[ShzaTSX]

Hey so I've been sporting front and rear JDM Honda/EuroR badges for years now, and just yesterday I got pulled over by a cop who was furious that I switched from Acura TSX to Honda... He said I'm lucky I wasn't pulled over at gunpoint? Really?

He said this is illegal to change badges, and he thought my car was stolen.

Anyone else ever run into this trouble? The cop was a total jerk... flexing his own 'badge'. I think he was just trying to find something to pull me over for and check my records - which are clean.

I'm sure this law varies state by state, but it's not like I'm changing VINs or anything

 

[jteeen]

Sounds ridiculous if you ask me, it's like saying you can't put body kits because it'll be a totally different car...

And how can it be stolen if you can show a proper paper work i.e. registration

 

[kuma912]

What did he actually pull you over for? Next time get his badge number and file a complaint.

 

[tsx4life]

Cop was beat... Lol

 

[tottenham12712]

Totally legal, your reg states what model, year, and color the car is. The second he looks your plates up he gets that info. He was just a dick that was probably a muscle car guy and decided to give you a hard time.

The badge on the car means nothing, If the cop looks at that and decides thats the model of the car he did his job wrong. In fact Ive gotten out of parking tickets that way .

Secondly what about debadging a car? NOW HE CANT TELL WHAT KIND OF CAR IT IS.... lol, dont worry about it, buy a gpro and make sure they are aware they are being recorded, there attitude changes pretty quickly.

 

[bluefang08]

Its not like you changed the VIN plates...

He was just trying to be a dick.

 

[aNgRyAgEnT]

You should of gotten his name and badge number at the end of the conversation and tell him he was being recorded the whole time and you were going to the watch commander to file a harassment complaint. It's not illegal and him telling you that you were lucky he didn't come with a drawn gun is harassment. And cops really wonder why people don't like them, a lot of the stuff in Dorner's manifesto happens on a daily basis..

 

[SLIKRIK]

^ ditto. It's assholes like this that give honest hard working cops a bad rap (if such cops exist). The majority are a bunch of imposters sporting tainted badges.

 

[JTrue5]

You should of gotten his name and badge number at the end of the conversation and tell him he was being recorded the whole time and you were going to the watch commander to file a harassment complaint. It's not illegal and him telling you that you were lucky he didn't come with a drawn gun is harassment. And the really wonder why people don't like them, a lot of the stuff in Dorner's manifesto is happens on a daily basis..

Really? Approaching someone gun drawn is not harassment. In fact, here in NJ it's considered constructive force (which is the same as verbal commands). Of course the law may be different where you reside (but I doubt varies much differently).

^ ditto. It's assholes like this that give honest hard working cops a bad rap (if such cops exist). The majority are a bunch of imposters sporting tainted badges.

How would both of you know? There are THOUSANDS of police/public interactions on a daily basis that are POSITIVE that neither of you know about. Yet, you continue to make ignorant assumptions over one instance. (Oh, and this is coming from a cop with a rebadged car..)

 

[kuma912]

^ ditto. It's assholes like this that give honest hard working cops a bad rap (if such cops exist). The majority are a bunch of imposters sporting tainted badges.

It's actually the other way around. There are more good cops than bad cops. I'm not a cop but I work with them. I've gotten pulled over numerous times and got let go. Most cops are portrayed bad because most people that gets pulled over become offensive to the cop. Put it this way. If you're going to be an ass to a cop. He's going to be an ass to you. But if your professional, you have a better chance of getting out of a ticket.

 

[tsx4life]

Tell em how it is jay... Lol

 

[aNgRyAgEnT]

Really? Approaching someone gun drawn is not harassment. In fact, here in NJ it's considered constructive force (which is the same as verbal commands). Of course the law may be different where you reside (but I doubt varies much differently).



How would both of you know? There are THOUSANDS of police/public interactions on a daily basis that are POSITIVE that neither of you know about. Yet, you continue to make ignorant assumptions over one instance. (Oh, and this is coming from a cop with a rebadged car..)

Yeah I know a lot of cops both from my family and from the neighborhood and some are azzholes. You might be the exception, I don't know you personally so I can't say.

Approaching him the way TS explained it was just like an azzhole period and falls inline with what I have seen with my own eyes. But there are always 3 sides to every story, his side the cops side and the truth so who knows. But some of these guys grew up where I'm from like SlikRik, and we can attest to many cops being crooked from our own experiences. SO yo can be defensive if you want but it's your peers and my family members making bad names for the good ones.Just because you're a cop doesn't mean you don't have to follow the law or that you can treat people like they're trash is all I'm sayin..

 

[SLIKRIK]

How would both of you know? There are THOUSANDS of police/public interactions on a daily basis that are POSITIVE that neither of you know about. Yet, you continue to make ignorant assumptions over one instance. (Oh, and this is coming from a cop with a rebadged car..)

why would a cop tell a civilian "ur lucky u didn't get pulled over at gunpoint!"?? really?? for being rebadged/debadged?? if he was so confused as to what make and model he was tailing why not just run the plates and then decide whether or not the vehicle merits being pulled over, let alone with guns drawn?? :slap:

and read my post clearly. i never said all cops were bad, but when u have a few rotten apples out there it makes the rest of u "good" cops look bad. and i was being sarcastic when i stated "if such cops exist." (sorry i forgot the red text) i'm sure even u are not that ignorant that u didn't catch that.

