Table of Contents

How do I get out of a ticket?

If you've been pulled over by a police officer and you want to avoid a ticket, you're probably out of luck.  In nearly all cases the officer has already decided if he or she is going to give you a verbal warning, a written warning, or an infraction ticket.  You can check out the advice on this page for some tips on how you can avoid making the situation worse.  Pretty much your only shot of getting out of the ticket is to be honest with the officer and take responsibility for your actions.  Say something like this:  "You're right officer - I was speeding.  I was late and in a hurry but I shouldn't have been going that fast.  I understand that you have a job to do."  The officer will be so surprised and impressed by your candor that he or she may let you go.  The worst that can happen if you say that is you'll get a ticket, which is what you deserve anyway, so why not be honest about it?

Back to Top

The officer who wrote the ticket is going to receive a subpoena which requires that they bring to court copies of the certification documents for the radar or laser unit.  If the officer forgets to bring those or they show that the radar or laser was out of certification at the time of your stop you have a good chance of beating the ticket.  Other than that you can pretty much forget about it.  All that is required for you to be found guilty is that the officer had to verify that the radar or laser was working properly; they must have been trained in the use of the radar or laser; they must have visually identified you at the scene; and the violation must have occurred on a public highway.  That's it.  If you have some plan about complaining because the officer didn't have his headlights on as he sat in the driveway running radar, or he didn't show you the printout from the radar, or there were other cars on the road so he gave the wrong person a ticket, or anything else except for facts which directly refute one of the four I listed above, you can forget about beating the ticket.

Back to Top

I get this question from people sometimes, usually other cops, or firefighters, or someone else I don't know but who is somehow connected to law enforcement or public safety or town government.  The short answer to the question of what "we" can do about it is nothing.  Your friend or relative violated a motor vehicle statute and got a ticket.  In my opinion it's asking an awful lot to call up someone you don't even know and expect them to tear up or otherwise void a ticket they were entirely justified in writing.  I am always a little surprised when someone I have never met before hits me with this question.  If my wife got a speeding ticket I would never in a million years call up the cop who wrote the ticket and ask them what we could do to take care of this.  I already know how to take care of it; check off box #1 and mail in the fine, or check off box #2 and go to court.

The best I can offer someone who calls me up with this question is to tell them that they can call the court and speak to the State's Attorney who is assigned to traffic court, and tell them I don't mind if they nolle the ticket.  The simple truth is that I never mind if the State's Attorney nolles a ticket I wrote - my job was completed when I handed in the ticket at the end of my shift.  Whatever they decide to do with it after that is based on their specific situation and has little or nothing to do with me.  If the State's Attorney decides the best thing to do for any ticket I write is to nolle it, that's fine with me.

Back to Top

Why do cops write parking tickets and then park their own car in the fire lane?

Cops write parking tickets because it is part of their job.  But I know what you mean - why can they park there and you can't, right?  The fire lane is there for emergency vehicles so that they have easy access in the event of an emergency.  If you see a cop park his car in the fire lane so that he can walk into Bagelman and get a cup of coffee, that's wrong and you can feel free to call him on it or report him to a supervisor at the police department.  But virtually ever time you see police cars in the fire lane in front of a store it's because there is some sort of a call inside the store.  Does it make any sense for officers responding to a fight or a shoplifter to park on the far side of the lot and walk to the store?  Of course not - that's why the fire lane is there.

Back to Top

Reading.

Back to Top

How can I get a copy of your firearms training lesson plans?

First of all, you have to be a law enforcement officer.  If you are then simply email me through the link at the bottom of every page in this site.  I need you to include your name, department address, department phone number, and your ORI so that I can verify your status as a law enforcement officer.  If you don't know what an ORI is then I'm going to assume you're not a cop.  Once I verify all that I'll burn a CD and mail it to your department address free of charge.  I had to stop allowing people to leave me all that info on a voice mail because they all seemed to think they were competing in a speed-talking contest as they did so.

Back to Top

How can I get my Chief to approve a patrol rifle program?

In addition to the lesson plans and courses of fire I can provide, I also have a copy of my proposal for a patrol rifle program in my department.  It's free to any law enforcement officer who wants it and it serves as a good basis for your own similar proposal.  Simply email me through the link at the bottom of every page in this site.  I need you to include your name, department address, department phone number, and your ORI so that I can verify your status as a law enforcement officer.  Once I verify all that I'll burn a CD and mail it to your department address free of charge.

Back to Top

How do I become a police officer?

In Connecticut you have to be hired by a city or town before you can go to the police academy.  Check at the town halls or city halls of the places you'd like to apply and see if any of them are giving tests any time soon.  Most municipalities will give a written test to everyone who applies, and then those with a high enough score go on to the physical agility test, the psychological test, the background investigation, and the polygraph exam.  Different cities have different requirements, so check with city hall for specifics.  Some places pool their resources, so you go through the testing process once but you have five or ten different departments looking at the results.

Back to Top