My town has a new DARE car

[yogibayer]

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/432138,4_1_JO18_DARE_S1.article

Never run is the lesson here

 

[Timmer]

I hope he's in jail too. 127 in a 35 is about the most foolish thing I've ever heard.

We all have a tendency to open it up once in a while - but in a 35mph zone?

 

[AFL in NJ]

Yeah, thats a good lesson, I can't imagine having to still pay for my car while its signed over to the police dept for D.A.R.E. use and knowing I'm never getting it back! I doubt he spent much time in jail as getting the Viper and likely a ton of money in fines and pleading guilty to felony fleeing and eluding likely got him a intensive community service and probationary sentence.

Regards,
Aaron

 

[mad0953]

What's a "Dodgee" Viper???? What is up with this country when a newspaper can't even spell?? I guess it's the same kind of country where someone has the mentality to go 127 in a 35.

Sounds like the cops at that station are a little bit weird also.....the article says if the cops try to drive the car someone "beats them off with a stick"!!! I just can't quite visulize that.

 

[yogibayer]

I'm going to go to the cruise night tomorrow and try to get my Viper near the DARE one.

 

[wastntim]

I'm going to go to the cruise night tomorrow and try to get my Viper near the DARE one.

I'll meet you there. We can challenge it to a race!

 

[Shandon]

WOW 92mph over the speed limit!!!! What the freak was he thinking. Wonder if a radar detector came to his mind. Thats one way to redefine "Spirited Driving" hehehehhee. I will remmeber this one, when I think Im having a bad day.

 

[Mccarlin]

I still dont understand this whole seizure thing and how its even legal for government to do that. I can see doing it with things bought illegally with drug money or something but for a guy speeding to take his 50K car? sounds a bit extreme.

I agree 127 in a 35 is just insanity though.

 

[99 R/T 10]

I am guessing since he pleaded guilty, he lost the car. If he were to have fought and won, he would have kept it, BUT with the laws they way they are now, it would not surprise me that Johnny Law could do anything he wanted and get away with it. Personally, if it was my car, it would have received a treatement of dynamite before any cops got a hold of it.

 

[DrDJ]

I still dont understand this whole seizure thing and how its even legal for government to do that. I can see doing it with things bought illegally with drug money or something but for a guy speeding to take his 50K car? sounds a bit extreme.

I agree 127 in a 35 is just insanity though.

I agree. What is worse 180 in a 65 or 127 in a 35? How many people on this board have shown their GPS readings or bragged about "opening it up?" It just doesn't rise to the level of seizing someone's (expensive) property. No one was killed or hurt. It should result in a jail sentence, fine , and community service. I hope the driver is suing to get his car back, with damages due to the jacked up paint job. Some ****** Barney Fife is probably going to wreck it anyway.

DrDJ

 

[kcobean]

Proof that our legal/justice system is out of whack is what this is. The seizure of 50+ thousand dollars worth of private property for a non-violent felony is criminal in its' own right. What's worse is that D.A.R.E. is actually a non-profit organization (i.e. NOT Governmental) that is getting the benefits of government seizure.

Of course, I would expect exactly this type of thing from the Socialist Republic of Chicago.

And I love the end to the article...

As he pulled out of the lot, he paused to rev the engine several times.
"No!" Siegel yelled after him. "Remember what you're driving!"

 

[dun4791]

I'm going to go to the cruise night tomorrow and try to get my Viper near the DARE one.

Im in Peotone, where is the cruise at? Time?

 

[yogibayer]

Im in Peotone, where is the cruise at? Time?

Downtown Plainfield. Starts at 6:00 PM.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

By any chance, is the driver anyone we know? I hope not! Some town about 3 hours away from me spent a lot of money confiscated from a drug dealer and bought a customized Viper (I'm thinking for $80k)! They also use it as their DARE car. I've never seen it, but it was a newspaper article about it a couple years ago. People were complaining about all the money they spent on it, instead of using the money for other reasons

 

[wastntim]

Downtown Plainfield. Starts at 6:00 PM.

Let's see how many vipers we can get there!

 

[kcobean]

People were complaining about all the money they spent on it, instead of using the money for other reasons

Rightfully so...drawing the connection between "Drug Abuse Resistance Education" and a high powered sports car is quite the stretch. If anything (IMO), if it was a drug seizure, all you're doing is showing people the kind of stuff you can buy with drug money.....Perhaps I should set up that **** lab in my basement......