It's actually the other way around. There are more good cops than bad cops. I'm not a cop but I work with them. I've gotten pulled over numerous times and got let go. Most cops are portrayed bad because most people that gets pulled over become offensive to the cop. Put it this way. If you're going to be an ass to a cop. He's going to be an ass to you. But if your professional, you have a better chance of getting out of a ticket.

that goes without saying. i've had both positive and negative experiences with law enforcement. from growing up in a rough part of town for the better part of my life to being an honest, hard working family man. sometimes even respectful cooperation is met with untactful, unprofessional conduct unbecoming an officer. ask me how this former 8-year Marine and Los Angeles native knows.

 

[JTrue5]

why would a cop tell a civilian "ur lucky u didn't get pulled over at gunpoint!"?? really?? for being rebadged/debadged?? if he was so confused as to what make and model he was tailing why not just run the plates and then decide whether or not the vehicle merits being pulled over, let alone with guns drawn?? :slap:

and read my post clearly. i never said all cops were bad, but when u have a few rotten apples out there it makes the rest of u "good" cops look bad. and i was being sarcastic when i stated "if such cops exist." (sorry i forgot the red text) i'm sure even u are not that ignorant that u didn't catch that.

that goes without saying. i've had both positive and negative experiences with law enforcement. from growing up in a rough part of town for the better part of my life to being an honest, hard working family man. sometimes even respectful cooperation is met with untactful, unprofessional conduct unbecoming an officer. ask me how this former 8-year Marine and Los Angeles native knows.

It has nothing to do with ignorance, did you not read what YOU wrote at the end? "The majority are a bunch of imposters sporting tainted badges." You have to put yourself in the shoes of the officer pulling the car over. You automatically assume they know about rebadging cars. Trust me, a lot don't. I could also guarantee you 99 times out of a 100 if a car was involved in a hit and run, an armed robbery where a vehicle used, etc and you asked MULTIPLE eyewitnesses did they get the plate most couldn't. The main thing they would go on is the vehicle description. In the OP's case, who knows the actual reason for the stop? Some of you are automatically assuming the reasons for it were unjustified. Could the car be wanted for something? You never know.. There is no harm in asking the reason for the stop by the driver. And SLIK, everyone deals with it at times, even cops. The way I dress and go out sometimes, you would NEVER be able to tell I was a cop. If met by an unprofessional officer, there are ways to handle it which have already been voiced. I could go on and on about this (and have on multiple car forums) and it never ceases to amaze me some of the negative comments that are made so quickly about the profession.

 

[firstsx]

I've yet to meet a cop who isn't power tripping. Even cops that have been nice to me, haven't been so nice to others involved in an incident... it's difficult to argue that - you're not going to be a passive, calm and complacent person by the nature of your job. But a little sensitivity training combined with some anger management therapy (any therapy really) could probably go a long way for their attitudes and state of minds. It's not an easy job and the stress level is always high b/c they don't know what to expect in any situation and are putting their lives on the line every day. You can't really blame them, but there should be more done to make them accountable for their actions and provide them the means necessary to do so.

 

[Luwin1026]

If this is the norm rather than the exception then I feel sorry for the ghetto cars that have "Type-R" or "turbo" on their Hyundai Accents or '94 Altimas rolling around here in LA.

 

[shady_cu2]

cop is retarded
as mentioned earlier it doesn't matter what it says on your car "GT-R", "turbo" Nos" all those badges would be illegal at your local Autozone...

 

[miskywhisky]

cop is retarded
as mentioned earlier it doesn't matter what it says on your car "GT-R", "turbo" Nos" all those badges would be illegal at your local Autozone...

Hes not just talking about the trim badge, but the actual maker badge. So when he runs your tag it says acura tsx, not honda tsx, or honda accord leading them to believe it may be stolen/swapped plates. Not everyones a car aficionado and knows the differences but its just another reason for them to give you shit.

As for the OP, have a friend who's dad is a chief near Vancouver. According to him the law allows them to pull you over for ANY modification to your vehicle and even quite a few OEM parts/options too.

 

[aNgRyAgEnT]

You are too. Hes not just talking about the trim badge, but the actual maker badge. So when he runs your tag it says acura tsx, not honda tsx, or honda accord leading them to believe it may be stolen/swapped plates. Not everyones a car aficionado and knows the differences but its just another reason for them to give you shit.

As for the OP, have a friend who's dad is a chief near Vancouver. According to him the law allows them to pull you over for ANY modification to your vehicle and even quite a few OEM parts/options too.

If he runs your plates then he can see the car's not stolen..Honda/Acura=same company similar to Toyota/Lexus. I would think most cop's are smart enough to figure that much out especially if they ran the plate first like they should have before pulling someone over.

TO be honest this shouldn't be a big controversy. This type of stuff happens everyday. Their car good cops and bad, problem is you hear about the bad more then the good so it is what it is.

 

[cYn]

Hey guys, attack the subject, not each other. No more insults or name calling.