Police officiers abusing their power?

I was pulled over tonight driving from a friend's house back to campus for driving too SLOW. The officer said I was going 30 in a 55, but that would be an extreme because the average speed limit is around 40.
The thing is, he was a serious *** to me
He threatened to give me a ticket for going too slow (I go to a small university out in the country and am scared of deer jumping out in front of me, plus it was late and no one else was on the road besides Porky)... and then he noticed my radar detector (which had nothing to do with how slow I was driving) and threatened to give me a ticket for having that.
I asked him if they are illegal and he said no, but that he'd give me a ticket just for having one because it implies that I speed frecuently.
I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET MY WHOLE LIFE. I was very polite and had all of my info, and then the guy stuck his flashlight in my face, "Are you ON anything?"
Is there anything civilians can do when officers treat them like this?
Additional Details
To LEX

I am very offended at your comment. My older brother died from alcoholism and I have never touched the stuff in my life.

I'm not saying there are not nice cops out there, but this one made me feel extremely threatened when I had done absolutely nothing wrong and I just don't think it's okay for cops to harrasss people like that if they have no reason.

mebe1042

Yes, you can be cited for traveling too slow. It normally falls under a statute that prohibits obstructing traffic.

As for the rest, I'd find your story a little more believeable if you wouldn't have referred to the Officer as "Porky". Sorry, but that tells me you were less than pleasant to deal with as well.

Lex

He should have stopped you. People who drive drunk typically drive slower because they think it's safer when it's more likely to cause accidents. Btw, he can't give you a ticket for speeding if you weren't speeding and when you sober up you might want to look at the "question" again.

Carlos

i think that some cops might seem to rude, but they r also very careful when stopping and approaching a vehicle.

chi-town12

You didn't get a ticket so I would just let it be. You going 25 miles under the speed limit would give good probable cause for a traffic stop, as driving that slow is a indicator of someone driving under the influence. Not all cops are a-holes, so don't judge all cops based on your experience with this one.

Jax Cop

I'd like to hear the officer's side of the story. I bet it would be a little different.

sh!t@ss

Excellent question!

Contrary to popular belief, it DOES happen.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2715792117793977759&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8633877594341134524

California Street Cop

Because of what I see here, I have to tell you that to survive in life, you really need to grow some thicker skin.

He was investigating a possible drunk driver. I imagine you gave him some attitude.

...

Yes, I think they can. A few weeks ago (while I was visiting friends in another state) I was locked out of the place that I was planning on staying at that night. It was quite late and I didn't know what to do. Anyway I was standing by the apartments talking on my phone (since I didn't know where I was going to stay because it was so late, and I was trying to figure that out) when "oh no!" I see a cop. I started walking towards the apartment and- he drives over and starts asking me tons of questions. I told him what was going on, and he pretty much called me a liar. We ended up talking for a long time, and by the end of the whole thing he was saying sorry, that he believed me, and ended the whole thing in a quite flirty way. I found it kind of ridiculous. I'm far from what many people would think of being in the least bit "bad" looking. In fact, I'm about the farthest thing from it. Anyway, as I was saying, I do think some of them misuse their power (and don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are a lot of good cops out there too). Not that what he did was extreme, but I'm saying I think it can be.

AlaskaMusher

Law enforcement, like every other profession, has it's azz holes. It would seem you found one. Quietly note his name and badge number and report him to the sheriff or other authority.

Are you sure you didn't let a "porky" or "piggy" slip out during your encounter?

Mildred S

If I had the time, I would report the incident to the watch commander / ask if there is a written complaint process. We do pay their salaries and when they do not meet our expectations , we need to let them know about that. In making your decision , consider if you live in a small town , because if you complain you run the risk of being hassled more. They stick together and my estimate is 50 percent our out and out corrupt. Point to saying that is they will pull you over and make up stuff you did to hassle you. You have little recourse. It costs you time/money from work / and attys fees. They are getting paid to go to court / you are losing money to go to court and possibly pay the fines if you lose. Does not take rocket science to figure out who is going to win here. Honestly, I don't think it was professional of you to have called him Porky ,if you did say this to him, but I don't know what he said to you. If you did call him porky that is rude and disrespectful to him as a person / but not a crime.

Drivers have to make tough calls everyday about how fast / slow to drive / when to use bright lights to make safe decisions. Policemen do not care about any of that. The bottom line is they have a set number of citations to issue to justify their job and they want to get the citations done so they can go lounge at Dunk and Dunuts for the next four hours of their shift. I'm disgusted by the police corruption we tolerate. Let's fire 50 percent that are corrupt and give their salary to the good 50 percent.

julez

get over yourself? dont listen to copgirl, it doesnt seem like u did anything wrong, and about him threatening to give u a ticket for having a radar detector??! if its not illegal, he cant ticket you!!! lol so yes unfortunately i think some cops abuse their power...

hotdogseeksbun

I to have been mistreated by the police,the only thing you can do is record your interaction with the cops.If it comes to your word vs them the judge will always side with the police.
I agree that he stopped you because he thought you were drinking. And radar detectors serve only one purpose so hide it until you need it.

King$mity

AS IN ALL CONNUNIST COUNTRIES--EVERYTHING IS AGAINST THE LAW--YOU BOUNED TO BRACK--ONE OR TWO SOMTIME

G.V.

File a complaint. It probably won't result in any action, but at least you have a complaint on the record.

He had the right to investigate your slow speed, but he should have treated you with a little more respect.

In my experience with police, I find that they are generally much more stringent with teens and young adults, particularly males (many times unfairly so and unjustifiably so), and like to intimidate them in ways they would never try with an adult.

Just my opinion, but half of them are on a power trip.

someones73

Yea most cops like the ones that answered this question just go on a power trip, they're just bored of sitting around all day with their thumbs up their asses so when they see a car they can stop they get aroused because they want to show off how much of a badass they can pretend to be, its all an act don't let them intimidate you, and he can't give you a ticket for something that isn't illegal so hes just an idiot for saying that as most police officers are, one thing you can do though is throw some intelligent sass his way that proves your point, he/she will be frightened at how correct and more intelligent you are than them and they will shut up (I've tried, it works), you can also get their badge number and say you were being harassed but that won't do anything because police officers aren't held responsible for anything they do, just like a child with a temper tantrum.

james b

He was bored and tryin to run somebody in so he could go flirt with someone who works at the jail. Why not file a complaint with his department? They have a complaint process in place so why not use it. Odds are your complaint will go nowhere but if enough of a paper trail starts to show up
It can cause him problems at promotion time.

CHEERS
SHAME ON LEX

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