A new danger for everyday drivers

[SEASNAKE]

At three AM this past Thursday night I woke to the sound of my front door being pounded upon and the door bell ringing. As I struggled to get my clothes on, I noticed that there was a sea of blue light activity outside of my house. I was thinking something terrible had happened to a family member, etc. as I went to my door.

When I opened the door I noticed a group of six (maybe more, I was still groggy)officers and at least 5 cruisers parked outside my house. That asked if I was the owner of a blue dodge viper with the tags "SEASNAKE", which I am, and then proceeded to tell me that they had reason to believe my car was stolen. They asked me to verify that my car was in the garage. A couple of sick heartbeats later I found that my car was still safely tucked away. When I informed the officers that it was still there, then they wanted to check it to see if the engine was still warm...It seems that someone in my hometown led a few officers on a high speed chase and got away. They tracked me down because I drive everyday, live in the area and the all know my plates. If I hadn't been so happy to have no family members hurt and my car still safe, I would have been pretty pissed to have been woken up at 3 am on a "hunch".

Some viper owner in the Wilmington, NC area owes me big time! And whoever you are, take it to the track and not city streets. 100+ around town at night is not safe and heaven forbid if a gungho cop kills himself chasing you.

 

[CitySnake]

Sleep walking is one thing....but sleep driving?

 

[Warfang]

At three AM this past Thursday night I woke to the sound of my front door being pounded upon and the door bell ringing. As I struggled to get my clothes on, I noticed that there was a sea of blue light activity outside of my house. I was thinking something terrible had happened to a family member, etc. as I went to my door.

When I opened the door I noticed a group of six (maybe more, I was still groggy)officers and at least 5 cruisers parked outside my house. That asked if I was the owner of a blue dodge viper with the tags "SEASNAKE", which I am, and then proceeded to tell me that they had reason to believe my car was stolen. They asked me to verify that my car was in the garage. A couple of sick heartbeats later I found that my car was still safely tucked away. When I informed the officers that it was still there, then they wanted to check it to see if the engine was still warm...It seems that someone in my hometown led a few officers on a high speed chase and got away. They tracked me down because I drive everyday, live in the area and the all know my plates. If I hadn't been so happy to have no family members hurt and my car still safe, I would have been pretty pissed to have been woken up at 3 am on a "hunch".

Some viper owner in the Wilmington, NC area owes me big time! And whoever you are, take it to the track and not city streets. 100+ around town at night is not safe and heaven forbid if a gungho cop kills himself chasing you.

Glad to hear all is ok with you, your family, and your snake. I would have been a lot more upset than you. Screw them and their games. It bugs me that they think they're smarter than you. The whole "We think your cars was stolen" bit was just to flush you out in case their hunch was correct. Feeling for warmth on your engine was to see if MAYBE you were they one that gave them chase. Let's say you just got back from a long out of state drive with no idea of a high speed car chase on the other side of town. If the engine was hot, they would have you in cuffs no if ands or buts. $5k in lawyer fees later, they find the **** and let you off without even an apology. For you good cops out there, you know it's true. Not all the time, but ONCE is too often.

I would have told them "My garage is secure and no way anyone could have stolen the Viper without me noticing, ESPECIALLY the noise it makes on startup... thanks for the concern... my wife and I have some Barry White on *wink wink*... goodnight." SLAM!

 

[98viperGTS]

that legal? they might be able to talk to you but are they able to check your car in your garage? Just asking. And seeing that you drive your viper often, if you would have told them NO to feeling the engine they would have been after you in the future.

 

[ViperRay]

Getting in the house by telling you they had reason to believe the car was stolen was entering under false pretenses.

If the engine was warm and they believed you were the culprit, AND YOU WERE, I believe any good lawyer would have that evidence made inadmissable.

Of course, if you really were the culprit you wouldn't have let them in the house in the first place and you wouldn't be legally obligated to do so without them having a search warrant.
Unlikely they could get a search warrant to enter your house just because you own a Viper... which was all thet had (except perhaps the color), let alone from a judge at 3AM.

 

[Warfang]

Getting in the house by telling you they had reason to believe the car was stolen was entering under false pretenses.

If the engine was warm and they believed you were the culprit, AND YOU WERE, I believe any good lawyer would have that evidence made inadmissable.

Of course, if you really were the culprit you wouldn't have let them in the house in the first place and you wouldn't be legally obligated to do so without them having a search warrant.
Unlikely they could get a search warrant to enter your house just because you own a Viper... which was all thet had (except perhaps the color), let alone from a judge at 3AM.

It *****... they got you in a catch-22. If you're innocent and let them in, they can say anything they want. They can claim the hood was warm even if it wasn't. Their word against yours 30 minutes later and no one else can confirm/deny it. If you DON'T let them in, then it's suspicious and they can try to use that as resonable cause.

We shouldn't have to live in fear that cops will put us in that position.

