How to Get Police Dash Cam Video After a Car Accident
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Tennessee
Hi, first let me say thank you for any advice. I was recently in an accident and written a $57 ticket. The ticket price means nothing, and i will spend much more than that to prove I am innocent.
Quick version, I was pulling a tandem axle trailer with my pickup truck in traffic and began to change lanes. Driver behind me catches up and tries to pass me using half my lane, half fast lane at appox 20 mph. We both stop when traffic stops, she creeps up next to my trailer. Traffic starts moving, as I start moving forward, she continues to try to force her way by me. I have to stop truck to prevent collision. With a break in traffic in the fast lane, she tries to drive around me, and clips the left front fender of my trailer with the back 8" of her rear door. There's zero damage to the front or side of my fender, and paint scrapings inside the rearward facing portion of the fender well. Damage on her car, starts in the front and clearly travels backwards, ( as if she ran into a pole). To me it clearly shows she was traveling forward and I was stationary. There's no damage to the front part of her rear door, front door, front fender or front bumper, just the scratch's appox 10" ahead of the rear tire. She flags down a HWY patrol officer and is screaming about it, I hear the officer ask is she is Memphis PD, and she says no her family is. Memphis PD arrives and ignores me and listens to her. He finally comes up to me and just asks for my DL and insurance. 2nd PD arrives about 15 mins later, ( he ignores me as well and goes straight to her) Then finally asks me what happens, and proceeds to tell me what im saying makes no sense. The officers go back to their cars and I ask to take a few more pictures of her car. He says ok, I walk up to her car and she starts screaming at me, without saying a word I turn around and walk back toward the police car, with her in trail screaming "He done got enough pictures of me car! He don't need no more pictures." The officer asks if I had taken pictures, I tell him " Yes sir, I took a couple close up pictures of the damage, and a picture from the right rear. I need to get a few pictures of the front of her car, as well as the right front door and fender." He asks me why? I tell him because shes claiming I cut her off and hit her vehicle. If I did what shes saying there would be damage to the front of her car, or the side." He tells me NO, you only need to take pictures of the damaged area. In the end, the officers give me a ticket for improper lane change. When I then ask why, ( not discussed but considering the vehicles were moved about 1/2 mile down the road, and now parked on the side of the freeway, her saying that I hit her, me saying she hit me, and the damage appears to show she hit me, why am i being given a ticket?is what im thinking.) They tell me that my story makes no sense, and hes been doing this along time. I politely say I understand that, and ask "Since this is going to court now, can I ask that you make a notation either in the police report, or on the ticket that I had requested to take photographs of the front and side of the car and was denied?" He told me, you don't get to make requests here on the side of the road. I told him, I just wanted it documented for insurance reasons, and was informed " Its all documented on the dash cam." I said thank you and pulled away with my citation. Still kind of confused about why I would get rail roaded by the police, and now having to PROVE that she struck me, I went to run the license plate trying to find the make and model of the car. Luckily I had photographed her license plate originally in the event she ran. When I zoomed in, the center of the plate has a LARGE Memphis police assoication sticker covering it, ( against TN law.) Looking back I found the video of the trooper asking her about her family, and now I believe that the 2nd officer arriving either was a relative, or acquaintance of the woman. I fully plan to appear in court to hopefully prove my innocence, followed by getting everything documented for the insurance company. First I am curious what I need to do in order to get a copy of dash cameras of both officers? I truly felt wronged by them, and as a very strong supported of law enforcement this was discouraging. 2nd, Any advice on what I might need to do to prove I am not at fault? I still haven't been able to get a copy of the police report, but considering I received a citation and she didn't, im going to assume it says I cut her off and hit her. ( physically impossible from the damage.) 3rd, I believe I can justify through pictures, that I could not do what she said. I will attach a few pictures below. Any thoughts?
Basic Drawing of accident.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...5/IMG_2914.png
damage to car
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...5/IMG_2526.jpg
direction of marks ( front of car right side of picture)
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...5/IMG_2535.jpg
Paint peeled up inside front of trailer fender well. ( between fender and front of tire from being struck from behind.)
