Can A Police Officer Issue A Ticket If He Did Not Witness The Offense

[goodman]

Can a police offer issue a ticket if he did not witness it. I got into a minor bumper accident, in Long Beach, CA, involving me and a short yellow school bus with 3 kids on board. There were no injuries and damages were less than $300 for both vehicles. Since it was a school bus accident I was told that I must wait for the police to come and write a report. When they came two hours later they wrote a ticket for right of way, and provisional license, even though my provisions had ended because I had turned 18 by the time of the accident. When I got the ticket in mail I had an $800 fine for right of way and not having insurance, which the officer never asked me for.

[BOR]

Yes, a misdemeanor/minor crime/infraction citation does not mandate an "in presence" requirement, meaning the officer does not have to witness it to have probable cause to charge a crime.

It is also generally possible to obtain an arrest warrant, on complaint, so a citation/summons is preferable to a full custodial arrest.

[blewis]

Just to expand on what BOR stated, CVC 40600 states:

(d) For purposes of this article, a peace officer has reasonable cause to issue a written notice to appear if, as a result of the officer's investigation, the officer has evidence, either testimonial or real, or a combination of testimonial and real, that would be sufficient to issue a written notice to appear if the officer had personally witnessed the events investigated.

If you did, indeed, have insurance at the time, that part of the ticket should be dismissed once you show proof.

Good luck,
Barry