Seal Beach Police = pricks. Check out what happened....

[Andrew A4]

So tonight at about 2:30am after helping a friend finish changing the clutch in his wifes Beetle, i was almost home and out of nowhere a Seal Beach cop decides to pull me over.

First off, i was going the exact speed limit and was 100% sober. When I asked nicely why I was pulled over, the cop got pissed and made me get out of the car. First he accused me of speeding and after having no proof of that offense and how I explained that his story about catching me on radar was bogus since my Valentine One never had a single blip.

Next he tried to tell me my car didn't belong to me and so he spent about 20 minutes going over my license, registration, and tried to play "circle talk"... which is how they ask questions and re-ask them in a slightly different way with the hopes of you making a mistake. I knew the game and when i noticed two other patrol cars arrive... I commented on how boring of a night they must be having.

That prompted another 40 or so minutes of sobriety tests which i clearly passed... so of course he decided to have me take a breath-o-liser. Blowing a .01 and passing in flying colors, i was then accused of being stoned (i haven't touched weed in 5 years) and played his little game with the flashlight in your eyes.

Finally, I was asked if they could search my vehicle. Considering that this ordeal was now over an hour long and I was starting to lose my cool, I told him to get a warrant or get a K9 unit to do the check because I told the cop that I didn't trust him one bit and how this whole incident was a witch hunt.

He finished by first trying to ticket me for 'modified exhaust', but unfortunately for him, my Neuspeed setup is actually legal. Next he said I was running 6,000k HID lights and they were illegal. Fact was, my HIDs are 100% stock.

Just before the police finally let me get back in my car and drive home, they threatened to arrest me for refusing a vehicle search and for my "piss poor attitude".... which actually started after the first hour of the 2 or so hour incident. I sarcastically replied "By the way... you never truthfully answered my question about why I was pulled over? Did you know that the law states that a police officer must have probable cause to do so? I know the Chief of Police in Seal Beach personally.... and I'll be giving him a phone call first thing tomorrow. I hope your abuse of authority tonight was worth it."

I gave him a large smile and proceeded to finish my drive home... which incidentally was only a half mile from where this happened.

Long story short.... while I have great respect for police, some of them like the one I met tonight give a horrible reputation to the vast majority of cops who are great people.


.... time for sleep. what an exhausting night.

[Goped220]

I love New York the NYPD is chill!

[Phrost]

are you really calling the chief of police? Dooo itttt

[Andrew A4]

^^^ Yep. My father has known him since the 60's when my dad was a Seal Beach firefighter.

[R1NSE]

As a precursor, I am an attorney and specialize in law enforcement defense which means that when people sue the police over these types of incidents, I represent the police.

If you are up to it, then you should get an attorney and file a lawsuit. As this is a Federal Civil Rights action the attorney won't be charging you a dime because under 28 USC 1988 they are entitled to attorney's fees from the defendant if they win.

Based on your story there are several problems with the cop's behavior. First, it doesn't appear that he had probable cause to pull you over in the first place. Second, they kept you entirely too long. Even after they had probable cause to stop you, they are required to have further probable cause to detain longer than the normal time to give an individual a ticket. Which is usually about 30 minutes. Third, the officer's threat of a ticket for refusal to search your vehicle. You have the right to decline a search of your vehicle.
If he has probable cause to search it, then he wouldn't need to ask you.

If you want any more advice on how to pursue this, then just ask.

[Andrew A4]

As a precursor, I am an attorney and specialize in law enforcement defense which means that when people sue the police over these types of incidents, I represent the police.

I have no desire to sue the police over something like this. I just want the guys boss to know how big of a prick the cop was.

If you are up to it, then you should get an attorney and file a lawsuit. As this is a Federal Civil Rights action the attorney won't be charging you a dime because under 28 USC 1988 they are entitled to attorney's fees from the defendant if they win.

If something happened that was so bad that i'd sue the police, my attorney Thomas Stolpman is one of the best there is. He's also the former president of the California State BAR.

Based on your story there are several problems with the cop's behavior. First, it doesn't appear that he had probable cause to pull you over in the first place. Second, they kept you entirely too long. Even after they had probable cause to stop you, they are required to have further probable cause to detain longer than the normal time to give an individual a ticket. Which is usually about 30 minutes. Third, the officer's threat of a ticket for refusal to search your vehicle. You have the right to decline a search of your vehicle.
If he has probable cause to search it, then he wouldn't need to ask you.

If you want any more advice on how to pursue this, then just ask.

Thanks for the info, but it's not worth pursuing. The whole time I knew my rights which is why I think the guy got so pissed. I'm sure i'll probably be watched closely in the future by him and his buddies....

oh well...

