Bear Creek this past Sunday - Unnecessary Force by Trooper

[Lomax]

I agree with Aaron and it is an unfortunate attitude but that is the way the system is now, everyone is guilty unless you can prove your innocence. I always thought it was the other way around, but as said above that is not the way the real world works now.

I am also sorry that some are now only delegated to the track as I use my bikes as daily transportation. They are not a toy to me, they are a basic means of mobility.

Marc

[JKOL]

Because that's not how the law works, Aaron. The burden of proof rests on the accuser, not the accused. It's the whole purpose why reasonable doubt exists. If the accuser cannot prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the accused is guilty, the accused gets to walk. I'm not arguing that having your own proof isn't useful to establish your defense, but no person should be obligated to prove their innocence. It's innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around. Making the demand that the accused prove that they are innocent defeats the principle, and shows just how pathetically skewed the system has become in favor of accepting a police officer's word over that of the defendant. The law is not inscrutable, nor are officers infallible, and not all cases of riders being pulled over is the result of them committing a crime.

I get where you're coming from, though. Had Grim not had video proof in his case against the officer, he probably would have lost and had to pay the fine. The fact that he had to do so, when the officer had no proof, other than his unreliable, eye-witness testimony (your words), is precisely the problem, and making everybody wear video cameras to prove their innocence is not the solution. It just shows how corrupt the system has become.

"No office in the United States wields more unchecked authority than does a District Attorney. If he should choose to make it his life's pursuit to see a defendant behind bars. One way or another, he will get what he wants." -Prof. Joshua Dunn, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Bingo!

[Nguyen]

I could disagree with Drano and BlueDog, but I'd be wrong.

[bulldog]

All these stories are nuts, but you're only hearing one side of the story.

I'd just like to know where the videos are? If you didn't do anything wrong, surely a used GoPro is cheaper than paying tickets right? Problem is everyone here knows they were guilty, they're just irritated they got caught and had to pay the fun tax. So they're ranting just to rant. Not for any god reason, not to find a solution, just to complain because they got caught. Want to solve all of these problems? Buy a cheap used GoPro, and follow the law. Or take it to the track. I scraped my knee pucks almost away to nothing, and pushed 160-165mph on the straights and haven't been hassled yet. Oh, and I did wheelies. Still no tickets for hopping the front wheel on every straight HPR has.

Interesting story. Last time on my way to HPR my pickup got a flat tire. CSP trooper stopped, helped me change it, and told me how he appreciates me going to the track to "scratch the itch."

Wow...typical cop answer...forgets "innocent until proven guilty". Drano already hit the nail on head

Sheesh do you tell this to rape victims or maybe the family of a murdered person; "well they really should have been wearing a Gopro as they are cheap nowadays".

I've met some really good cops on this site and well........some not very good ones

[#1Townie]

Cops in this country are totally out of control. Aaron I know I have my cop rants but honestly man with more cameras out there we are just now starting to see the "other side of the story" as cops seem to have some wild accusations.

With all the cop block videos and that on YouTube I find it funny how now when you try to record a officer they claim the camera could be a gun. Lol.

To be honest a cops word should never be enough. Cops all over america have smeared that good name. Not enough good cops have stood up and taken the fight to their own fellow officers.

To be honest I'm sick of all these shootings of unarmed people. Cops running people over. Cops abusing their authority.

I read a article a long time ago about a cop getting beat down in a subway and no one helped him. That just goes to show people are done with cops.

We as a whole in society are tired of being treated like children and hearing the term ignorance of the law is no excuse.

I feel the only way to fix corrupt police is to drop massive punishment down on officers for screwing up. Civil rights violations should be given a life sentence. Any kind of wrongful death should be given a death sentence. Corruption should hold massive amounts of years in prison.


But honestly nothing will change. People will just give up their rights to "comply" with officers just because they don't want to be beat down.

[#1Townie]

http://youtu.be/1JQbYpwUWkc

youtu.be/_M8iLnIMOYE

http://youtu.be/ET8K2Lg82y8

[bulldog]

This site has been following Police Misconduct since 2009. Plenty of "videos" and stories that prove this happens! Just putting it put there for curiosity and reference as I do believe there are good cops too.

http://www.copblock.org/tag/injustice-everywhere/

[Ezzzzy1]

Hey Aaron... Get the violation number for not being able to see my license plate from 50 feet away. Id like to read up on it a bit.

And he didnt pull me over because my plate was stuffed up under everything behind my tire. It was mounted in the correct spot, at the angle the fender bracket came.


For what its worth most people have a hard time reading a CARS license plate at that distance.

Second, since im guilty and know it, what would you do if you saw a license that had an "M" endorsement on it but it was missing in the system? Would you write that person a ticket?

[BikesRider777]

I got pulled over for doing 5mph over the speed limit this summer by a CSP. When I said that I thought cops were allowed discretion and most wouldn't give tickets for going just a little bit over, he said that it was illegal for cops to NOT write the ticket (or something along those lines...basically, that cops were breaking the law by ignoring drivers going any amount over the speed limit). And then he wrote me a ticket, for 5mph over. I'm not kidding. I was completely polite and pulled right over. Its because I was wearing leathers, I know it.

