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Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car

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  • 03-26-2013, 02:28 AM
    cestahl5
    Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: california

    so tonight i was driving home and my phone alarm rang so i went to turn it off and right when i picked it up i got pulled over. so he asked for all my info but i knew i had my registrtaion paper with me but i couldnt find it when he was asking foor it so i gave him my insurance and licnese then he wrote be a ticket for the cell phone which isnt the problem i am having and then he wrote a ticket for expire registration and took off my 2013 sticker and said i stold it and i didnt steal it i just couldnt find the proof of reigsration and after he wrote the ticket and took off my sticker when he was doing that i was looking for my reigstration and i had found and showed it to him and he said he already wrote my ticket and he wouldnt give me back my ticket so i have to go to court and show them that i do have my registration and go get me a new sticker and they will cancel my registration ticket but is it legal for them to rip off my sticker thinking i dont have register and not give back my sticker once i had found my proof of registration.
  • 03-26-2013, 02:46 AM
    Dogmatique
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    Can you please try typing in English?
  • 03-26-2013, 03:04 AM
    cdwjava
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    Quote:

    Quoting cestahl5
    View Post
    My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: california

    so tonight i was driving home and my phone alarm rang so i went to turn it off and right when i picked it up i got pulled over. so he asked for all my info but i knew i had my registrtaion paper with me but i couldnt find it when he was asking foor it so i gave him my insurance and licnese then he wrote be a ticket for the cell phone which isnt the problem i am having and then he wrote a ticket for expire registration and took off my 2013 sticker and said i stold it and i didnt steal it i just couldnt find the proof of reigsration and after he wrote the ticket and took off my sticker when he was doing that i was looking for my reigstration and i had found and showed it to him and he said he already wrote my ticket and he wouldnt give me back my ticket so i have to go to court and show them that i do have my registration and go get me a new sticker and they will cancel my registration ticket but is it legal for them to rip off my sticker thinking i dont have register and not give back my sticker once i had found my proof of registration.

    If they have probable cause to believe that the sticker is fraudulent proof of registration, yes, they can seize it. However, if the officer tore off the sticker solely because you could not provide proof of registration, that would be highly suspect and likely improper, at the very least. I suspect that he also ran the registration through his dispatcher and they informed him that it was expired or withheld for some reason.

    Is your insurance current? Have you had excessive parking cites? Could there be some reason the DMV might have suspended the registration?

    You can certainly present valid registration to the court and they can correct it for $25. Or, you can take it to trial and seek a dismissal if you choose.
  • 03-26-2013, 03:16 AM
    cestahl5
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    i never had a a ticked before and my registration was not suspend for any reason i was just trying to find my current registration paper when he did it then i did find the current proof of registration paper while he was still there but after he saw my proof he woudlnt give me back my sticker
  • 03-26-2013, 09:32 AM
    That Guy
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    Quote:

    Quoting cestahl5
    View Post
    i never had a a ticked before and my registration was not suspend for any reason i was just trying to find my current registration paper when he did it then i did find the current proof of registration paper while he was still there but after he saw my proof he woudlnt give me back my sticker

    How long before you got pulled over did you renew your registration?

    And what good is your registration sticker if you cannot stick it back on after it is peeled off? You'll need a new one anyway!
  • 03-26-2013, 11:53 AM
    cestahl5
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    I had renewed my sticker 3 months before. So if that the case that after you peel it off you can't peel it back on how would I be able to steal it then put it on my car. I am just mad cuz he didn't give me time to look for my registration he just peeled it off and said well you stold it but I didn't. I just don't think its right to peal. Off my sticker without waiting for me to find my current registration
  • 03-26-2013, 01:38 PM
    That Guy
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    Quote:

    Quoting cestahl5
    View Post
    So if that the case that after you peel it off you can't peel it back on how would I be able to steal it then put it on my car.

    Are you suggesting that the only way you could have stold (sic) a sticker is by peeling it off? That's not the only way.

