RJ - SCOUTS OUT!

"The degenerative and loony should never be denigrated but, rather, thanked. In their absence, the rest of you would be obliged to fill congressional seats... positions naturally unsavory to the sane and honorable."

Thorax

Funny thing is its usually females that refuse.

I don't know about TN, but most places you are not required to show a violator the radar or reading.

I was working a governors highway safety office traffic grant on the night of the incident. I am RADAR certified among other certifications. I detected a silver SUV going between 55-58 mph in a 45 mph zone. The vehicle was about 6 car lengths ahead of several other cars in the hammer lane. I pulled out of the parking lot I was in and got on the main road, worked my way through traffic, and caught up the vehicle at a stop light about (1) mile from the initial spotting.

I activated emergency lighting and got the vehicle to pull over about 1/4 mile from where I lit the vehicle up at. The SUV pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store. I approached the vehicle and the first words out of her mouth were "I know I was speeding, don't give me a hard time." I told her I needed her license, insurance, and registration. She flung her license in front of my face and when I took it from her she said "Don't snatch my license." I told her I didn't and that I needed her registration and insurance. I then went back to the car and called it in for a DL check and warrant check from local and Shelby county since that is what is on the plates of the SUV. The second officer arrived and told him to stick around because I knew she had a bad attitude and wanted a witness to it. Dispatch got a possible hit on the name and date of birth, but the DL system was down (more on the gem later) so the other officer went to get her SSN for confirmation. He came back with it and confirmed she had an attitude from hell. He said she gave him a hard time about the SSN even after he explained the situation.

The SSN didn't match with the possible hit out of Shelby county so we both went up to the vehicle to get her to sign the ticket. State was still down on DL status so I had no idea about priors. She refuses to sign the ticket, me and the other officer go back and forth with her to sign it. She keeps asking about the radar. I keep telling her no, which is what is taught is radar school. There is no "right" to see the radar and it is an officer safety and citizen safety issue about bringing them back to the car. She is told several times she will be arrested if she doesn't sign. She still refuses. Now a note on policy and TN state law on this....

Our policy states in two places what to do if there is a refusal. This is all paraphrasing, but you will get the picture. The first section says if the don't sign they will be arrested. The second section which is one of the areas they say I violated, states to call a supervisor. Then it goes on to say that a second officer can talk the person into signing it since there might be a personality conflict with the original officer, etc. The policy does not say they can't be arrested without a supervisor there, it doesn't give other options such as writing refused or any other options. They will be arrested. This is also in accordance with TN state law which states that if there is a refusal to sign, then they will be arrested and taken directly before a magistrate (read jail). Hope this is clear now.

After the final refusal I go to place her under arrest. I go to open the door but it is locked. I reach inside to unlock it then open the door. I tell her to step out, she says "no, am I under arrest?". I reach across and undo her seatbelt and she hits my left arm with both of her forearms to keep me from undoing it. This is the part that nobody talks about. The suspect escalated it to physical violence. I stand up, tell her to get out again then take her left arm to remove her from the vehicle. She grabs onto the steering wheel to keep me from removing her from the vehicle. I pull again enough to break her lock on the steering wheel, execute an arm bar, joint manipulation, and takedown for stabilization for handcuffing. This is a manuever taght at the police academy for resisting and assaultive suspects you are trying to arrest.

Once on the ground she starts trying to get up and keep me from placing handcuffs on her. The other officer brings me her other hand and we get her handcuffed. He was never upset or worried, contrary to the news. He knew that this was normal and was actually bored and saw this as no big deal. We both bring her up off the ground, and place her in my car.

A CPL showed up and told me since we had already arrested her to transport her. I opened the patrol car door to ask her what to do about her car. She said that she would sign the ticket and couldn't miss work. I told her too late and that she was being charged with assault on a police officer and for resisting arrest. When I went to shut the door she started kicking the door to keep me from shutting it. I ended up putting my foot on her lower leg, pushing her legs in and shutting the door.

A LT showed up after the CPL had left and started yelling about how you can't arrest for that charge and eventually let her go, which is a violation of the state law quoted above. Without ever talking to me or the other officer about everything that happened, the LT did what he did to cover his ass, had her sign the ticket and let her go. The other officer and myself went back to the station and did statements and went home for the night.

This is the incident as it happened. The investigation that was done was a knagaroo court conducted by the LT, who BTW had a complaint filed on him by  chance by both myself and the other officer on scene for abandoning the other officer during a burglary alarm on a house with an open door back in Nov. The LT did the investigation, even though he was involved in the situation and violated state law by releasing her from the scene.

As far as her case goes, I went to court on her speeding ticket and the judge found her guilty. She appealed it and it goes to circuit court next month.

Remember how the state was down for DL checks that night? I now have a copy of her driving history and since 2001 she has had 14 tickets (11 speeding, 2 disobey traffic signal/sign, and 1 no seatbelt). In 2006 alone she had 4 speeding and the no seatbelt tickets, in three different counties. She also has a history of filing frivolous complaints against officers that stop her, including one recently against a Murfreesboro Police officer she said "spit on her".

I will gladly answer any questions people have on this subject since I have done everything in accordance with law and policy. Now you know the facts.

Thank you.

Welcome to Pnet

Oh I have an LT just like yours currently filing an IA complaint against him.