 

[pocketAA]

I agree that what he did was stupid, but to seize his car is uncalled for. I would have handed them the keys and said go find it.

 

[yogibayer]

Let's see how many vipers we can get there!

Just talked to a guy that has gone before and he says that cars usually start lining up between 4 and 5. So I will be getting there at 4 and waiting for the DARE car to show before I pick my final spot.

 

[kcobean]

Just talked to a guy that has gone before and he says that cars usually start lining up between 4 and 5. So I will be getting there at 4 and waiting for the DARE car to show before I pick my final spot.

I hope you're going to 'boycott' this police departments "ownership" of this car by making sure he doesn't feel he's 'one of the boys'.

 

[plumcrazy]

i know a lot of us have done 127 in a 35 or much worse. especially when we were 17 or 18 years old. its wrong that he lost the car. but obviously a steep fine and ticket is justifiable.

losing a car for speeding when nobody got hurt is just BS !

 

[Cop Magnet]

McCarlin and DJ are absolutely right. Although we all agree the guy was a *****, the punishment does not fit the crime. Ever. If the car is an expensive one, it seems more obvious. But if it's a POS, in all likelihood the perpetrator is barely getting by. Seizing the car of someone in dire financial straits only pushes him more desperately towards the life of crime. This is the reverse mentality of deterrance theory.

Let's not even get into the issue of constitutional rights and the incentive on the part of the officers to commit perjury when high-stakes payoff like this are on the table. Personally, I don't trust a redneck cop from Plainfield one bit. Let's see the video.

If you think I'm being harsh, here's a quote from the article:

As he pulled out of the lot, he paused to rev the engine several times.

"Display of Speed"--not a felony, but a ticketable misdemeanor offense.

 

[Mccarlin]

I really hope the owner doesnt lay down and let the police department just take his car. He should file a hefty lawsuit, i know i would.

 

[yogibayer]

McCarlin and DJ are absolutely right. Although we all agree the guy was a *****, the punishment does not fit the crime. Ever. If the car is an expensive one, it seems more obvious. But if it's a POS, in all likelihood the perpetrator is barely getting by. Seizing the car of someone in dire financial straits only pushes him more desperately towards the life of crime. This is the reverse mentality of deterrance theory.

Let's not even get into the issue of constitutional rights and the incentive on the part of the officers to commit perjury when high-stakes payoff like this are on the table. Personally, I don't trust a redneck cop from Plainfield one bit. Let's see the video.

If you think I'm being harsh, here's a quote from the article:

"Display of Speed"--not a felony, but a ticketable misdemeanor offense.

Some things you should know

1) I agree that the the state should NEVER be able to seize individual property and this was a complete miscarriage of the law

2) 127 in a 35 is an egregious offense and I don't recall, even in my younger days, doing something like that in town. Outside of town on back roads or highways is a completely different circumstance and understandable.

3) My son's school is on that road within the 1 mile (less than 30 seconds at his speed) quoted in the article and there is no way he could have been doing the speed previously and was slowing down or something of the sort, because the lead up road is so bad that I fear to take my 4X4 down it at any rate of speed.

4) The car was not seized due to speeding. It was the fleeing that did him in and we all know from the news that's when people can be killed.

my 2 cent

 

[wastntim]

4) The car was not seized due to speeding. It was the fleeing that did him in and we all know from the news that's when people can be killed.
my 2 cent

I think the real story from this issue is in this part of the story. Did this guy actually flee, as they indicate? How much did he try and run? The siezure of the car is brutal, but the police are only enforcing the laws that are put in place by the legislature or community. They are not writing the laws.

A high speed chase is the equivalent of shooting a gun randomly. Driving that fast in a 35 mph zone even not in a chase is the same. If you think that someone who walks outside and starts shootin his 9mm should go to jail, then you won't be able to defend this driver. I think, as much as we might not like it for ourselves, this kind of policy is probably in the right direction. It's ok to be stupid once in a while, but not THAT stupid. Let's not reward the dumb luck that saved him from killing someone.

 

[Cop Magnet]

I just sent this letter to the editor. The issue as I see it is not whether this particular offense deserved whatever particular punishment. Yes, he should go to jail. The issue is the concept of seizure. The police office basically says he "thanked him" for the car as he took him in. Judge, jury, and yes, executioner!

