So my roadster was introduced to a Wisconsin State Trooper last night

I'm upset because I'm not the first person that he's tried to do this to. He tried to nail another HAMB member from town, and was repremanded by his superior then.

So he knows he's wrong, he was just being a dick, not doing his job. Rather than enforcing the law, he's lying about it.

I'm not sure, but I think that's obstruction of justice.

 

no its harrasment! and total bull shit!

 

If that's true, the you HAVE to get your ducks in a row, along with that other HAMBer and go have a nice little sit-down with the officer's boss and HIS boss. I'm sure he'd be interested in hearing this whole story.

If going to his boss didn't help, going to the boss's boss almost always does.

Vance

 

As you point out, use of warnings keeps HIM from having to justify his work in court and safe from other possible avenues of challenge...
No actual trouble appears on the radar to annoy his boss if you challenge at that level...
SO...be a devious little rat. Write his boss's boss, the head of state coppery, and SYMPATHISE with this poor trooper sent out to do his job with an obsolete book of statutes! Express dismay that his BOSS was so inept as to send his troops into battle with the wrong rulebook! Describe your letter as a complaint against the BOSS! Now, the head cop has to at least forward the possibility of trouble to the man's boss, who will in turn be delighted, no doubt.
Take a man to small claims, give him an hour of trouble...
Bring down trouble on his boss, give him a lifetime of trouble!

But do heed that letter above...getting ahead of some rough spots and getting the REAL safety equipment like signal lights in brakes will keep you out of both physical (BANG!!) and legal trouble you can't shrug off...

 

Sounds to me like the classic " shit...Holstein again"...was he also giving you crap about "your front end being a little too low".

Sorry to hear about this kinda stuff but sounds like you're dealing with an over achiever to me.

Good luck with it and in the mean time "file that under CS over there will ya" and hang in there.

-CC-

 

No shit?







To the O.P., this ain't a big deal.

Gather the proof that he is wrong, call the staties office, and present it. You are innocent until proven guilty. It's not his job to decipher the law, his job is to enforce it. If he's wrong, then that's the end of the story.

 

Back in the day (I hate that phrase) we got stopped for all the same crap, blue dots, loud pipes, no pipes, to low, no fenders(glad that one went away) or lack of bumpers.... We had a cop in Santa Ana Ca. by the name of Flag, he was the picture of the definition of ASS*OLE. Got everybody at one time or another. Best thing is I out lived him, but at the time there was nothing you could do but just live with it. It was part of the life style.

 

My questions as well - was it a warning or a fix-it ticket? Are you required to do anything with a warning, other than wipe your ass with it?

What about giving the warnings to the media? Sometimes the news 'troubleshooters' will make these things public occurrences. Advertise in the newspaper, Craig's list, and other public places looking for others who've been harassed by this guy.

Bruce is right on all accounts. I would also CC the letter to the State Police Commissioner, the boss of the Fraternal Order of Police, AND every news source you can find. Send them a copy of the letter, copies of the 'warnings', a copy of the vehicle code (probably don't need to do this for the FOP and the Commissioner), and names of other's who've been harassed by this guy.

When it comes down to doing all of this, you are playing a game. Either it is a bullshit game where the cop has all the rules in his favor, and he's the one running the game; OR, you play the game by his rules, and beat him with them.

 

I'm 61 so forgive me if I sound like your dad, but who are they? Who else has been hasseled ? Did you get a fix-it ticket or a warning? Is your vehicle legal for 1930? There's a whole bunch here that a person should know before we rush to judgement. I get stopped once or twice a year, (usually for speeding) and the troopers here have always been fair. Maybe the guy was doing his job and your car shouldn't be on the road yet. I'd really like to hear both sides before I make a judgement. My .02

 

Think about it this way - he's getting his rocks off harassing you. If he stops you for purely harassing reasons, turn the tables on him and enjoy the rest.

"Hello Barney! I don't have any donuts today."

 

Yea, I understand your point. I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm looking for answers. It was a warning, but the items are required to be fixed in 30 days, or I face "court action".
The Trooper told me that he must inspect the car in 30 days, with a sheriff's deputy, and another gentleman.

I know that he is wrong about the majority of the warning list, however, I do agree with the parking brake and I can see his point on the exhaust; the headers do have decibel reducing baffles in them, but probably aren't considered mufflers by law.

But the point still remains that he tried doing this to fellow HAMBer MP33 last year. MP33 went to the Trooper's boss, and got it taken care of, so this trooper knows that he is in the wrong, yet still chose to write the warning (which requires that I take action to fix everything on the list in 30 days).

That's what makes me mad.

If this Troper hadn't ever messed with anyone else, and just thought MY car was unsafe, I wouldn't have posted this. He does know the law applies to "street modified hobyist" automobiles, and still chose to defy it.

 

Was he wrong about the brakes?

 

I think he was right about needing a parking brake. I had planned on doing one anyways.

 

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If you had a HAMB Alliance tag screwed to your firewall- he wouldn't have messed with ya....

 

Mmm... You explained it once and then clarified it again. How much more explanation does a Hamber need to give?
I mean if this thing has happened before to another fellow Hamber and the trooper's boss set him straight. Then the trooper goes out and does it again? This guy has got to have a fucking learning disability. The cop is a dick and dont cut him any slack at all. Talk to his boss and explain you are not some kid snorting bleach and going down alleys at mach 6 in your hotrod.
I mean honestly, in 2007 we are still dealing with crap like this is unbelievable.
Screw that crap also about a cop just doing his job, if Im speeding/ticket yes, run a stop sign/ticket sure, but if im driving along in my hot rod and get pulled out of the blue for this sort of crap. Then Im pissed and Im going to do something about.