[Audios Muchacho]

Finally, I was asked if they could search my vehicle. Considering that this ordeal was now over an hour long and I was starting to lose my cool, I told him to get a warrant or get a K9 unit to do the check because I told the cop that I didn't trust him one bit and how this whole incident was a witch hunt.

Don't police still need a warrant or your permission to search the car even if it is a K-9 unit?
I had a cop ask me to search my car, I told him no. Then he said he would just have a K-9 unit come out and I said, I won't give that officer permission to search either, get a warrant. He moved on to discussing the window tint citation. I really don't know why he didn't call a K-9, but I assume it was that I wouldn't let them search, or he was just trying to waste my time.

[R1NSE]

Don't police still need a warrant or your permission to search the car even if it is a K-9 unit?
I had a cop ask me to search my car, I told him no. Then he said he would just have a K-9 unit come out and I said, I won't give that officer permission to search either, get a warrant. He moved on to discussing the window tint citation. I really don't know why he didn't call a K-9, but I assume it was that I wouldn't let them search, or he was just trying to waste my time.

No. The Supreme Court has ruled that a dog walking around the exterior of your vehicle is not a search under the 4th Amendment. However, as I stated above, they cannot make you wait around for an hour for the dog to show up.

[LimiTed]

how that sucks. i used to go thru that shit when i was still in the honda scene. i have friends and family of friends who are cops, sheriffs, and also chp. like you i have mad respect for police officers but unfortunately there are those who abuse their power. what i usually do is as for their badge number and their captains name when i realize this is going on. of course i ask for it politely. and i just make a complaint the next day.

[Vito Roma]

I love New York the NYPD is chill!

Yes Ny cops are chill compared to when i get pulled over down south!! My 2 friends who are girls just got pulled over in S. Carolina and the cop was a dick. check out my post in the b7 chatter talk

[surfsidedetail]

HAHA living in Surfside I have to watch out for the Seal Beach police all of the time. Some of them are cool and some of them are not. Good luck

[MikeyG6767]

you are from Seal ! so am i, we should go to Clancy's for a beer and shoot some stick

:o)

ya S.B are bad, almost as bad as H.B

I'm on 10th

[tdn]

I have no desire to sue the police over something like this. I just want the guys boss to know how big of a prick the cop was.



If something happened that was so bad that i'd sue the police, my attorney Thomas Stolpman is one of the best there is. He's also the former president of the California State BAR.




Thanks for the info, but it's not worth pursuing. The whole time I knew my rights which is why I think the guy got so pissed. I'm sure i'll probably be watched closely in the future by him and his buddies....

oh well...

If you ask me, it's not so much about you, but the community this cop has authority in. You knew your rights which is great, but unfortunately many others don't. Even if many others do, they may go through the same thing you did by this cop or others and unlike you, don't have friends with authority to complain to.

I'd really reconsider a lawsuit if I were you, especially if your story is accurate. You can take whatever you get from the lawsuit and donate it to the community (library, schools, aclu or right back directly to the city). It's not the money, it's the point you'll be making with the lawsuit which will help keep things like this in check in the future. The situation you went through happens often and not often enough are they brought up and something done about it. You already have a great attorney, help out your fellow citizens.

My 2 cents..

[LimiTed]

If you ask me, it's not so much about you, but the community this cop has authority in. You knew your rights which is great, but unfortunately many others don't. Even if many others do, they may go through the same thing you did by this cop or others and unlike you, don't have friends with authority to complain to.

I'd really reconsider a lawsuit if I were you, especially if your story is accurate. You can take whatever you get from the lawsuit and donate it to the community (library, schools, aclu or right back directly to the city). It's not the money, it's the point you'll be making with the lawsuit which will help keep things like this in check in the future. The situation you went through happens often and not often enough are they brought up and something done about it. You already have a great attorney, help out your fellow citizens.

My 2 cents..

i would make a complaint and thats it. by pursuing a lawsuit, whether u win or not, you'll be a marked man in seal beach.

[A4addict]

Hmm.. you think that was bad: I got pulled over by OC CHP officers yesterday and gave me a fixer ticket to remove my front door window tint and my Lamin-X. The whole ordeal was about 15 minutes...




Oh wait!

[supamannn99]

Damn, I have lamin-x too. how dark was yours? Those fix-it ticket issuers are fucking annoying. My lamin-x isn't even dark at all and you can still clearly see the taillights. hate that shit.

[HeymyAudi]

Fuck the Cops... This dick tried to ticket me after he thought I was speeding and he couldnt tell me how fast I was going.... I told him to stop wasting my time when people are fucking being mugged he wants to waste my time and his....