 

[gthomas]

It's not ilegal not to cooperate with the police, only to lie to them.
After checking to make sure the car was in the garage, you could tell them it is secure and that's it. You are not obligated to let them in, regardless of what they say.
And if they say 'If you haven't done anything wrong, what are trying to hide?'. You respond by saying, 'I used to believe that, but the fact is if you had probable cause, you wouldn't be asking me.'
Also, if the vehicle they were chasing had your license plate #, if they didn't bust in your door and take you from bed, they would have jumped you after telling them your car was secure in the garage.
Once again, you are not obligated to allow them in your home, and in order for them to go into your home without a warrant, they have to have a reasonable suspicion that bodily harm is going to occur, or a crime has taken/is taking place.
The burden of proof is on them, not you.

 

[charlesj]

damn, if you get that kinda attention from 5.0 for SEASNAKE, i wonder what kind i will get when my SP-DEMON plate comes in. lol...

 

[Warfang]

It's not ilegal not to cooperate with the police, only to lie to them.
After checking to make sure the car was in the garage, you could tell them it is secure and that's it. You are not obligated to let them in, regardless of what they say.
And if they say 'If you haven't done anything wrong, what are trying to hide?'. You respond by saying, 'I used to believe that, but the fact is if you had probable cause, you wouldn't be asking me.'
Also, if the vehicle they were chasing had your license plate #, if they didn't bust in your door and take you from bed, they would have jumped you after telling them your car was secure in the garage.

...and heaven forbid if you're a minority, pray your epilepsy doesn't kick in when they have you on the ground

 

[Vic]

Okay, but the part I don't understand is, What were you doing driving around at 3 am?

heh heh, just kidding, SEASNAKE!

At three AM this past Thursday night I woke to the sound of my front door being pounded upon and the door bell ringing. As I struggled to get my clothes on, I noticed that there was a sea of blue light activity outside of my house. I was thinking something terrible had happened to a family member, etc. as I went to my door.

When I opened the door I noticed a group of six (maybe more, I was still groggy)officers and at least 5 cruisers parked outside my house. That asked if I was the owner of a blue dodge viper with the tags "SEASNAKE", which I am, and then proceeded to tell me that they had reason to believe my car was stolen. They asked me to verify that my car was in the garage. A couple of sick heartbeats later I found that my car was still safely tucked away. When I informed the officers that it was still there, then they wanted to check it to see if the engine was still warm...It seems that someone in my hometown led a few officers on a high speed chase and got away. They tracked me down because I drive everyday, live in the area and the all know my plates. If I hadn't been so happy to have no family members hurt and my car still safe, I would have been pretty pissed to have been woken up at 3 am on a "hunch".

Some viper owner in the Wilmington, NC area owes me big time! And whoever you are, take it to the track and not city streets. 100+ around town at night is not safe and heaven forbid if a gungho cop kills himself chasing you.

 

[gthomas]

If you DON'T let them in, then it's suspicious and they can try to use that as resonable cause.

Not cooperating is not grounds for 'reasonable cause'.

 

[Warfang]

Not cooperating is not grounds for 'reasonable cause'.

Legally, yes. I mean they will take that as reasonable cause to harrass you further, because they're just so much smarter than we are.

 

[Casey]

It would seem that they just finished chasing a Viper and came to your house with you as a suspect. Not having concern for you. If that was the case, they could have just called you right?

I would have asked them to leave after the car was OK. Just me though.

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

When they asked you if the engine was warm, I would have said, warm my ass, the whole car is HOT!!! I just stole it last week.

 

[JUCD VPR]

I hate cops, but I think I might be one so I dont get so many tickets LOL

 

[SEASNAKE]

They said they tried to call me, but I had just moved and their numbers were not valid. Again this is not true because they had my address right and my new number is not unlisted. I'm sure they could cross reference it.

I had not driven the car since 5 pm so I didn't really care at the time if they checked it. Maybe that will keep them from doing it again. If it does happen again I will get names/badge numbers and file a formal complaint.

I go to work early and in another couple of hours I would have been on the road. I can just imagine what that might have been like if they hadn't verified my car already.

What a conversation starter though. Not many people can say they were the object of a raid because of the car they drive.

 

[ViperRay]

They had to have made a report on this incident which includes the visit to your house.

I would try to get a copy of the report from the police station.

If there's another similar incident, you can make a case for harrassment!

 

[ViperRay]

Also, when they find out you are asking for a report, they are likely to tread more carefully with you in the future.

 

[Neil - UK]

Sounds like a cloned plate, someone pinches any blue viper and makes a identical plate to yours, knowing your plate/car is not reported stolen they can usually happly drive around in it un-detected

Happens all the time here

 

[carguy07]

If they could prove they were chasing someone with your plate, then I would completely understand. If they never got a plate and just knew that you had a Viper, then I would be calling an Attorney and maybe Bill O'riley. At least bust their balls enough to get a dozen get out of jail free passes. What if it was a Taurus? Would they wake half the town? What if it was a Crown Vic??

 

[Warfang]

That asked if I was the owner of a blue dodge viper with the tags "SEASNAKE", which I am, and then proceeded to tell me that they had reason to believe my car was stolen.

