That's a great video, Lod. I applaud that man for sticking it to that cop. In Oct of 2000, I was riding my bike home from work one afternoon when a cop pulled me over and wanted to cite me for wearing earphones. I was listening to my walkman as a means to deter driverby harassers. Anyways, this cop demanded identification. I told him I had none. He told me to sign the ticket or else he was going to take me jail. So guess what I did to that ticket, I signed it, "I am signing this ticket under duress and I do not waive any of my constitutional rights." He looked at the ticket, gave me my portion and took off. A few weeks later, I showed up in court to contest this damn ticket and explained to the judge why I had my headphones on. The cop who pulled me over was present. The judge dismissed the ticket charge. I guess the cop lost his commission for that one. :(
In California, tickets like these are called "Infractions" which help generate revenue for the city of L.A. All of this shit happens in Malibu at these speed traps along the way.
Anyways, this cop demanded identification. I told him I had none. He told me to sign the ticket or else he was going to take me jail. So guess what I did to that ticket, I signed it,
You should have signed a fake name and saved yourself a trip to the court.
Not after they take your fingerprint. That's why I signed "under duress". That way they can't accuse me of evading a court appearance and put a bench warrant out for my arrest. But I sure as hell can contest a bogus ticket that this cop was hustling me up on. I was not even riding on the street but on the sidewalk. And there is no law out there that prohibits riding bikes on sidewalks.
Nope not at all. The problem is this cop was harassing me and obviously had been following me just about every day that I went to and from work. When he finally pulled me over threatening me with jail simply because I had no id on me I just simply played it cool and showed the court what an asshole he is. As he was taking my fingerprint, I was documenting his badge number. There is no law in the State of California that requires one to carry id. Never has been. That's the point. He didn't like the fact that I had no id on me and therefore, he threatened to take me to jail if I did not give a fingerprint. So, I challenged both the ticket and the fingerprint issue and even referenced the cops badge number. The court threw them both out claiming the officers actions were not appropriate.
Well, he must have known my route. I never drove on the road because of the assholes who cut cyclists off so I always drove on the sidewalk. And of course, I had on my headphones. I can understand it if I was riding on the road with my headphones on. That would warrant the cop's actions to issue me the ticket. But not when I'm riding on the sidewalk.