[A4addict]

Damn, I have lamin-x too. how dark was yours? Those fix-it ticket issuers are fucking annoying. My lamin-x isn't even dark at all and you can still clearly see the taillights. hate that shit.

Sorry to jack the thread, but I am absolutely annoyed by these fixer tickets...

Gunsmoke dude. My front window tint are 35%. They want me to clear my front window tint and gunsmoke tails by June.

I was on the I-5 at around 3pm yesterday, close to Irvine headed towards the meet with my gf. I was so pissed that we just went on a shopping spree at the Spectrum and didn't bother going to the meet

F*CK!!

I scheduled to replace my goddamn 35% to some clear anti-UV front window tint at McKenna next week and get my Lamin-X removed.

[nwnerd]

If you don't pursue it with at least a complaint, that's as good as saying that that type of behavior is acceptable. You need to make a stand, that's the only way that things will change.

[tomasmdiego]

those cops are pricks

[Phrost]

Gunsmoke dude. My front window tint are 35%. They want me to clear my front window tint and gunsmoke tails by June.

Damn man, you just did those! That really sucks

As for the K9 law, I'm pretty sure they call the K9 car right away if they suspect you have drugs. If the K9 car doesn't get there during the normal time you're detained for a normal stop, they can't keep you until the dog arrives. So if you have drugs, talk sparingly and cooperate except for the search lol and get it done quick.

The only thing that pisses me off, is when they let the K9 walk around the car without your consent. From what I've seen, the dog walks around the car and of course it's a dog so it's going to sniff in by the door, and as soon as the dog stops or something for a second they claim the dog has a hit and they rip open your door quick and let the dog in. Yes the dog is just doing what it's trained to do (sniff) but it will get dirt everywhere and scratch the shit out of everything.

I've heard stories where this would happen then the cops would rip off door panels and break shit, and of course find nothing then say see ya later we're not liable because the "dog had a it".

I think we need better laws for police disrespecting private property.

[80sGuy]

So tonight at about 2:30am after helping a friend finish changing the clutch in his wifes Beetle, i was almost home and out of nowhere a Seal Beach cop decides to pull me over.

First off, i was going the exact speed limit and was 100% sober. When I asked nicely why I was pulled over, the cop got pissed and made me get out of the car. First he accused me of speeding and after having no proof of that offense and how I explained that his story about catching me on radar was bogus since my Valentine One never had a single blip.

Next he tried to tell me my car didn't belong to me and so he spent about 20 minutes going over my license, registration, and tried to play "circle talk"... which is how they ask questions and re-ask them in a slightly different way with the hopes of you making a mistake. I knew the game and when i noticed two other patrol cars arrive... I commented on how boring of a night they must be having.

That prompted another 40 or so minutes of sobriety tests which i clearly passed... so of course he decided to have me take a breath-o-liser. Blowing a .01 and passing in flying colors, i was then accused of being stoned (i haven't touched weed in 5 years) and played his little game with the flashlight in your eyes.

Finally, I was asked if they could search my vehicle. Considering that this ordeal was now over an hour long and I was starting to lose my cool, I told him to get a warrant or get a K9 unit to do the check because I told the cop that I didn't trust him one bit and how this whole incident was a witch hunt.

He finished by first trying to ticket me for 'modified exhaust', but unfortunately for him, my Neuspeed setup is actually legal. Next he said I was running 6,000k HID lights and they were illegal. Fact was, my HIDs are 100% stock.

Just before the police finally let me get back in my car and drive home, they threatened to arrest me for refusing a vehicle search and for my "piss poor attitude".... which actually started after the first hour of the 2 or so hour incident. I sarcastically replied "By the way... you never truthfully answered my question about why I was pulled over? Did you know that the law states that a police officer must have probable cause to do so? I know the Chief of Police in Seal Beach personally.... and I'll be giving him a phone call first thing tomorrow. I hope your abuse of authority tonight was worth it."

I gave him a large smile and proceeded to finish my drive home... which incidentally was only a half mile from where this happened.

Long story short.... while I have great respect for police, some of them like the one I met tonight give a horrible reputation to the vast majority of cops who are great people.


.... time for sleep. what an exhausting night.

If you don't file a complaint about this useless prick cop, I will forward this forum to the following link:
http://www.ci.seal-beach.ca.us/police/phonelist.html

[chrislane31]

I just keep thinking of the Malibu Chief in Big Lebowski

[INTEGRATION]

I agree, SoCal cops are going way overboard over things now. Most of them are just trying to do their job but once in a while you get the @$$ that steps over the time and starts to abuse their authority. About a month ago a friend of mine was ticketed for having an "aftermarket turbo" in his BMW 335i... What a mess

[Phrost]

^ lol what was the infraction called? That's a bunch of bs.

