My pictures will be added next week but here is what I have so far
Opening questions to the officers
When was the date the ticket was issued?
What was the time of the citation?
Where was the Citation issued?
What did the vehicle look like?
Was the vehicle bright?
Was the cruising moving or stationary?
What radar device was used?
Was the device serviced the month previously and on time?
Was the device served the following month on time?
Was there any adjustments made to the device?
Did you test the device before your shift?
Did you use a tuning fork?
Did you visually verify the infraction?
According to ARS section 28-855
B. A driver of a vehicle approaching a stop sign shall stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or if there is no crosswalk, shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, or if there is no line, shall stop at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering the intersection except when directed to proceed by a police officer.
By this statue a stop would be the cession of movement of a vehicle to make sure a clear path is available to complete a manuver. The statue makes no procedure to the time a motorist must sit and watch before proceeding.
On the date in question I was proceeding to my job at 6:45pm when I came to the intersection of Watson road and Southern Avenue. The citation states that that I was pulled over on Southern and Watkins road. As you can see from the photo the roads to not intersect nor are they within a mile distance from the location of the stop or in an area where the officer would of persued me for the traffic stop.
The first star represents a location on watkins road and is highlighted in a red line showing the location
The blue line represents southern avenue and the path it follows
As you notice from the citation with two officers present, the geographical location was still wrong.
The next item that I would like to point out is the color of the wheels on my vehicle and my tires. I currently run a bf goodrich 205/40/17 tire on a msr series 113 wheel as pictured below
This combination of wheel/tire is more complicated to see at a distance than a normal wheel and tire combination and a brighter colored rim. I would also like to point out the time of the citation at this time. If you will notice the time was 6:45pm on 8/20/08. At this point in time we are entering evening hours which makes visual of my vehicles wheels more difficult to see.
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Now I know that the officer states from the citation that according to radar I was proceeding through the intersection at a rate of 10mph in a 45 mph road. At this distance I do not believe it's clear enough to the officer when the stop actually occurred and when the procedure of the maneuver occurred. I would also like to point out as information obtained from a local police agency that when a vehicle is not moving it does not register on moving radar. Once the vehicle starts to increase speed the gun will follow until the officer locks in the speed. Since this was a stop sign radar should have not been a determining factor, but if so I would like the officer to present the certification for calibration of the instrument from t he beginning of the month, as well as any adjustment that had to be made to the unit at the beginning of the following month to determine if the unit was incorrect. In addition to this did the officer test the unit and tune it with the tuning fork at the beginning of the shift, or did he proceed to duty without testing his instruments?
If the officer did not do this before the shift and there is no record at what adjustments had to be made to the unit during the following month or shift. I believe this constitutes reasonable doubt that the officer used a moving radar device to determine if I stopped or not. In addition to this the officer from the distance pictured did not second check his radar visually since it was not possible that it was clear enough for the officer to see.
The officer at the end of the stops solution for this not to happen was to stop longer at the stop sign in the future, again none of this is mentioned in ars section 28-855
During my last court date I was alerted that multiple individuals had been cited between August 20-24 for stop sign violations meaning that this was just the special of the day so to speak to be stopped for.
I would also like to point out that during the stop I was questioned about my vehicle as the officer complimented me on how much he liked it. This of course leads me to think that I was profiled by the officer for the look of my vehicle, in addition the officer asked me for information (phone number and social security number after the stop and citation was issued. I don't understand what any of this information would do to serve him, but it makes me question why the stop happened as well. Could I have been profiled as an ethnicity because of where I worked? I complied with everything the officer asked accept for this.
