Cops Have Power Off Duty?

[IROCZBeast]

So here is my story I'm going to keep it short and simple.

I was merging onto rt.46 off of route 19 and I merged a little quickly to avoid the car traveling from hitting me. Didn't continue to speeding or anything I hit maybe 70 and slowed down to 55 immediatley after I merged. Next thing I know I see a white maxima come flying towards me pulls next to me an flashes a badge. He begins yelling at me that I was doing 80 in a 35 even though the spot I speed in was a 55 and he caught up to me down the road which is where it becomes a 35. He starts yellign at me telling me I'm going way to fast and that I'm going to get 5 points on my license and he just kept rambling on so I just apologized real fast and pulled over into the burger king parking lot.

My point is I honestly wasn't messing around, I would admit if I was. I had to accelerate to avoid an accident.


My question is does he really have the right to do that? Off duty he is just a regular citizen. And he exceed the speed limit by a lot to catch up to me. I wasn't going to test his authority, but I was a little ticked afterwards at this.

Has anyoen ever recieved a ticket in the mail from an off duty police officer?

[Tsar]

how would he prove that you were speeding?

[V]

from what i know, he can threaten all he likes, but he cant prove anythign speed-wise due to no radar and possible inaccuracy of his speedo.

BUT he can file a complaint(reckless/careless driving, racing etc) and go that route, heck, i can file a compalint against anyone as long as i can ID them in court. But cops are cops all the time basically. their "power" does not end at the end of their shift, but most likely he just did that to scare you. if he was really serious, he would have called for a marked car to meet up with you and him. dont sweat it, and if somethign does come in the mail, fight it.

[NJSPEEDER]

cops can write tickets while off duty. only thing is that unless his nissan is equiped with a radar gun/video camera to prove it you would have no trouble getting out of the ticket.

[Ian]

I agree with what everone else said so far. And just so you know, you did perform an illegal manuver besides speeding. If you're merging onto a highway, you have to yield to the traffic thats already on the highway. speeding up to get infront of someone is not legal. I've never heard of anyone getting busted for it, but I thought I'd give you the heads up.

I dont think I would have pulled over for the guy even if he did flash me a badge. It could have been some random guy with a fake badge.

[Teds89IROC]

haha good point Ian, my friend had a blue light in his TA and pulled people over all the time

~Ted

[maroman88]

i have a blue light and my fire badge in my wallet

once a cop always a cop though and as far as the radar thing goes, cops are "trained" to be able to tell the speed just by sight, they havent always had radar guns and all this technology. say he was doing 55 (HAHA) and u pulled away from him at a faster pace he could obviously see you were speeding, its called pacing and its used mostly by state troopers to avoid setting off a radar dectector.

[johnjzjz]

IT CALLED FAILER TO COMPLY -- MY HOPE HE FORGETS ABOUT IT BECAUSE HE CAN MAIL YOU A TO APPEAR TICKET FOR NOT RESPONDING TO HIM AND IN SOME TOWNS IN JERSEY THEY WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR LICENCE FOR YOUR SAKE I HOPE NOT JZ

[Ian]

failure to comply is an easy one to fight if the cop wasnt dressed in uniform or in his cruiser.

[Tsar]

Originally Posted by johnjzjz

IT CALLED FAILER TO COMPLY -- MY HOPE HE FORGETS ABOUT IT BECAUSE HE CAN MAIL YOU A TO APPEAR TICKET FOR NOT RESPONDING TO HIM AND IN SOME TOWNS IN JERSEY THEY WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR LICENCE FOR YOUR SAKE I HOPE NOT JZ

WHY MUST YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME???

[V]

Originally Posted by johnjzjz

IT CALLED FAILER TO COMPLY -- MY HOPE HE FORGETS ABOUT IT BECAUSE HE CAN MAIL YOU A TO APPEAR TICKET FOR NOT RESPONDING TO HIM AND IN SOME TOWNS IN JERSEY THEY WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR LICENCE FOR YOUR SAKE I HOPE NOT JZ

failure to comply to what? responding to him? the cop didnt stop when he did. im lost with your statement, plus no puncuation makes it worse. And no town will take away someones license out of the blue like that. IF anything, it would be a summons sent in the mail for careless or speeding, then it would go to court and he'd have a chance to plead guilty or not guilty. The cop would have to show up, positively ID him as the driver, and prove his case. A cops "feeling" of speed will not hold up in court especially while in his personal vehicle. In 99% of that type of cases, it wouldnt even get to the court stage because of all the "IFs".