Ms. Lundquist,

Although we are all happy when law enforcement comes out ahead, we should pause to consider the ramifications of the concept of seizure of private property. This is one small step away from the medieval "tax collector" seeing how much the landowner could afford and taking away as much as possible. There are issues of constitutional rights at risk here that you did not address. Even your own article make mention of three very telling points:

1) "It's a once-in-a-lifetime car." Doesn't anyone question the incentive of police officers when such high-stakes winnings are on the table? When secondary gain becomes the potential priority, the truth is at risk. It starts small, like parking fines, then it's seizure of other people's property that makes for an interesting read. But one day it could be you, and it could be undeserved.

2) "When Marzetta dropped the man off at the county jail, he 'thanked' him for the car." Interesting, as he hadn't been convicted yet, and the determination of seizure could not yet have been made. Again brings us to the potential issue of underlying motives.

3) "As he pulled out of the lot, he paused to rev the engine several times." Although not a felony, and certainly no comparison to the 127 MPH infraction, you should know that revving the engine is called "display of speed" and is a ticketable misdemeanor offense in the state of Illinois. If our police officers disregard the law, how can we honor it, let alone justify a seizure of such disproportionate magnitude?

Your article was informative, but a essentially a "fluff" piece in comparison to the real issues here. You and your paper owe more to your readers and yourselves.

--Manoj K. Mehta, MD

 

[kcobean]

I think the real story from this issue is in this part of the story. Did this guy actually flee, as they indicate? How much did he try and run? The siezure of the car is brutal, but the police are only enforcing the laws that are put in place by the legislature or community. They are not writing the laws.

A high speed chase is the equivalent of shooting a gun randomly. Driving that fast in a 35 mph zone even not in a chase is the same. If you think that someone who walks outside and starts shootin his 9mm should go to jail, then you won't be able to defend this driver. I think, as much as we might not like it for ourselves, this kind of policy is probably in the right direction. It's ok to be stupid once in a while, but not THAT stupid. Let's not reward the dumb luck that saved him from killing someone.

Your first paragraph is partially right....the article says NOTHING about him actually running. It sounds like they're calling the simple fact of his speed "fleeing" or "evading", but we don't really have those details. While it's up to the police to enforce the laws as they are written, it is also their responsibility to accurately tie one's actions to particular laws in their account of the situation. If they're saying he was fleeing simply because it took them some time to catch up to him, that's complete BS. If he did actually try to hide or run, then that's something else.

All of the above aside, a fine and/or jail time is the appropriate course of action. Taking the mans $50K sports car, repainting and letting the cops go joy-riding at car shows is an egregious mis-use of the law, IMO.

Since we can all admit to speeding at one point or another, put yourself in this guys shoes. You did something incredibly dumb, and got caught. You're thinking to yourself "man, I'm going to jail for this one", then you come to find out that not only will you be going to jail, when you get out, you can go and see your car being paraded around under the guise of drug deterrence by the police department. This punishment does NOT fit the crime, and while I don't know that this falls under the 4th Ammendment, it certainly does stink of a police department that has lost sight of its' bounds. As others have stated, I hope the guy finds a way to recover his stolen property.

ETA: I re-read the article, and it does say that he attempted to allude police. However, this was still a non-violent felony.

 

[got one]

great...yet another viper that will be driven and abused by folks that don't truly understand and respect the cars power and looks. Door dings, ragged out motor, etc...all things to come for this poor Viper...

 

[Warfang]

i know a lot of us have done 127 in a 35 or much worse. especially when we were 17 or 18 years old. its wrong that he lost the car. but obviously a steep fine and ticket is justifiable.

losing a car for speeding when nobody got hurt is just BS !

ummm... I have NEVER gone 120 in a 35 when I was 17, and I bet a VAST majority of people here (yes, even Viper Owners) have never done it either. You're just *special* that way.

 

[KMODStang]

that punishment is absolutely rediculous, but that speed is not justifiable. you cannot justify that speed on a highway where the speedlimit is 65, let alone in a 35 that is in a town.

what state was this in?

 

[wastntim]

what state was this in?

Illinois, the Land of Lincoln.

I do agree that the taking of the viper seems extreme and would not result in even fines being imposed in all cases. Had the guy been doing 135 mph in a Ford Festiva, after rubbing their eyes in disbelief, they would have taken that vehicle which would have hardly been equivalent in a monetary sense. So to that extent, I believe the punishment is too extreme and unfair. However, I see nothing wrong with a fine that really hurts his pocket. i.e. $5,000.