    Quote:

    Quoting cestahl5
    View Post
    I am just mad cuz he didn't give me time to look for my registration he just peeled it off and said well you stold it but I didn't. I just don't think its right to peal. Off my sticker without waiting for me to find my current registration

    You can be as mad as you want but he is not under any obligation to sit there and wait for you to find your registration. You're required to provide proof of current registration upon request. Not 5 minutes later and not 10 minutes later. I'm not sure what do you want us to tell you or how else to help you resolve the issue.

    There is a good reason why the registration card has the serial number of the sticker. Now...

    To get a replacement sticker, you can go to the DMV.
    To get the citation dismissed you can pay $25 or you can take it to court and move for a dismissal. And understand that the $25 is simply because you were unable to provide a copy of your registration upon request!

    Those are your choices!
  • 03-26-2013, 01:46 PM
    Bubba Jimmy
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    Odd how folks will justify improper actions of police officers. No, the officer was not justified legally or in any other way to take anything off of your car. He can write you a ticket. He can have your vehicle towed. He has many legal tools at his disposal, but taking something off of your car such as a registration sticker, no, he is not at liberty to do that based on his suspicions. And, an officer has to allow a driver a reasonable opportunity to find a registration. You've not said how long it took you - how long did the officer wait before he wrote the ticket and vandalized your plate sticker?

    Peraonlly, I would lodge a complaint with his department and I would also go to court.
  • 03-26-2013, 02:38 PM
    That Guy
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    Quote:

    Quoting Bubba Jimmy
    View Post
    He can have your vehicle towed.

    Funny how you would justify a tow but not removal of a sticker!! Yes, both actions would prevent a suspected criminal action from continuing. But is it your opinion that a tow, which would cost the OP a minimum of $200 to get their car out of tow and then go chasing after the agency for a refund, is a better alternative that confiscating a registration sticker? Moreover, can you provide us with your definition of "reasonable"? How long should it take someone to reach into the glove compartment grab everything that is in there and sort through it to find their vehicle registration?

    Even funnier how people will attempt to change the meaning of words as they struggle to make a point. "Vandalize" is a huge stretch.

    VANDALISM: willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property

    Quote:

    Quoting Bubba Jimmy
    View Post
    Peraonlly, I would lodge a complaint with his department and I would also go to court.

    And in the meantime, you would still have no sticker!
  • 03-26-2013, 08:51 PM
    cdwjava
    Re: Can the Police Take My Registration Sticker Off My Car
    Quote:

    Quoting Bubba Jimmy
    View Post
    Odd how folks will justify improper actions of police officers.

    I do not recall justifying it, only offering an explanation as to why it might have been seized and what can happen next.

    Quote:

    No, the officer was not justified legally or in any other way to take anything off of your car.
    You do not know that. We only know that the registration was not presented. We do NOT know what the dispatcher told the officer or what the DMV return indicated. As i said, if the officer took it off SOLELY because no registration card was presented, that would be improper. But, the question then becomes, what do you do about it? A personnel complaint might be in order as might a claim to the city fot eh cost of a new sticker. What other realistic action might you suggest?

    Quote:

    He can write you a ticket. He can have your vehicle towed.
    He did write a ticket. And, no, he could not have it towed for expired registration unless he could verify that it had been expired for more than 6 months. If the officer believed the sticker was illegal he should have seized it and placed it into evidence for a possible case for fraudulent proof of registration. And, we don't know that this was NOT done, do we?

    Quote:

    He has many legal tools at his disposal, but taking something off of your car such as a registration sticker, no, he is not at liberty to do that based on his suspicions.
    That depends ... in some cases, sure he can.

    Quote:

    And, an officer has to allow a driver a reasonable opportunity to find a registration. You've not said how long it took you - how long did the officer wait before he wrote the ticket and vandalized your plate sticker?

    Peraonlly, I would lodge a complaint with his department and I would also go to court.
    I am curious what code section he was written for. If written for expired registration, then that should be easy for the OP to prove and he could ask for an acquittal. If he was cited for not presenting valid proof of registration, then it won't matter as he might already be guilty of that offense. Whether a court will see the delay as reasonable or not, I cannot say.

    And, as a note, once it is written, the officer cannot simply void the citation out in CA - it has to go through the chain of command and through the court.
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