How much you wanna bet they never got the plate of the guy they were chasing but either already knew your plate from seeing it drive around town or peeked in the garage before ringing your doorbell? Makes me wish I didn't have personalized plates sometimes.

 

[jimandela]

If they thought it was a stolen "seasnake"
why werent they out looking for it..?
how many cars and cops to check to see if it was in the garage? Shanagains!!
they were coming to take you out in cuffs.
One of them said let him go i know where he lives we will all go pick him up in 15mins and let the counterfeit seasnake go... bastages..lazy donut eaters. so, any leads on the counterfeiters? I would get a stock plate.

 

[SHADOW]

I think SS did the right thing by not throwing them out, and by being open to talking to them. If he hadn't they would be waiting to nail him in the coming days or weeks. Before my Viper, I had a flashy BMW, rolled through two stop signs on a local street one day. Later that night, a cop, who I knew came to my door and asked to come in a talk about an incident. A neighbor had made a formal complaint against me for the two stop signs, and she also came up with that I was traveling at a high rate of speed. The cop asked me if I was guilty, and I told him, I dunno, maybe - he told me he was going to report back that I denied all claims. At least here in CT., it is almost like a citizens arrest, but if you deny it happened, and it's just your word against the complaint, they can't ticket you. Always deny if they come to your house. Now in SS case, the cops observed the speeding, that's different.

Dave.

 

[Valhalla]

Booyakasha and respeck to da brotha who be gottin away from the man aaaaiiiight.

 

[Warfang]

I think SS did the right thing by not throwing them out, and by being open to talking to them. If he hadn't they would be waiting to nail him in the coming days or weeks. Before my Viper, I had a flashy BMW, rolled through two stop signs on a local street one day. Later that night, a cop, who I knew came to my door and asked to come in a talk about an incident. A neighbor had made a formal complaint against me for the two stop signs, and she also came up with that I was traveling at a high rate of speed. The cop asked me if I was guilty, and I told him, I dunno, maybe - he told me he was going to report back that I denied all claims. At least here in CT., it is almost like a citizens arrest, but if you deny it happened, and it's just your word against the complaint, they can't ticket you. Always deny if they come to your house. Now in SS case, the cops observed the speeding, that's different.

Dave.

No one said to throw them out. There's not much you can do in that situation that the cops put you in, but to smile and pray luck is on your side or that they hadn't already planted a bloody glove on your driveway. (Hi OJ! )

As I've said before, it's a catch-22. You're f#%ked either way. If his engine was one degreee above ice cream, he would be in jail now, forget due process and innocent until proven guilty. Those cops were playing judge, jury and executioner (if you showed them any righteous indignation... out comes the clubs or the guns). The guy just got lucky that he didn't just come home from a late drive having nothing to do with the car chase. What if the chase happened at a more reasonable time to be out? 10pm? 9pm?

The whole, "Is your car stolen?" bit is just wrong... false pretenses and all that. I'm sorry... it's hard to "clone" a plate and have it look legit, especially if you're close enough to READ it. On top of that, putting it on a Viper; It's not a toyota folks... the "bad" Viper will show up soon. He's obviously a victim of Vehicular Profiling. The real crime here is the abuse of power and lazy police work. The concept of "protect and serve" and "defend the constitution" escapes them.

 

[Makara]

So it took 5 police cruisers to verify that the car was in your garage?

 

[viper spray]

Sorry man , that was me just having a little fun , I will be back next week. spray.........

 

[Warfang]

Sorry man , that was me just having a little fun , I will be back next week. spray.........

hehehe... gives me a great idea. You should get a bunch of ViperClub members together and have them all park in front of the police station with cheapo paper written "SEASNAKE" taped over everyone's license plate. Then ask them if they can identify the Viper they were chasing the other day.

Then get ready to be clubbed silly.

 

[AG98RT10]

I would be aggressive about following up on this: they obviously weren't there in force to "see if you needed help with your broken-in garage door," they were coming for YOU. It's highly unlikely they even got a look at at the real "perp's" tag, probably weren't even sure of the make. It might have been a kid in a Mustang, for crying out loud!
This kind of thing is one of the unfortunate side-effects of the 9/11 tragedy, imo (not that it never happened before - just that the climate now really gives cops a bounce in their step!). Every walking gland with a badge out there has gone johnny two-guns on Joe Q. You can't jay walk without a cop showing up and requesting back-ups! Get ready for even more abuses of the Fourth Amendment, as the thugs with state powers can't seem to find enough legitimate ways to spend all those billions in fear money. When we finally realize they aren't doing things that actually help prevent "terrorism," it'll be too late to reign in the police state that's been unleashed upon all of us.

 

[Viperfreak2]

Most police cars today have cameras. Go to the police chief (of sheriff as we call 'em around here) and ask to see the video of the chase. I'd be curious if anyone was close enough to see the tag....

If they couldn't, they lied to you

There are good points to having a custom tag, and bad ones too.

I'd love to see this video on 'cops' but they'll never show such an embarrassment as letting the perp get away!