Cop wasn't paying attention when light changed so I honked and got a ticket?

Question

He caused several people to miss the green left turn signal, and completely disrupted the flow of traffic, so I lightly honked to get his attention so the rest of us could make our turns. Well, apparently, his ego couldn't handle such action, and I was pulled over and ticketed for some BS.

Is this legal? Are we living in a Third World nation where police officers are above the law?

Answer 1

It's just possible the officer was doing something a little more important at that moment than making sure you had a clear right-of-way to Starbucks.

Maybe he was talking on a cell phone to his supervisor or a subordinate about a missing child. Perhaps he was trying to find his way to the house of someone who needed notification about a relative in the hospital. There are endless scenarios. If an officer sits through a whole light change, his attention is diverted by more than just his cup of coffee.

So you honked at him and he pulled you over? Perhaps he thought you might have been signalling him. If you were to honk at an officer and he ignored you, you'd have a legitimate complaint. But signalling an officer makes it his duty to investigate your summons.

At this point you have taken him away from whatever truely important situation might have been demanding his attention, and I can imagine that anything you might have had to say upon his approach, other than asking for help, was not going to make him happy. Unlawful use of a horn is a violation, at least in some states, and the statute usually states that honking is restricted to emergency situations. But you didn't state the violation you got cited for so I could guess it was anything from an equipment violation to no proof of insurance, to possession of a controlled substance. It's not BS if a violation existed, but if he just made something up then yes you would have a legitimate complaint.

Is it legal? Sounds legal: you signalled an officer, that gave him the right to pull you over and investigate. In the process of investigating your summons a violation was noted and you were cited for it.

So, unless the officer was indeed having an off day sitting there asleep and then wrote you a ticket for a non-existant violation, you are toast. Sounds like YOUR ego may be the one that couldn't handle the action. But there are bad cops, and even good cops have bad days so just be honest with yourself - and if you've got the time to spend a day in court and the money to pay the the fine and court fee if you loose, and you really feel this is a legitimate instance of bad copulation then heck yeah, take the sorry SOB to the judge and ream him out. Judges generally know their officers' reputations, and some judges genuinely hate cops. I'd say you've got a one-third chance of getting a judge biased in favor of cops, a one-third chance of getting a fair judge, and a one-third chance of getting a judge who hates cops. Add in the ten per cent chance of the officer who cited you being one of the bad-apples, and you have a better than even chance of getting at least a fair hearing on your behalf. Of course that's statistics. Just remember, 80 per cent of life's problems are caused by the wrong tone of voice, and if you demand more than your fair share of attention - you will get more than your fair share of attention.

Lastly, no we are not in a third-world nation where cops are above the law - presuming that you are referring to life here in the good ol' USA. We are a first-world nation where everyone thinks they are above the law - if they think at all - and where police officers are berated, disrespected, and ridiculed until someone needs them; and then after everyone is safe again the officer who risked his life and safety responding is blamed, bad-mouthed, and sued.

God bless.

Answer 2

No, you can't be so evasive here as to just say you got a ticket for "some BS". What BS was written on your ticket. There should be a section number and a brief description of the violation. As much as you disliked the cop and feel the whole thing unfair, he must have told you why he was tagging you. You may not agree with the explanation, but he said something. Please finish your story with the missing data so the readers here can reply with a more accurate perspective.

Answer 3

It sounds like you're fighting a battle you can't win. In most jurisdictions, it is perfectly legal for an emergency vehicle to be stopped in traffic for whatever reason. You were probably cited for some sort of noise ordinance, but you'll have to check your citation to be sure. He'll be able to articulate the matter from any angle and win. I wouldn't write a blue copy for that, but that's just me. We all have bad moments. I've had my fair share as a cop. Your best bet is to speak with the officer and intelligently discuss the matter before court and hear his reason for citing you. He may just drop the ticket if you ask him to. I know I do when the person makes an effort to talk to me like a human being.

Answer 4

This kind of thing isn't news. Let me tell you a story about Fajitagate- this is an incident that happened in San Fransisco about a year ago. I'm not entirely accurate so I'll put ALLEGEDLY and let you look up facts for yourself. Apparantly the son of a high ranking police officer, who was also a cop, was drinking off duty with his partner when he noticed a passerby with fajitas. He and his partner approached the fajita guy and demanded the food for themselves. When this guy refused, they assaulted him and took the fajitas. It caused a stink in the local media for a couple days, then was swept under the rug. As far as I know neither officer lost their jobs.
I think most cops have good intentions, but as the old saying goes, power corrupts. Frank Herbert had a good statement once in which he said it's not so much that power corrupts, but that it attracts the corruptible. Too bad honest cops get a bad rap, but incidents like the above show that far too many cops do in fact believe that the law is their personal servant.

Answer 5

There's a logical answer to this but you don't deserve to hear it because you've already made up your mind that he was wrong.

He could have been writing down a call, or observing suspicious activity. Any number of valid reasons exist and probably as many invalid reasons. His car is his office. He's doing his job.

Think what you want to think!

Next time don't honk.

Answer 6

Wow - you've got balls. I would never honk at a cop! But I guess you've learned that lesson, right?

It can be legal, depending on what citation you received. It will be usually be based on a city ordinance or state or county statute if you're rural. Look it up and see what you really got in trouble for (just google it - most cities are online).

Then, definately go to traffic court to explain yourself and fight it (but be sure to know what you were cited for first so you know what to argue against). Judges don't like th e"it's not fair!" defense.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Was the cop not paying attention or was he looking at someone or something? Was he on the radio? What would possess you to honk at an emergency vehicle?

You couldnt of been in that big of a hurry.

Answer 8

Did you really expect to honk at a cop and not get a ticket?

Answer 9

i think that cop have pms. well so what even he is a police, it does give him the right just to give a ticket when he did not see the light. he might not want to be embrass with the honk, so after giving the ticket, he can show people that he is in power.

what country is that??

Answer 10

yes, officers ae above the law, but fortunatly for you there is no law against honking. I'm curious- what is your ticket for- you left out that important piece of info. You need to take this to court.