OPP Tactics

[ZiN]

Yeah. First things out of my mouth to this officer would have been, name and badge number please? Then straight to his HQ to speak with his supervisor about his wreckless tactics on catching so called speeders. "Pushing" on an off-ramp is a bit much and very dangerous if the other person gets nervous and pays more attention to the person tailgating them then the road in front of them.

Sad thing is, you'll most likely have to wait until this officer's platoon is back on shift to get anything done since platoons include their supervisors and they'd have a better idea of who'd be driving that SUV. Otherwise, just get em in court or you might get lucky with the JP through a first attendance?

[Recidivist]

I would go to court in a heartbeat. Durham Regionals did this exact thing to me on the 401 in Oshawa, after a heated roadside debate, in which I told them I would devote my entire existence fighting this, they let me off. They were two fat*sses in golf shirts, shorts, and flip flops, in a completely unmarked Crown Vic with hubcaps, but they expect me to stop, just because they pointed at the shoulder. They must known they were in the wrong, or they would'nt have let me go. They paced me at 170 as I was "fleeing".

I'd speak my mind about law enforcement in this province, but I have a tendency to get threads deleted, so I'll keep quiet, and you can infer the profanity for yourself.

[TBSS_guy]

I'm not sure the prudent move is to accelerate over the speed limit to a possibly unsafe speed (120 on an off-ramp??) and get out of the way. That might be most common move though! I would simply go my speed and ignore the person behind me. I couldn't care less if they're tailgating me.

Having said that, I'm sure those tactics aren't approved by higher levels in the OPP. Write a letter of complaint. I'm sure there is another side to this of course.

The ramp in question is dead straight, so aside from the traffic lights as you join Hwy 7, I wouldn't consider 120 unsafe... Definitely not as unsafe as what the officer was doing anyway...

[Bobby Likes Bikes]

The ramp in question is dead straight, so aside from the traffic lights as you join Hwy 7, I wouldn't consider 120 unsafe... Definitely not as unsafe as what the officer was doing anyway...

This is correct.
It's technically not an off ramp. It's where the 407 ends and turns into Hwy 7 at Brock.
If he pulled her over before brock that stretch of roadway is basically the same as the rest of the 407 except that you have passed the transponder gate.

It's not until you actually have to stop at the lights at Brock that the roadway changes.

And yes you should have called to file a formal complaint as soon as it happened.
If I saw a an Officer abuse power like this, I would pull over to give the driver my name and phone number so I could show up as a wtiness.

[Ringmaster]

Sorry, I missed that question.

In my opinion supported by limited knowledge, if the law enforcement provokes you to do something illegal that you wouldn't have done otherwise, it qualifies as an entrapment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrapment#Canada

Thanks for the info...appreciate it...

The ramp in question is dead straight, so aside from the traffic lights as you join Hwy 7, I wouldn't consider 120 unsafe... Definitely not as unsafe as what the officer was doing anyway...

Yeah there is no real ramp, the road goes to a set of lights and then straight through it connects to Hwy 7 as TBSS states.

She was pretty shaken up about it and really upset but I told her not to worry that she would have her day in court and will be able to explain to the JP what the officer did and her reasons for accelerating which I feel are justified considering the actions by the officer.

She questioned herself saying she should have just slowed down but he was so close to her that it frieghtened her so she did what she felt was in her best interest and the safest thing to do and she felt that speeding up and pulling over to let him by was the best thing to do.

Live and learn but it will be fought in court.

I was also thinking of writing to Jim Kenzie to see what he would say.

[Rob MacLennan]

I say do it.

[eastcoast_gsx]

The 407 end turns into 80 a long ways back... are you positive that she was not doing 120 when she went through the marked area? I have yet to see somebody slow to that speed there, they always wait till they are down further. Much further.

[invictus43]

The ramp in question is dead straight, so aside from the traffic lights as you join Hwy 7, I wouldn't consider 120 unsafe... Definitely not as unsafe as what the officer was doing anyway...

