Tailgating a Police Vehicle

My question involves traffic court in the State of: Washington (Spokane)

Hello Everybody,

I received a traffic violation 46.61.145 for following an officer's vehicle too close. I would like to contest the ticket, as I do believe I am innocent. Here is the incident:

I received a penalty of $124.00 for following too closely Officer X headed westbound on I-90 near Maple Street exit. My first encounter with this police officer’s vehicle was just after I entered the highway at Sullivan. I had set my cruise control onto my normal 65 MPH and was in the far left lane passing slower vehicles, and the officer's vehicle was ~100-150 yards behind me. When the police officer’s vehicle had encroached upon me (within two car lengths) and it was evident that he wanted to pass me, I politely moved into the middle lane as soon as I could reasonably do so. A few moments after he passed me, I moved back to the left lane in order pass slower vehicles in the middle lane once again.

At times this officer’s speed varied from below 60 and above 65 MPH, without any vehicles slowing him down. Since my vehicle was still on cruise control at 65 MPH, I inevitably dropped my speed several times to maintain a safe distance from the officer’s vehicle in front of me and had to turn off my cruise control. My vehicle never encroached upon Officer X’s vehicle closer than he encroached upon mine, and I was always quick to slow down when Officer X’s vehicle slowed down.

I was pulled over as I exited the freeway, on the off-ramp.

Thank you!
Adam

You understand the speed limit is the MAXIMUM safe speed, not some obligatory speed. 60 is not unreasonable.
What distance he followed you at is immaterial. As your mama told you when you were six, two wrongs don't make a right.
100 yards is marginal at 60MPH.

Anyhow, this is Washington State. Your case will be decided by the officers written statement (you need to submit discovery to get it) and the ticket itself. Follow the thread stuck at the top of the forum called "Procedural Guide to Washington State" and post back.
We can't even think about a defense to we see what assertion the officer gave for issuing the violation.

Thank you. Can I discover the officer's statement before I officially contest?

One argument was that the officers speed varied considerably throughout the trip (I followed him for 10 minutes on the freeway), so he was (a) distracted and not in the best capacity to observe and (b) his varied speed meant I had to slow down, meaning I would get closer to him at moments (perhaps when he spotted me), but never without my foot over the break, slowing down to gain distance.

The other argument was that he defined what was "safe and prudent" for that day and those conditions by how close he followed me. If I followed him no closer, then I drove at a safe and prudent distance.

This is my first legal dispute, so your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I will post his statement when I receive it.

Thanks,
Adam

Quote:

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Quoting flyingron

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100 yards is marginal at 60MPH.

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Assuming it was dry, 100 yards seems fine to me. I've always used the 3 second rule for following. 60mph is 88fps, so 264feet. less than 300ft. Seems safe to me.

Had the OP had the sense to maintain a 100 yard distance, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

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Quoting astranberg

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When the police officer’s vehicle had encroached upon me (within two car lengths)....

My vehicle never encroached upon Officer X’s vehicle closer than he encroached upon mine....

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It should go without saying that repeatedly pulling up within two or three car lengths of a police vehicle's bumper at highway speeds is a recipe for getting a ticket. If the problem is that other vehicles are speeding up and slowing down, all the more reason to pay close attention to the speed of traffic and maintain a safe following distance.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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Had the OP had the sense to maintain a 100 yard distance, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

It should go without saying that repeatedly pulling up within two or three car lengths of a police vehicle's bumper at highway speeds is a recipe for getting a ticket. If the problem is that other vehicles are speeding up and slowing down, all the more reason to pay close attention to the speed of traffic and maintain a safe following distance.

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The point is that the police officer never had anybody in front of him, yet was speedng up and slowing down. That indicates he was distracted.

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Quoting astranberg

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The point is that the police officer never had anybody in front of him, yet was speedng up and slowing down. That indicates he was distracted.

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Or, maybe he was monitoring your behavior to see if your close approach was a one-off or habitual behavior.

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Quoting astranberg

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The point is that the police officer never had anybody in front of him, yet was speedng up and slowing down. That indicates he was distracted.

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It makes no difference. You are required to maintain a safe distance regardless of the speed.

Read the Washington State Procedural Guide, file contested, request discovery, redact your personally identifiable information and post a copy of any response you receive.

I will do.

Here is the officer's entire statement:

"
***************************

Officer's Report for Citation/Notice of Infraction # 1234ABC
The information contained in and attached to this citation/notice of infraction is incorporated by reference into this report.

I CERTIFY UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON THAT ALL STATEMENTS MADE HEREIN ARE TRUE AND ACCURATE AND THAT I AM ENTERING MY AUTHORIZED USER ID AND PASSWORD TO AUTHENTICATE IT.


Signature: JOHN DOE #: 0123


Date and Place: 6/4/2015 County of HERE

***************************
"

Seems easy to contest to me. How should I go about this?

Thanks,
astranberg

That's the actual statement? with "John Doe" and Infraction #"1234ABC" etc...

There was no evidence. This is a simple motion for lack of evidence, unless you left something out, like an extra page?

"Your Honor, I move to suppress the officer's entire sworn statement and move for dismissal. There is no evince offered in this case at all. The state has not met its burden of proof."