Ive had numerous tickets, notices to appear, etc, plus half my friends are bergen co sheirff or local PD so im pretty sure about all this. so in any case, IROCZbeast, dont worry about it.

[ins0mnia24]

You don't have to pull your car over for or anybody unless they have flashing red lights and are clearly identifiable as law enforcement , the only thing they can do is write you tag down and file a ticket.
even a citizen on the highway can go to the nearest state or local police station and report your driving offense and write you a ticket just like a citizens arrest. except your home adress and ect.. are private they cant see or get access to that but they can give out your tag i.d. and report the offenses you made and a police officer will write you a ticket but have the citizen sign the ticket just like a cop would and the local station will mail it to you. And if you challenge it in court the citizen would have to come to court and testify just as a police would.
I have been through both types of situation's
I had this ******* 2 years ago in a s.u.v on rt. 55 north bound near Depford and you know how they like to bully into your lane with no blinker or nothing just because you got a nice sports car or smaller car they assume you will allow them to cut you off because they think they are kings of the highway with their big ass trucks , well i made a guy drive in the grass median for about 1/4 mile because i wouldnt allow him to just cut me off as he pleased and me knowing the law that if your in a lane and someone else crosses the line the accident is at their fault , well the guy got so stuborn he proceeded drive in the median trying to push in front of me , but failed so i stopped at the Rt. 42 Belmar Wawa to come out having the guy with a state trooper signing me a speeding and careless driving ticket's on me
which a Lawyer friend of the family helped me and had me go sign Road rage and careless driving tickets on the other driver
Which they didnt show up for for the court date and they were found guilty of the tickets i signed because they didnt show up on their own behalf noir to testify against me.
So definitely becareful with what you do and how you react to people while your driving because whether your in the right or wrong it can still lead to alot of trouble plus missed day for work to go to court ect..
And one other last tip from me
Don't hit an off duty police officer , who prior to that tell's you they are a police officer because it is the same charge no matter if they are on duty or not on duty even in regular clothes and no matter how cocky they are LOL ..

[ryanfx]

Officers dont need video, nor any form of electronic speed measurement to give you a speeding ticket. They are tested to be able to tell cars speeds and if they pass it, are legally issued to issue you a speeding ticket soley on their guesstimate.

[IROCZBeast]

Originally Posted by Ian

I agree with what everone else said so far. And just so you know, you did perform an illegal manuver besides speeding. If you're merging onto a highway, you have to yield to the traffic thats already on the highway. speeding up to get infront of someone is not legal. I've never heard of anyone getting busted for it, but I thought I'd give you the heads up.

I dont think I would have pulled over for the guy even if he did flash me a badge. It could have been some random guy with a fake badge.

When I merged the lane was open then for some reason the guy in the the next lane over switched into the slow lane as I was merging. I saw him come flying up on me, if I didn't gun it he would have hit me. The last thing I want to deal with is an accident right now even though it would have been his fault.

I geuss I just have to wait and see, hopefully no tickets will arrive in the mail.

[qwikz28]

dude i wouldnt worry about it. i would just be careful next time around...

just a quick word of advice from someone a tad bit older, dont forget your driving a flashy car. cops dont look twice at me in my saturn but when im in the camaro they eye me down with full intention to find me doing something wrong. thats just something i have come to expect and accept for that matter

[Sphinx]

I was having some fun one day on the burlington bypass.. came to a red light and a black mustang pulled on the bypass and nailed it, i even heard the tires squeel. So soon after my light turn green and i fly passed that mustang at close to 110. Then i slowed down, made the right and went to the autozone. before i got out of my car i saw the mustang pull up next to me to realize it was a chick driving, with girls in the backseat (dont know how the fit back there, but anyway) she whips out her badge and says "Mt holly PD, you better knock that **** off before i write you a ticket." i laughed at her b/c she said "Mt Holly PD"..... then i walked away... i felt that if she can play around, so can i. No one else was on the road so just b/c she is MT HOLLY PD does not make a difference if she is not on duty. THE END


Now im becoming a COP! go figure - if you cant beat em, become one of those mother******

[Dark_Knight7096]

Cops retain full policing powers while off duty. On or off duty a cop is a cop, they are cops 24/7 that is why they are required to carry their bage, gun, and cuffs at all times as well.