Ahh..I see that now..checked Google Maps. Sorry. Not condoning the tactics to be sure. Yeah, 120 really isn't that bad there provided you can stop for the light. Is there a median barrier there?

[scarface]

Entrapment is when a crime is commited that is not ordinarily contemplated by the person, and they are forced or threatened to commit that behaviour.....

it would be a slippery slope to prove pushing as entrapment, i would be inclined to take the scared/threatened route and she sped up to place distance....


Also i would probably file a formal complaint...... that type of behaviour does not seem justified. Also ask for service records with regards to the vehicle he was driving. Calibration of its speedometer, if it has had new tires/rims installed since that calibration was made ect....

it may carry weight if her license is spotless, hence commiting something that she'd normally not contemplate. this will be an interesting case, please keep us informed.

[82Seca750]

I was also thinking of writing to Jim Kenzie to see what he would say.

you have to do this...not just think about it

the "save the children crowd" (the real ones, not the politicians) are apparently oblivious to these tactics.....the police can never do wrong in their minds....and so...your wife will deserve what she got cause she was recklessly endangering the unborn by rocketing around at 40k over

that is....until one of the save-the-children crowd suffers from the same tactics

there are many in the mainstream media who are well aware of the BS going on here (I know because I just spent the better part of the day with two of them)....so SPEAK UP!

don't wait for your court date......call the media now......grow a set and get in front of the camera

[Metastable]

Anyone think that vehicle might have a camera? Geez... I wonder if the officer would have done what he did if everyone could see what happened.

[spankayf]

Write it and fight it

[Ringmaster]

The 407 end turns into 80 a long ways back... are you positive that she was not doing 120 when she went through the marked area? I have yet to see somebody slow to that speed there, they always wait till they are down further. Much further.

Went through there tonight and we stopped on the side of the road and she went through it again with me. There is an "80 Begins" sign after the transponder gate and then the "80" sign further up.

Based on where he started following her and where he turned his lights on and where she pulled over is a fairly short distance.

We are going to go back and take photographs and I am going to borrow my friend's measuring tape that he uses for accident investigations, he is a Toronto cop. He said if he wasn't working he will go with me to help me out.

[Ringmaster]

you have to do this...not just think about it

the "save the children crowd" (the real ones, not the politicians) are apparently oblivious to these tactics.....the police can never do wrong in their minds....and so...your wife will deserve what she got cause she was recklessly endangering the unborn by rocketing around at 40k over

that is....until one of the save-the-children crowd suffers from the same tactics

there are many in the mainstream media who are well aware of the BS going on here (I know because I just spent the better part of the day with two of them)....so SPEAK UP!

don't wait for your court date......call the media now......grow a set and get in front of the camera

I have talked to several people and they have all said the same thing that I should write him and not wait.

I have already started writing something and will be sending him a nice email explaining the situation to see his response.

[RichinOville]

Just want to warn everyone about the game the OPP likes playing.

Last night my wife was coming home from work and was travelling east on the 407 coming up to Brock Rd. As she approached the transponder gate she noticed a gold coloured SUV tail gating another car very agressively in the right lane.

In front of her there were 2 pick-up trucks and a civic and they were all travelling at approximately 105 to 110 km/hr. She started to slow down as she went through the transponder gate because the speed limit drops to 80.

The 2 trucks infront of her accelerate and switch into the right lane just then the gold SUV swerves into her lane behind her and almost take the back of her car off. The SUV proceeds to tailgate her to the point that she could not see the head lights of the SUV.

She said that she felt scared because this guy almost hit her and because of how close he was driving to her. Feeling scared for her safety she said she accelerated to place some distance between herself and the SUV who also accelerated and stayed right on her bumper. She wanted to get to an opening to get to the right lane and let this guy through but when she did get to the opening the SUV put his lights on and pulled her over.

