Can you get a state trooper introuble for speeding.?

Question

Ok I travel the turn pike often. I see state troopers flying by me like im standing still and im going 70 mph. That is 5 mph over the limit. They don't have their lights on or anything so none of that stupid talk about cops doing their duty. If they were doing something they would have their lights on. Also not just on the turn pike, in our town too which is only 25mph and they go about 60 with out lights? I was thinking of making a log book and writing down the time/date/and car number. Any other helpful hints?

To the people that said that they might have a reason to not run with lights on. Yeah the reason was just to pull off the side of the road to prepare a speed trap. I understand running silent but in many cases I have seen there is no reason. Thank you all though.

Answer 1

First, the answer to your asked question, is yes, you can file a complaint and possibly get the officer in trouble. Anytime you catch any police officer violating either their own rules or the law, you can call the department and file a complaint. Each department has its own rules on how to file the complaint, but most will have directions on a website if they are a larger department. Look for a link to Internal Affairs (though they may call it Office of Professional Standards or something like that now). If it is a smaller department, you can call for a supervisor, including the Chief, but remember that the Chief normally works Monday to Friday during the week.

To file a complaint, you will need as much information as you can give them to identify the incident. This would include the time, date, specific location, vehicle number, and what you saw happen.

Most complaints will be investigated, though some agencies will require you to come in and file a sworn statement that you sign before they will investigate. An investigation may or may not get the officer in trouble. The department can say that the complaint was unfounded, sustained, or inconclusive. Unfounded means that the incident was not a violation of the rules or law (which may mean that he had a valid reason for speeding). Inconclusive means that they could not determine exactly what happened, including proof enough to take action. Sustained means you were right and the incident happened and was a violation. Only an incident ruled sustained gets the officer in trouble.

As to the second part, which is why officers speed. There are several different reasons that you could see what you think is happening and not be justified in a complaint. First, is the possibility that your wrong about the speed the patrol car is going. He has a certified speedometer and you do not, and most cars have their speedometers set to read a little faster than they are actually going.

The officer may have a valid reason to be going that fast. He could be trying to catch up to another car that was speeding and he would not turn on the lights and siren until he is close to prevent the other guy from running and a chase starting.

He could be responding to a dangerous call, and have turned the lights and siren off to prevent the criminal from knowing that he was coming. Tactics say to turn the siren off about 1 mile before you arrive at the scene, and the lights at least several blocks early. Only on TV do cops pull up to a call with lights and sirens going at the scene.

He could be violating the rules by driving faster to get to a call that did not justify lights and siren. Most cops are really trying to help people and get to their calls fast. When someone has just called the police, they usually start asking what took so long, almost as soon as they hang up the phone. Many cops try to respond quicker, even when they are not allowed to by rules.

And finally, he could be speeding for no reason, in which case you have a duty as a citizen to report him. Go for it, as I described above. If you do complain and he was doing it for one of the above reasons, he will not get in trouble, and if it was not justified, he will.

Answer 2

Contact the Chief of the local department. Don't bother talking to shift commanders as they will probably just make the complaint disappear. As far as troopers, I don't think there is much you can do. So many different state and local agencies use the turnpike that identifying a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed and tracing it back to an individual who is on duty would be difficult. The number of vehicles authorized for commuting officials that rank high in organizations further complicates the problem of identification.

Just a bit of advice: I wouldn't let it bother me unless there is a clear danger presented by the officers' speeding. Unless you're talking about a small town you are likely to be wasting your time and causing yourself undue stress. Of course, if you have any trouble on the road you could always call the attorney general, I hear she makes special visits to motor vehicle stops if you have her number. Good luck.

Answer 3

A complaint might make it through, but it probably wont unless there is an accident or an injury.
The thing is they dont always use lights and siren to get to a "hot" call, sometimes that just confuses people and makes it harder to get somewhere...and people dont always listen very carefully for sirens or look out for emergency lights either...
Not much hope of getting anything done at the local level though you should try that first. You would need to find out a plate number off of the car or identify the trooper driving it...

Answer 4

Most state transportation codes exempt a police officer from speed regulations while conducting patrol. Usually, when you go to a call like neighbors arguing, or family violence, it is usually a bad idea to run code 3 (lights and sirens) because agressors can hear you coming and be ready for you with weapons, flee the scene, or ditch valuable evidence. This does not mean, however, that a police officer can have utter disregard for public safety, as most transportation codes require the operator of an emergency vehicle to conduct themselves in a manner in the interest of due regard and respect to life and people's property. Meaning: Go forward with your idea of keeping a log, and follow up with the Chief of Police and he or she may be able to pull out officer's daily logs and compare your times to the info in the logs to see if they were actually responding to a call or not, aditionally, every time you run with lights or with lights and sirens, there is usually a bad apple in the bunch that will create a bigger traffic hazard (I've been cut off by people who panic when they see the lights, and one time someone just slammed on their brakes as I was coming up from behind) than the officer having to weave in and out of traffic to get to where he's needed. Remember in this line of work, SECONDS COUNT.

Answer 5

Actually, not all calls require lights and sirens. Each call is assessed and a priority given. Each call requires a timely response but a low priority call will not require lights or sirens. High priority can call for lights, sirens or both. Depends on the nature of the call. Some high priority calls can require a fast response WITHOUT lights and sirens due to subject risk.

Contact the local Trooper Post and explain what you've seen and ask questions.

Answer 6

Often you can get through traffic much quicker without lights and siren. You would be suprise how many people will stop or turn right in front of you with NO warning when they see lights or hear a siren. It is like their brains just fog up!

Answer 7

Try proving it first....Good luck,,,but cops don't always need to have their lights on depending on the "CODE" they are traveling under. and they will just say they were going after someone. (code 2 = i believe means no lights or siren unless necessary) so roll down the window and let the smoke clear,,,you can't do anything about it, but if it makes you happy,,,put in a complaint and prove me right.

Answer 8

Ya, good luck with that! I had one run me off into the ditch one time, I called his supervisor. Three days later the same SOB pulled me over and gave me a ticket for speeding. I was going THREE miles over the speed limit, the judge threw it out!

Answer 9

Who are you going to turn them into ? themselves hahahaha There needs to be a watch group for these abuses

Answer 10

They're state patrol. They can speed around juzt bekuz they're cool like that! :)