutional rights, which happens very rarely these days. The cop had absolutely no basis whatsoever to stop you, as a matter of law. You did not engage in any conduct that would give him a basis to have a reasonable suspicion that you had violated any law. Merely driving on the street at night, with nothing else, is not a sufficient basis for a Constitutionally legal stop.

The problem, of course, is that if you start giving the guy guff, all of a sudden you failed to stop at a stop sign, you were speeding, you failed to signal, and you were not wearing your seat belt. You did the right thing in how you responded. Give your papers to him, answer his questions without getting snotty, don't act "suspicious", and hope that he won't give you a b.s. ticket just to feel macho or to fill his quota. Yes, the stop was total b.s. Yes, he violated your rights. But be happy you didn't get a ticket.

 

BTW, the reason the other two cops showed up was (1) to intimidate you, and (2) they were bored and had nothing else to do. I'm sure after they got done with you, they had a good laugh about it, and then went and stuffed their faces with donuts.

 

At the risk of sounding like the old man of the forum, I'd like to tender a different viewpoint. As a husband, father, and home owner, I welcome this proactive approach to enforcement. We're not talking about the big city here... its a quiet, upscale neighborhood. It wld bring me comfort to know my family was being watched over while we slept at 4:30 in the morning.

Maybe I missed it in your initial post, but I think the worst that happened was you were detained for a little bit. They probably observed you driving in an unusaul pattern long before they pulled you over, and they wanted to know who you were, and why you were there. You give the right answers, and you go on your way.

Im sorry you feel harrassed Jason. Im no cheerleader for law enforcement, but I dont see the harm in what they did.

 

there has been a huge number of break in in the last 2 months between white plains rye scaredale harrison and ct

somethink like close to 100 houses so

 

My neighbor (with the Porsche) got robbed blind a few months ago .. Seriously scary.


Jason, I love ya, but what do you think'll happen when you drive around aimlessly at 4am in a very wealthy section of Connecticut? Heck, I'd pull you over. This isn't an infringement on your personal rights- this is a cop doing his job. Young kid + late night + driving around = pull over. Get used to it Jason- my friends and I get pulled over all the time. Just make sure you're not doing anything wrong (no drinking, smoking, speeding, etc) and you'll be fine. Yeah, its an inconvenience- but as Greg said, once you have a family, you'll be grateful.

 

And then they ask you to open the trunk of your car and there's like $25,000 of lenses and equiptment and they throw your butt in jail..............................J/K
I'm with Kenny and Gregg on this, I've been stopped quite a few times for bullshirt reasons, but at 4am a young kid driving around in an expensive neighborhood, just police being cautious for those that pay their salaries. I don't have a real problem with it, they asked the questions, you gave the right answers, you went on your way, no harm done.

 

Not offended by the cops just annoyed but I laughed it off. Plus I made this post while I was in my car because I was sitting outside Matt's house waiting for him to come home...I needed something to do Btw I was on a main backroad leading to the Merritt Parkway, not a residential neighborhood. I appreciate all the comments regarding the questions I asked.

 

So then you are guilty of reckless Fchat posting... now that is punishable with a prison sentence!!!

 

From a home owner perspective, I love that they did that. From just about every other angle, I hate that the cops pull that illegal sh8t and get away with it.

Ok, I've resolved it. They should do that to everyone but me!

 

Yes, good sandwich recognition.