- - - Updated - - -

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Quoting JH-Engr

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That's the actual statement? with "John Doe" and Infraction #"1234ABC" etc...

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Likely redacted.

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Quoting Speedy Gonzalez

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There was no evidence. This is a simple motion for lack of evidence, unless you left something out, like an extra page?

"Your Honor, I move to suppress the officer's entire sworn statement and move for dismissal. There is no evince offered in this case at all. The state has not met its burden of proof."

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Thank you. I have a question. Does the officer submit a statement after I contest the ticket? I'm wondering if that's the reason he submitted no evidence; because I haven't contested it yet.


Correct, personal information redacted.

How did you get the officer's affidavit if you have not contested the ticket and requested discovery? What counts is what you get after contesting the ticket and requesting discovery, so yes, it is possible that the officer will submit a statement.

Alright, bummer. I didn't realize it was a statement the officer gave after it was contested. I talked to a receptionist at the courthouse and they said they could give me the statement. I guess it isn't the final statement.

I'll post back.

In the meantime, I also received a violation for driving with an expired drivers license (whoops!). There is no option to contest one violation and plead guilty to the other. Do I just do that at the courthouse?

Also, my friends seem to think if I successfully get the following too close dismissed, the expired drivers license is also dismissed since the officer no longer had any reason to pull me over. I don't really believe them, but they want me to ask you all regardless.

Thanks.

Quote:

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Quoting astranberg

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Can I discover the officer's statement before I officially contest?

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Quote:

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Quoting astranberg

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I didn't realize it was a statement the officer gave after it was contested. I talked to a receptionist at the courthouse and they said they could give me the statement. I guess it isn't the final statement.

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First, to “officially contest” means arguing your case in court. When you mail in your ticket with the contested box checked you are simply preserving all your options and requesting a hearing. You are not locked in and there is no downside.

The statement copy provided to you by the clerk should be the exact same statement you will get through discovery. It is the final statement, which the officer should have filed within 5 business days after issuing the ticket (that date is another thing you need to check). Did you read the Procedural Guide as suggested by Speedy Gonzalez?

After you receive a hearing date you can still file for discovery because it could potentially give you another defense (if you file on time and they don’t respond before your hearing). However, if the officer’s statement presently filed at the court is actually missing any testimony at all, you should be able to win a dismissal on that alone. Just announce your motion immediately when the judge calls your case, then read the motion that Speedy suggested.

Fantastic!! That post was ever so helpful and polite. Thank you searcher!

I did read the procedural guide. I'm going submit my contentment and discover this morning.

My only remaining question is what happens to my second violation (driving with an expired license), after the first violation (following too close) is dismissed?

I’m not sure whether the expired license violation would also be dismissed due to lack of probable cause for the stop, but you can try pointing it out to the judge. However if you have since gotten your license renewed, the penalty should be reduced to $50.

Quote:

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Quoting RCW 46.20.015

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Driving without a license — Traffic infraction, when.

(1) Except as expressly exempted by this chapter, it is a traffic infraction and not a misdemeanor under RCW 46.20.005 if a person:

(a) Drives any motor vehicle upon a highway in this state without a valid driver's license issued to Washington residents under this chapter in his or her possession;

(b) Provides the citing officer with an expired driver's license or other valid identifying documentation under RCW 46.20.035 at the time of the stop; and

(c) Is not driving while suspended or revoked in violation of RCW 46.20.342(1) or *46.20.420.

(2) A person who violates this section is subject to a penalty of two hundred fifty dollars. If the person appears in person before the court or submits by mail written proof that he or she obtained a valid license after being cited, the court shall reduce the penalty to fifty dollars.

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Hello everybody,

I received discovery for my ticket in the mail today:
1. "The State does not intend to call any witnesses not listed in the police reports." There are no witnesses listed on the police reports. I'm assuming this indicates that the officer himself will not be a witness; correct?

2. The only other evidence they have is the traffic ticket. Here is the officer's statement:

"
***************************

Officer's Report for Citation/Notice of Infraction # 1234ABC
The information contained in and attached to this citation/notice of infraction is incorporated by reference into this report.

I CERTIFY UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON THAT ALL STATEMENTS MADE HEREIN ARE TRUE AND ACCURATE AND THAT I AM ENTERING MY AUTHORIZED USER ID AND PASSWORD TO AUTHENTICATE IT.


Signature: JOHN DOE #: 0123


Date and Place: 6/4/2015 County of HERE

***************************
"

It seems that the State has little to no evidence against me. Can somebody please help me with my statement to ask for dismissal?
Here's what I have (from SpeedyG): "Your Honor, I move to suppress the officer's entire sworn statement and move for dismissal. There is no evince offered in this case at all. The state has not met its burden of proof."

And thank you for your reply, searcher99.

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Quoting astranberg

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There are no witnesses listed on the police reports. I'm assuming this indicates that the officer himself will not be a witness; correct?

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No, not correct.

In Washington traffic cases, the officer will only appear if he/she is subpoenaed to appear or happens to be there for another case. The only thing used against you will be the statement which, if it is exactly as you posted, contains nothing and thus should result in a dismissal as there is no evidence against you.