 

AMEN... FUCK THE POLICE is right there just rape victom's and crook's hidding behind the badge.If I was you I would gave him the free bird as I smoked the rear's at his porkey curley ass.

 

My dad was a cop (RCMP - retired) and never says anything about it when he gets stopped. But recently he has been getting disgusted with the police around here because they are a either very professional and know what they are doing (which he likes) and bullying pricks who chuckle to themselves as the screw people over.
There seems to be no inbetween.

All the new cops are very good, and all the older cops who are still stuck in a patrol car seem to be very bad. I guess thats why they have never been promoted past constable and are still stuck in a patrol car.

I think you need to get a copy of the statute, fix any legit problems with the car, and then go talk to his supervisor. If that doesn't do anything...go to his supervisors supervisor and report the inaction/condoning of the supervisor to the criminal harassment you are suffering. That will get someones attention real quick.

 

my thoughts exactly

 

I'm not a huge fan of "the man", but you are a dumbass.

 

if you had gotton a real ticket then you could go to court.
in your defense you can request a list of the tickets hes given in the last 2-3 years.
you tell the police dept you need copys of these tickets to "see" if theres a pattern in his ticket writing.
you want to know if he picks on hotrods,pickups,busses or whatever.
if he does indeed ticket more hotrods than pickups then you can plead harrasment.
most of the time when you request those tickets you will get a letter saying the charges have been dropped.the cop shop just does not want to spend time on something that will not make them money.
and tickets are money driven,thats for sure.
Randy

 

I was talking with some friends, and they said that's why he prolly didn't give me a ticket; out of fear of me fighting it and making him look bad.

 

-Here in Illinois, several years ago-this same type of harrassment caused many of us to get involved, and get the laws changed... I've included a partial quote of an interview that was included in <LACars.com>.

"Editor's note: Gary Bohlen, chairman of the Committee to Upgrade Street Rod Laws in Illinois, is an avid hobbyist and was instrumental in working with the state to enact SEMA's model street rod/custom vehicle bill last year. Here is his first-hand account of working with SEMA through the process that ultimately changed the laws. It can serve as a guidebook, and an inspiration, to those working on behalf of the automotive hobby.

After 30 years of turning their heads, state troopers in the Peoria, Illinois, area and other law enforcement officers throughout the state became concerned about customs and street rods. They started watching for equipment such as factory bumpers, license plates less than 12 inches off the ground, a rake of no more than 3 inches, proper turn signals and various other required items. The enforcement of these Illinois Vehicle Code violations took place largely at car shows or while traveling to and from them. Street rodding was basically shut down in the Peoria area, street rods were sold, and future highboy projects were scrapped.

First, I tried to stop the actions as profiling by the state troopers. That tactic failed since the tickets were issued for laws that were on the books. In an unusual switch, however, their supervisors were the ones who advised me to change the laws.

I had no idea how to do that, but my plan was to surround myself with people who did. I contacted Steve McDonald at SEMA, who had just completed a model bill for legislative changes such as these. We joined forces. Without SEMA's help this process would have failed."

-The article continues on, and outlines how the process came about. I wanted to merely highlight the fact that essentially ONE cop with a vendetta, pissed off enough people who cared about their lifestyle to fight for it... O.K...I'll get off the damn soapbox...

 

Exactly.

 

" I'm a licensed Charter Boat Captain " Wow now theres a statement. Sorry we F'd with you Gilligan.

 

There is a limit...You can have the rear window as dark as you like,and if it's a 4 door the two rear door windows can also be as dark as you want...The front door windows have to allow 35% of the sunlight to show through and the winshield can only have a strip of tint where it would normaly be on a factory tinted windshield..

 

Rustbelt,

Did you ever find out about the "stock" equipment for your car?
Luckly, when I'm out in the roadster, the cops all wave or give me the thumbs up Keep me posted. I'd be interested to know what a 25T came stock with....

25Thobbyist

 

Fuckin'beautiful!!

 

Not yet. Still searching for old wisconsin transportation laws. they can't be too strict though. the car will still be in cornell in two weeks!!!!

 

You should file a formal complaint on this "public servant". I had a run-in with a Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) ranger here last year. They are legit legit peace officers, who, in addition to their LCRA duties, help out county deputies, etc, and CAN (but rarely do), enforce traffic laws. They have a well-deserved reputation for arrogance and rudness to the public. After cooling off, I wrote a VERY detailed, 3 page account of the incident. I made sure there were no spelling errors, grammer was good, and that my account was accurate and not an "over-the-top" story that would be discounted. I sent 5 copies of the letter to every one up the food chain, (I had a law enforcement fried proof-read it, used words and phrases that pushed all the cop/public relations buttons), and soon had people jumping thru their rear ends to get to the bottom of the incident. Got taken out to lunch by the investigator, got a visit from the head of the rangers, an apology and thanks from the jerk's boss, and my little buddy got some seat time in a few remedial "how-to-deal the-public classes. At all times I presented myself in a neutral, professional manner, was never accusatory about the officer, focused my remarks and their attention mainly on his lack of professionalism and the damage he did to the public representation and reputation of the LCRA. Your cops probably/may not care about how you got treated, but they care A LOT about how they are percieved by the public and their image as professionals Again, avoid exaggeration, be calm, dress nice, don't write in crayon, (use a computer), if you have a letterhead, use it, make your case, use the chain of command and their own concern for their reputation and professionalism against them. This cop is an "abuser" and needs to be dropped a peg or two.