[ryanfx]

^ however they lack the magic red + blue lights which grant them that power.

[ChickenLittle]

Originally Posted by ryanfx

Officers dont need video, nor any form of electronic speed measurement to give you a speeding ticket. They are tested to be able to tell cars speeds and if they pass it, are legally issued to issue you a speeding ticket soley on their guesstimate.

they never gave me that test in the academy...if you pace somebody with your vehicle, better show up in court with with records showing a calibrated speedo...the only other way is to time a vehicle moving between two points of a known distance...like the planes do further south.

it would never hold up in court, the situation described I mean...he could have called for a marked unit to actual pull you over, while he just kept you in sight and then sign a complaint for careless driving, unless it was his town, then he could issue the actual ticket...

pretty hard to pull over somebody with a POV...wouldn't want to, it's not that serious...just my humble opinion...

[Savage_Messiah]

Just watch out... if he's on duty and sees your car you KNOW he will look for something to get you on then

[jimmyboy8301]

just like everyone else said a cop is a cop whether on duty or not. we have full powers 24/7. It depends on the department as to whether you are required to carry your gun, badge, and cuffs when your off duty. My department doesn't require it.

In that situation that officer has 30 days to file a summons against you. All he would do is take your info and have an officer from that town respond out and "co-sign" on the ticket. But if he never took your DL then he has no proof who was driving just that he saw the car by the license plate. Point being if you are around and somone identifies themselves as an officer and they show you their badge and id it's a good idea to comply, because there is a list of charges you can get hit with for not doing so.

And whoever brought up hitting an officer? Whether we are on duty or not after we identify ourselves, as little as pushing us can result in a 4th degree aggravated assault charge.

[ChickenLittle]

Originally Posted by jimmyboy8301

just like everyone else said a cop is a cop whether on duty or not. we have full powers 24/7. It depends on the department as to whether you are required to carry your gun, badge, and cuffs when your off duty. My department doesn't require it.

In that situation that officer has 30 days to file a summons against you. All he would do is take your info and have an officer from that town respond out and "co-sign" on the ticket. But if he never took your DL then he has no proof who was driving just that he saw the car by the license plate. Point being if you are around and somone identifies themselves as an officer and they show you their badge and id it's a good idea to comply, because there is a list of charges you can get hit with for not doing so.

And whoever brought up hitting an officer? Whether we are on duty or not after we identify ourselves, as little as pushing us can result in a 4th degree aggravated assault charge.

then you wouldn't have a problem with the citizen that drives to the nearest police station with you in tow, right. you know about the kooks out there that impersonate officers and commit all sorts of crimes against unknowing vicitms...I would sure hate to get an evading charge if i called the locals to assist and refused to pull over for a POV, but made my way to their department wholst obeying all traffic laws...especially since i'm armed...

just my .02, can't be too careful - yanno?

[jimmyboy8301]

if it was a situation with a person flashing a badge in a POV telling you to pull over then the proper thing to do would be to call the local police or njsp and advise them of the situation. they will either tell you to wiat there or to drive to the nearest police station. then there is a record of you acknowledging the officer and showing concern that they may not be official. just ignoring them and leaving will get you in trouble. you drive around armed? if your not a law enforcement officer in NJ it is nearly impossible to get a permit to carry for the average ctizen unless you have an extremely good reason and even then it's usually not granted. What are you going to do, pull a gun on someone if you suspect they are not a real officer?

[Savage_Messiah]

Originally Posted by jimmyboy8301

you drive around armed? if your not a law enforcement officer in NJ it is nearly impossible to get a permit to carry for the average ctizen unless you have an extremely good reason and even then it's usually not granted. What are you going to do, pull a gun on someone if you suspect they are not a real officer?

He mentioned earlier that he's an officer too

[chevyt454]

Sounds to me like he was just busting balls. He saw you speeding and thought he should say something.