Wylie PD

[lrb111]

This is not quite true, though it is an old belief that is common. An officer cannot arrest for an offense he did not see, but he can still issue a citation for it, or even file the charges in the court. This may be hard now since a traffic stop is legally an arrest, so identifying the driver is harder, but it can be done.

Most people are also unaware that they have the legal authority to go down to the local court and file a charge on their own. They have to be able to identify who the driver was when it gets to court, but they can go with just a tag and see. They also DO have to be willing to show up in court and testify, obviously. San Antonio Municipal Court used to do this for people filing complaints on PD officers driving. They should do it for anyone's driving.

You sure throw a lot of nuggets of info out. All appreciated, btw.
When & how did the traffic stop take on the character of an arrest?

[txinvestigator]

A PD cannot act on traffic violations unless they observe them.

This is not quite true, though it is an old belief that is common. An officer cannot arrest for an offense he did not see, but he can still issue a citation for it, or even file the charges in the court. This may be hard now since a traffic stop is legally an arrest, so identifying the driver is harder, but it can be done.

.

I disagree, and no PD I know of will do it. My PD had us write citations at traffic accidents, but it was based on our observable PC, and not simply some angered motorists statement that a violation occured with no shred of evidence.

[gregthehand]

+1 My constables office got calls all the time that some guy was speeding through some 'hood, somewhere. It is in the CCP that a peace officer can't issue a citation unless he observed the act.

[srothstein]

When & how did the traffic stop take on the character of an arrest?

In 2004, from a decision in the Court of Criminal Appeals. The case involved Kurtz being arrested for a DWI by an officer in the wrong city (wrong side of street with the border being the middle of the street. As part of the ruling, they pointed out that the only authority an officer has under the Transportation Code is to arrest for a violation, even though the code specifically says certain cases get tickets. Thus, a traffic stop is an arrest and the officer has the authority to release without charges, release with a citation, or book.

[srothstein]

+1 My constables office got calls all the time that some guy was speeding through some 'hood, somewhere. It is in the CCP that a peace officer can't issue a citation unless he observed the act.

Greg and TXInvestigator, we got those calls all the time too. I have yet to find a law saying I cannot issue a citation for something I did not see, and proof is all the citation issued based on evidence at an accident scene. A witness's testimony is a form of evidence that can be acted upon.

Most officers and agencies do not act on this, but it is really the old belief in play, not a law. All I can find in the CCP is what an officer CAN do, not what he cannot. He MAY arrest for a violation in his presence or view, but there is no restriction on filing charges for other offenses, just as he solves other crimes. Consider how recently it was that DWI was moved from the Transportation Code to the Penal Code, and look at things like leaving the scene of an accident, which is still in the Transportation Code. We go work those cases and solve them, then file charges. If we can do that, we could do it with any crime.

And since we do it with other Class C misdemeanors, like theft or assault, we can do it with traffic violations too.

I learned this from some very experienced officers that have actually done it. I also got an order form a LT once when I refused to do so at an accident scene. He got very mad when I turned the ticket in with "written by order of" on the comments section.

I learned that San Antonio will allow people to file when the principal of a school filed a speeding in a school zone charge on Kenny Randall. The principal got the car number, called the station to find who was driving, and went and filed the charge. Kenny had to pay the fine.

[CHL/LEO]

What gets me is watching the people drive the shoulder when traffic is backed up on the highway

I have found this to be the best traffic stop an officer can ever do. First, there is the look on the violaters face as he drives by your squad car and looks over at you. Most of the time you would think their eyes could actually pop out of their head.

But the best part comes after you have him stopped on the side of the road and all the drivers he had previously passed are driving by. Lots of them will roll down their windows and yell out, "great job officer", "thanks!", "that guy's an idiot and I hope you write him every ticket you can think of", or other comments directed toward the violator that are not suitable for posting on this forum - given the 10 yoa daughter rule. Even the ones that don't say anything will give you the "thumbs up" or OK sign, along with a big smile as they drive by.

A couple of times in stop and go taffic I've actually had people in their car take the time to roll down their passenger windows and start screaming at the individual I have stopped. I have often thought that these "passing on the shoulder" traffic violators must be some of the most despised drivers out there. In fact, I believe that if one of them ever broke down on the shoulder of the road while they were in the process of passing all these cars, that someone might very well stop and get into a fight (or worse) with them.

[CHL/LEO]

I have yet to find a law saying I cannot issue a citation for something I did not see,

Even though there might not be a law per se, quite a few departments have SOPs that do address that and prevent their officers from doing so. Mine is one of them.

[kw5kw]

<snip>

I learned that San Antonio will allow people to file when the principal of a school filed a speeding in a school zone charge on Kenny Randall. The principal got the car number, called the station to find who was driving, and went and filed the charge. Kenny had to pay the fine.

Really!??!

Wonder if Ft. Worth allows this? I have this one school zone that people disregard all the time! If they are in a commercial vehicle with a phone number printed on the side or back, I will call their dispatcher and let them know that their company driver just blew thru a school zone!

Russ

[stevie_d_64]

What gets me is watching the people drive the shoulder when traffic is backed up on the highway

I have found this to be the best traffic stop an officer can ever do. First, there is the look on the violaters face as he drives by your squad car and looks over at you. Most of the time you would think their eyes could actually pop out of their head.

But the best part comes after you have him stopped on the side of the road and all the drivers he had previously passed are driving by. Lots of them will roll down their windows and yell out, "great job officer", "thanks!", "that guy's an idiot and I hope you write him every ticket you can think of", or other comments directed toward the violator that are not suitable for posting on this forum - given the 10 yoa daughter rule. Even the ones that don't say anything will give you the "thumbs up" or OK sign, along with a big smile as they drive by.

A couple of times in stop and go taffic I've actually had people in their car take the time to roll down their passenger windows and start screaming at the individual I have stopped. I have often thought that these "passing on the shoulder" traffic violators must be some of the most despised drivers out there. In fact, I believe that if one of them ever broke down on the shoulder of the road while they were in the process of passing all these cars, that someone might very well stop and get into a fight (or worse) with them.

You know, I've called the Harris County Traffic folks about the shoulder drivers running up the shoulder on the on ramp from Beltway 8 to State Hwy 288 north...

It really is a dangerous activity and the traffic volumn is extremely high...But this does not condone the act, get in line and wait yer turn...

I have only noticed one traffic stop in the year I have made this part of my commute...And every single day its about 4-5 vehicles that do this and do it at a very unsafe, and high rate of speed...(at least when I hit that part of the road...It probably happens a lot more...)

I not only called to voice my concern, but I also put the almighty dollar sign in the conversation...

"Lots of revenue if you would step up the traffic enforcement in that area..."

I certainly do not, and will not, (much to the pain of repairs to my vehicle) yield to drivers who just expect you to cower in fear of their agressiveness...I'll take the hit if I am in the right, but yielding to someone coming up off the shoulder in this case...Nope...Not going to happen...Besides if they run, then you kind know what their story is...I'll get their tag, if I can, and be a good witness...

But...Somewhere in the near future, I'm going to put Houston in my rear-view mirror and never look back...So I might not have to deal with this kind of behavior much more...