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...5/IMG_2542.jpg
Re: Hit by Driver Associated with Police, Pictures Not Allowed, Obtain Dash Cam
It will be your word against the other driver's as to who was where and in what lane. The damage does not prove who had the lane, only where the impact occurred. I can make an argument for most any possibility.
Now, as for the police video, I suppose you can attempt to obtain it through discovery. However, as it does not show the collision and may have recorded otherwise private information of the other party, you may find that it will not be released via discovery. In that case you might have to either seek it through a public record's request, OR, a court order. Whether a court will find any video of the interviews relevant is questionable.
If it comes down to your word against the other's, a court may find there to be reasonable doubt as to the offense.,
Re: Hit by Driver Associated with Police, Pictures Not Allowed, Obtain Dash Cam
Quote:
Quoting
cdwjava
I
Now, as for the police video, I suppose you can attempt to obtain it through discovery. However, as it does not show the collision and may have recorded otherwise private information of the other party, you may find that it will not be released via discovery. In that case you might have to either seek it through a public record's request, OR, a court order. Whether a court will find any video of the interviews relevant is questionable.
In a civil suit between the two drivers, the police are not a party to the case. What that means is that a simple discovery request to the opposing side obviously won’t work. Thus, the party seeking the video would have to subpoena the police for it. If the police have privacy grounds on which to refuse to comply with a subpoena to hand over the video then you can bet they would have grounds to refuse to disclose the video in a public records request. Generally speaking a party to a court case can get records by subpoena that he could not get via a public records request but it typically would not work the other way around: one wouldn’t get with a public records request something that could not be obtained by subpoena. If the police refuse to release the video after being served a subpoena, then a motion to compel may be filed with the court and the judge will decide the matter.
Re: Hit by Driver Associated with Police, Pictures Not Allowed, Obtain Dash Cam
Yes, but he is talking about trying to contest the citation - not simply a civil suit against the other party. In such an instance, the police are a party to the matter and discovery should be permitted - as would the possibility of a public record's request for any video (depending on the status of such things in the OP's state). A civil suit, would, of course, be a different matter. I was considering his ability to seek any video as part of his argument in defense against the citation.
Re: Hit by Driver Associated with Police, Pictures Not Allowed, Obtain Dash Cam
Hi thanks for the reply, so basically the damage does not prove anything, and who hit who will not matter. Rather who was in the lane at the time. I ask this because she had a "witness" that supposeably saw the whole thing. Although the witness never stopped and she was alone. So I'm
basically fighting an uphill battle right now?
Your correct in the video part, (as far as ticket rather than civil court)my first step is to hopefully beat the ticket which is why I would like the video. (next moving onto the insurance part). I was looking to obtain a copy not to show the collision but to see what exactly happened with the officers. I would like to hear her "side" as well as mine and document the behavior of the other party. Also just to prove that I attempted to photograph and was denied in which I accepted without argument. And because I know the officer said the words," this doesn't mean your at fault" when he wrote the citation and told me to sign it, which I'm curious to see if the police report says that I am or not.( I will find out today.) Also I'm curious if the 2nd responding officer was a family
Member of the other driver. Honestly it's a $57 ticket and about $300 in damages I assume. I know it would be far cheaper to just pay for it, but out of principle I feel the need to fight it.
Re: Hit by Driver Associated with Police, Pictures Not Allowed, Obtain Dash Cam
The police did not witness the violation that they gave you a ticket for - it was based on the statement of the other driver. So if you fight the ticket in court, they would have to get the other driver to show up in court and testify as a witness (or perhaps submit an affidavit, don't know if that is accepted in Kansas). So you either get a chance in court to argue against the other driver, get to pick apart her affidavit if she is not there, or if she does not show up and there is no affidavit, you move to dismiss for lack of evidence. Dashcam video might be helpful as it may contain statements that the other driver made to the police, and you may be able to use them in your defense.