That's why I really love when people say "Don't want the cops to mess with you? Then don't break the law." That's the logic of an 8 year old.

Just felt like sharing.

[broncsrule21]

This isn't Russia, you shouldn't need video evidence to protect you from a cop having a bad day. I have stories too, but don't need to go into them because of course I am also a liar because there was no video evidence....right...

[Zanatos]

More than a year ago, I was on my way to Colorado Springs from Cripple Creek. Along the way, I saw two cars pulled over by state troopers, and I remember thinking, "Man, I need to be extra cautious tonight."

As I was riding down the hill into Manitou Springs, I downshifted to keep the bike under the speed limit (I think it's 30 or 35). Lo and behold, a Manitou Springs cop pulls out and flips his lights on right behind me. I pull over, and he proceeds to tell me that he clocked me going 57 mph. I asked him if I could see the reading on the radar gun, and he showed me. It said 62 mph. (He told me he was cutting me a break by writing it up for 57.)

The problem with radar guns is that most of them do not show the time that a reading was taken. So an unscrupulous officer can clock someone going 62 mph at the beginning of his shift - then he can write tickets to dozens of people using that reading (especially if he "cuts breaks to people" so that the tickets show various speeds.

Anyway, I decided to fight the ticket and went to court in Manitou Springs. While I was waiting to go into the court room, I met dozens of other motorists who were fighting their tickets as well. One was a little white-haired old lady. She told me she had lived in Manitou for 30 years and is always careful to come to a complete stop at intersections. But a few days earlier, a police officer had pulled a U-turn behind her and wrote her a ticket for running a stop sign.

I told her my story, and several other people started nodding their heads and saying, "They did the same thing to me. I wasn't even speeding."

Then the DA came out. He swaggered around and had an arrogant attitude. He told all of us, "You all can fight your tickets if you like - but if you lose, you will pay the max fine AND we will tack on court costs."

A few minutes later, he sat down one-on-one with me and offered me a deal. "Plead guilty to defective equipment, and I'll let you off with a $150 fine and no points. Plus, it's not a moving violation, so it doesn't get reported to your insurance company."

$150 was the exact same fine as the ticket - but I chickened out and took the deal because I didn't want to have points on my license, increased insurance rates AND pay an extra $100 for court costs.

[Clovis]

Ahhh yes, manitou springs, the liberal bastion!

[TFOGGuys]

I'll say it again: I've never gotten a ticket that I didn't deserve, and I've gotten warnings a number of times when I DID deserve a healthy ticket. I'm not sure what happened in this situation, but we have one person's somewhat addled account of his view of events, obviously colored by his personal bias. Did the trooper act improperly? I dunno, and neither does anyone else here. The dash cam video from his cruiser is a matter of public record, and an FOIA request is all that is necessary to obtain a copy. Once someone does that and there is a chance to review it, then we can all resume throwing stones and armchair quarterbacking.

[Nolan]

+1

I would really like to see this video.....

[#1Townie]

I'm sorry but cops lie too much these days to ever take their word for anything. And I'm truly sorry but if and I'm saying if a sport bike was trying to dip on a car there would be very little chance that cop would ever see the opportunity to get along side of it let alone run it off the road.

I don't need to see the video to know that a bike running from a cop car won't leave that chance. Sorry guys there is no way a stock a cruiser can keep up with even a 600.

The day of cops and their words being taken for as absolute fact is coming to an end. Soon we will see those cops have to "prove" their word.

[Wrider]

My personal favorite story was when I was heading down from Woodland Park (where I was working) back to Colorado Springs. 97 Chevy Lumina sedan starts tailgating the crap out of me. I brake gently, then tap my brakes repeatedly, then brake check him but he just won't get off of my ass, even with the left lane wide open and clear. I resort to doing 15 under the limit, and he does nothing but get closer.

Finally I had it with him and punched it. I left him in the dust, then slowed back down to the speed limit and continued on my merry way. A mile or two later he catches back up to me and proceeds to get on my ass again. So I repeat the punching procedure and this time get in front of another car (no doubt wondering why the asshole got right in front of him and slowed down a little). Jackass Lumina gets up to me, and cuts off the car behind me like nobody's business. As in almost hits him just to get behind me.

As soon as I hit the El Paso County line, he flips down his visors and hits the lights. Pulls me over for "reckless driving". I told him that I was trying to get away from the jerk tailgating me (him) and he said "If you felt like you were in danger, why don't you just call the cops and/or pull over?". I was in the canyon with no cell service and who the hell pulls over when they feel like someone is following them?

I had two other guys in the car both wondering why I was pulled over and those same two guys wrote me letters with their version of the incident, signed and notarized. DA dismissed their testimony and gave me the full ticket plus court costs.

Sad truth is that we now have a legal system, not a justice system. Big difference in the two.