[jcll2002]

^since when can you even get a ticket for that?

[INTEGRATION]

^since when can you even get a ticket for that?

^ lol what was the infraction called? That's a bunch of bs.

Don't mean to hijack but...
Yes, now there is a CVC code for "aftermarket turbo", because it goes along with altering exhaust equipment.

[r3dcloud]

yeah Seal Beach and Huntington beach police are a bust i've been pulled over 2 times in HB for my window tint first two times the cops just gave me a warning and let me on my way but the second time i actually got written up.

[jcll2002]

i didnt even know you are not allowed to mess with the exhaust. I knew you arent supposed to touch the test pipe though

[JayyyyyC]

If you don't file a complaint about this useless prick cop, I will forward this forum to the following link:
http://www.ci.seal-beach.ca.us/police/phonelist.html

DOOOO ITTTT

To the OP...Why wouldn't you? Just so that he can go around harassing another citizen who might not know his/her rights as well as you did? I can't imagine why you wouldn't press charges... abuse of authority happens everyday all over the nation, yet people don't take a stand against it because they somehow feel after being harassed that there's no point in it.

Unless of course the story was exaggerated.

[tdn]

DOOOO ITTTT

To the OP...Why wouldn't you? Just so that he can go around harassing another citizen who might not know his/her rights as well as you did? I can't imagine why you wouldn't press charges... abuse of authority happens everyday all over the nation, yet people don't take a stand against it because they somehow feel after being harassed that there's no point in it.

Unless of course the story was exaggerated.

Thats what I'm saying! I would make a big deal out of this, not only for your sake, but for others, who don't have a great lawyer like you apparently have or know their rights. I have a ton of respect for cops and i am personal friends with great cops who i know would tell you to pursue this completely.

Someone did make a good point though, that you might be a closely watched man if you're from the town, but if you're law abiding for the most part, I would make a big deal of this.

Oh well, it's your choice. I wish I had I could the opportunity you have right now.

[|FYASKO|]

All socal cops seem to be wound up or something, i got pulled over for 35% as well in irvine twice.... dont they have better things to do? sorry for the thread jack!

[TSlice]

You can't object to a K9 search if the cops had probable cause to pull you over. They can't just randomly stop people or set up a checkpoint and have the dogs search them though, the Supreme Court ruled this unconstitutional. And yes, the police were outside of their authority to hold you for 2 hours, and I would pursue legal action on principle, if nothing else.

[A4 KiDD 810]

Lol, it's a real good thing that you were assertive. I really hate when I hear these stories because I feel that if it happened to someone like me, just 16, 17, 18... in that area, then such an asshole cop would more than likely make us feel impersonated, and not really know what to do, and just make us nervous, and sometimes rights end up getting violated because of the common lack of knowledge among teen drivers. Like you said, if we even tried to be assertive because of one thing he did, then he'd hassle us for something else. Thats why when I read these stories, I try to remember what rights we have and stuff. If I was you, I woulda sued their ass off and walked away laughing, permitting it actually went down like you said. That's just me though. Its really too bad that some people have to be like this, but its all the more worse when you prove them wrong, and then complain to their boss. When you complain you should tell his boss that you have the right to sue and you'd probably win, even though you wont be. That'll have his boss pass the anger right on to him. Anyway, its unfortunate that this happened to you. Hope that nitwit officer gets some discipline.

[jackk]

This is completely unacceptable. Cops tend to get away with this kind of behavior because they know that the majority of people aren't going to bother going though with a lawsuit, and even once they do, the legal process might take anywhere from 6 months to 3 years before any kind ruling happens, not to mention it's a financial burden, and even if the plaintiff wins the case the repercussions for the cop's actions will be minor, if any. They are basically untouchable, and they know it.

[A4addict]

Damn man, you just did those! That really sucks

I know. I've been blasting Rage Against the Machine all day today in my car with my windows down just to rage against the motherf*cking machines of these god-forsaken cities of SoCal...

The only real reason I'm still here in CA are the bitches.

*ahem*.. girls, I mean...

[supamannn99]

The only real reason I'm still here in CA are the bitches.

*ahem*.. girls, I mean...

i second that thought.

[CX-7&A4]

The entire time I was in LA I never once got pulled over, not for tint, not for speeding right past a cruiser.

That's so great that you have connections through your father, I'd like to see the outcome.

[a4dc89]

damn cops can be such ass holes sometimes

[BlackSpeed2.0t]

=-(