So my brother bought a 03 Volvo last week. He bought it at a dealership and they got all his ducks in a row registration wise, meaning the dealership filled out all the proper paperwork and gave it to my brother when he left.
Flash forward to this morning. My brother was on his way to work and is pulled over for speeding. Whether or not he was speeding is not in question and is not important, as it was only a ticket and not a court appearance or a towable offense, so my brother should have been ticketed and sent on his way, with his car.
The cop comes up after pulling my brother over, asks him for license, registration, insurance etc. My brother gave him his insurance, license, photocopy of his registration and his bill of sale from the dealership. Because my brother traded his old car in at the dealership, they don't use temp tags, they are legally able to use his old tags for twenty days, providing they are legally registered and are not any longer being used on another car, and the dealership is doing the legwork. The cop tells him that he didn't have the proper paperwork, insinuating that my brother didn't register his car and that he was likely going to tow it. My brother told him he was wrong, and that his car was properly registered, and that he had 20 days from the date of purchase to go to the registry, or have the dealership do it. He is having the dealership do it for him. Since the dealership is doing it for him, they give him a copy of his registration and a bill of sale, since they are REQUIRED BY THE STATE to give my brother's old registration to the new purchasers of his old car, which he traded in, so they can register it. That is how it is done in this state, and my brother's car was totally legal to be driven.
I am of the opinion that the cop knewt my bro was legal and just had something against my brother. I don't know whether it was because my brother is white, nicely dressed and has a nice car and the officer in question was black, or if he was just an a-hole, but this is clearly wrong.
Not only did my brother get a speeding ticket for $350, which he says is also inaccurate(my brother thinks the cop was pissed because my brother passed him on the highway, which is not illegal), but the cop towed his car($200 tow bill), and also gave him a ticket to appear in court for no proof of registration and driving an unregistered vehicle. All of which is untrue. He was totally legal.
My brother called the state police to report this incident, and was told that, yes, he was right about the law, but that either there must have been some other reason for the tow, which there was not. They said that they could not help at all, so my brother will have to take a day out of work to get the ticket dropped, costing him at the least a half a days pay, a $200 towing charge and the use of his car. Thankfully, even though the cop told the tow driver that under no circumstance was he to allow my brother to have access to his car back until it was registered, which couldn't even happen until Monday, the tow driver knew my brother was in the right, so instead of following the officer's request of impounding it, he dropped it at my bro's house.
I am so pissed, because it seems like this crap happens to so many people, and no matter what, most times judges may let you off of the fine, but what about your time and accrued costs? You are expected to eat it, and if you get a lawyer, that is supposed to come out of your pocket. It is not right. This cop was clearly in the wrong, and just wanted to make my brother pay for some reason. Either this cop is ignorant of the laws he is supposed to enforce, or he is just a jerk and doesn't like to be told he is wrong. COPS ARE NOT ALWAYS RIGHT, BUT THEY THINK THEY ARE ABOVE THE LAW!! There is absolutely no excuse for his actions.
Flash forward to this morning. My brother was on his way to work and is pulled over for speeding. Whether or not he was speeding is not in question and is not important, as it was only a ticket and not a court appearance or a towable offense, so my brother should have been ticketed and sent on his way, with his car.
The cop comes up after pulling my brother over, asks him for license, registration, insurance etc. My brother gave him his insurance, license, photocopy of his registration and his bill of sale from the dealership. Because my brother traded his old car in at the dealership, they don't use temp tags, they are legally able to use his old tags for twenty days, providing they are legally registered and are not any longer being used on another car, and the dealership is doing the legwork. The cop tells him that he didn't have the proper paperwork, insinuating that my brother didn't register his car and that he was likely going to tow it. My brother told him he was wrong, and that his car was properly registered, and that he had 20 days from the date of purchase to go to the registry, or have the dealership do it. He is having the dealership do it for him. Since the dealership is doing it for him, they give him a copy of his registration and a bill of sale, since they are REQUIRED BY THE STATE to give my brother's old registration to the new purchasers of his old car, which he traded in, so they can register it. That is how it is done in this state, and my brother's car was totally legal to be driven.
I am of the opinion that the cop knewt my bro was legal and just had something against my brother. I don't know whether it was because my brother is white, nicely dressed and has a nice car and the officer in question was black, or if he was just an a-hole, but this is clearly wrong.
Not only did my brother get a speeding ticket for $350, which he says is also inaccurate(my brother thinks the cop was pissed because my brother passed him on the highway, which is not illegal), but the cop towed his car($200 tow bill), and also gave him a ticket to appear in court for no proof of registration and driving an unregistered vehicle. All of which is untrue. He was totally legal.
My brother called the state police to report this incident, and was told that, yes, he was right about the law, but that either there must have been some other reason for the tow, which there was not. They said that they could not help at all, so my brother will have to take a day out of work to get the ticket dropped, costing him at the least a half a days pay, a $200 towing charge and the use of his car. Thankfully, even though the cop told the tow driver that under no circumstance was he to allow my brother to have access to his car back until it was registered, which couldn't even happen until Monday, the tow driver knew my brother was in the right, so instead of following the officer's request of impounding it, he dropped it at my bro's house.
I am so pissed, because it seems like this crap happens to so many people, and no matter what, most times judges may let you off of the fine, but what about your time and accrued costs? You are expected to eat it, and if you get a lawyer, that is supposed to come out of your pocket. It is not right. This cop was clearly in the wrong, and just wanted to make my brother pay for some reason. Either this cop is ignorant of the laws he is supposed to enforce, or he is just a jerk and doesn't like to be told he is wrong. COPS ARE NOT ALWAYS RIGHT, BUT THEY THINK THEY ARE ABOVE THE LAW!! There is absolutely no excuse for his actions.