Underecover gold SUV with absolutely no markings on it.

He gave her a ticket for doing 120 in an 80 zone. No radar, and he only paced her, if you can call it that, for a few 100 feet.

Funny how if anyone else did what this cop did, driving agressively, tailgating etc, they would probably get nailed with the stunting law and have their car impounded.

I told her to fight it and sat her down in front of the computer and had her write everything out and then draw diagrams of what happened so she would have a record of it.

She is going to arrange to go get a court date and then we will take the necessary steps to get the disclosure etc and hire a lawyer.

Couldn't this be considered entrapment ?

So if your on the 407 look out for the OPP in a gold unmarked SUV.

The same thing happened to me when I was a LOT younger. 2AM Lakeshore Bvld W, going east. I'm the only car on the road, driving in the middle of the 3 lanes.
A little car comes blasting up behind me and starts to tailgate me. I change lanes. He changes lanes. I slow down. He slows down. I'm driving a ex-pursuit Crown Vic. This joker is obviously playing games. I floor it. He disappears. He pulls up beside and it is an unmarked police car. I get a fairly nice ticket that I didn't really need at the time.
Sometime later, I show up in court and plead innocent. The cop also shows up but without his notebook. Case dismissed, thanks for coming.

[zooropa_chris]

At least is the cops and not some gangs looking out to entrap her for money. For all you know, she could have ended up dead if it was some gang activity going on.

He rode on her bumper so close it is dangerous. He intimidated her with his aggressive driving. And at the end of the day she has to pay money to get out of it. To me it sounds like a bully gang that is very good at extortion using intimidation and/or force to get what they want.

[jebacca]

yea pushing is an old tactic...i used to get it all the time when i was driving my civic.

[BusaBob]

He rode on her bumper so close it is dangerous. He intimidated her with his aggressive driving. And at the end of the day she has to pay money to get out of it. To me it sounds like a bully gang that is very good at extortion using intimidation and/or force to get what they want.

Yeah. I'd call the OPP office and file a complaint...Hell, call Fantino. Tailgating is considered a stunting offence now (Bill 203). If the gold SUV was tailgating you, and it was unmarked, i'd say your wife had a reasonable presumption that this may be a dangerous situation in which she tried to get away before the lights came on. How was she to know that it was a cop? Could have been a drunk driver. Could have been a criminal intent on harming her, or robbing her. If it were, then slowing down would have placed her in greater danger...see my point.

The officer was acting recklessly. I've heard of and witnessed this tactic myself. I hope Bill 203 gets rid of it (because 203 makes it illegal to tailgate)

[LMF]

Very good advice from previous posters.
First, have wife plead not guilty to all charges.There is no evidence ie radar to prove that your wife was driving over the speed limit. "Pacing" is not acceptable evidence of a speeding infraction.
Second have your wife write a letter of complaint to the OPP Att.: Public Complaints . Their Professional Standards Division deals with complaints. Your wife should complain about the tactics of the police officer who gave her the ticket. His name should be on the Offence Notice/Summons.He obviously breached provisions of the Highway Traffic Act and used tactics of entrapment.
Also, I would write directly to Commissioner Fantino and ask him if such illegal tactics are condoned by the OPP. Have your wife ask him if OPP officers are immune from prosecution under the Criminal Code and HTA. I would be curious to hear his response.

Your wife has nothing to worry about. I doubt if the charges even get to trial.

P.S. I am a practicing lawyer for 24 years.

[Metastable]

Very good advice from previous posters.
First, have wife plead not guilty to all charges.There is no evidence ie radar to prove that your wife was driving over the speed limit. "Pacing" is not acceptable evidence of a speeding infraction.

Care to elaborate on that one? My understanding is that Radar, Laser, Time over given distance and pacing are all permitted ways of enforcing speed. The one that is legal in some parts of the US, but not here is visual estimation.