when is it police harrassment?

[caper]

ok,i will start by saying my car is loud - it is straight piped from the turbo back. no cats etc...and like most Camaros louder at first start up. but after that it idles pretty quiet and if you keep the revs below 2k isn't very loud...so here is my story..

I leave the gym a few months ago, start the car and pull away. I am still in the parking lot (doing about 15mph) and I am lit up as I am about to park on the other side of the lot to go into a store (cops often sit in the lot for some reason). he comes up with a very snotty attitude and remarks about trying to make as much noise as possible...too which I am confused and replied that I was driving slow and going to park (meanwhile 3 more cop cars show up). he enquires repeatedly if I am running race fuel ( I am not) - like 4x he asked me. asked me who built the car, where the shop was etc...finally says to keep it down and lets me go. he had a HUGE attitude the whole time...meanwhile I was hands on the wheel, yes sir, no sir etc.

last night, I am leaving same place. I am following a loud mustang out of the parking lot, he goes one way me the other. I start to drive, and I am not speeding, widows down, relaxed. I see a set of lights about 3 lengths back in the other lane keeping my pace (suv lights). I keep doing my thing, he follows me about a mile and waits for me to get to the intersection. as I pull away (my car is louder then obviously) he lights me up (still wasn't speeding)...I am like wtf!? windows down, car off, hands on the wheel..then I hear the voice "I am sick and tired of hearing this car, we are going to do something about those mufflers"...I look up and its the same f&*kin cop! I cant believe it...then I realize he seen my car and waited for me, didn't follow the mustang...nope, ME! and waited for me to accelerate even a little to light me up.

he has the same attitude too...asks me if my windows are tinted...I replied yes, he asked how dark (but they aren't very dark - I think 70 - you can see me), he looked at the (missing) front plate. started asking me about my job (teacher in his city) - all the while with this attitude. tells me my car is obnoxious. takes my info and goes back to write - what I assume is a list of tickets. comes back a min later says he doesn't have time to do all this now but if he hears my car again he is sending me to a ref....

obviously this guy has a hard on for me...I have passed countless police in my car over the years, no one has pulled me over for sound. ive been pulled for other reasons, restarted the car with them behind me - and still no mention of sound...I don't know how to deal with this guy!

[Cheveey57]

This guy is one of those cops that didn't become a cop, he was born a cop. A real ahole,probably got beat up as a kid.
You are going to have to quite that car down a little or find a new gym. Because this ahole will be back.

[Chaotic73]

First question, is the exhaust legal? If not can't really say he's harassing you, just doing his job.

[Bad@ssCamaro]

First off, if I was in your shoes, I would make sure that I'm not violating any noise ordinances in the city. If you are then, that has to be addressed. Secondly if you are not in any violation, then the next step should be having a conversation with his superior and try to come up with a resolution that would satisfy all parties.

Frankly, if this guy has been on the police force for awhile, he can make your life miserable if he chose too. If you don't want to deal with the harassment, it would serve you well to tone it down.

[rebelyell22]

Get his badge number and report him to the chief. As long as you are in compliance with vehicular laws, he has no reason to stop you. I would be pissed too

[CamaroJim56]

Sounds like the exhaust would be illegal in CA, don't you guys have the most strict laws regarding exhaust and Cats?

Sounds like you may need a muffler, or pray.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by rebelyell22

Get his badge number and report him to the chief. As long as you are in compliance with vehicular laws, he has no reason to stop you. I would be pissed too

Posts 3 and 4 are the right way to go... BEFORE you go pissing him off any more by ratting him out to the boss. Especially the chief. The chief has more important things to do.

[Outlander]

Live in SoCal?
Remove pollution control equipment?
Straight pipes?
Excessive noise?
Imposing it on everyone in the area?
The cop cut you a break twice?
What next, loud pipes save lives defense?

[ChrisBlair]

The real question is: what ordinances or laws are you breaking? None? One? A couple? A lot?

Unless the answer is "none", nobody's picking on you. If you play the game, then you play the game and you will not always win.

[dlluinstra]

You are violating Federal Emissions Law for no cats.

[batman53201]

if your car is legal, then report him. Im guessing your cars most likely, not legal. in that case, not much you can do. the cops doing his job

[ZuluKilla8]

talk to his supervisor...

"Im being harassed by one of your officers

how is he harassing you?

He stopped me twice in the matter of 3 months for my straight pipe turbo camaro with no cats

What were the tickets he issued you?

Well uhh he didnt give me tickets"


We all play the loud fast car game, have to take what comes with it

[angie7]

Like the others have said, you are breaking the law so he can't harass you for doing something illegal. Not saying he isn't singling you out bc it does kinda sound like he is but he also has a job to do. Sounds like its time to quiet the car down unless you want to take your chances....Good Luck.

[jrhagen]

Originally Posted by Outlander

Live in SoCal?
Remove pollution control equipment?
Straight pipes?
Excessive noise?
Imposing it on everyone in the area?
The cop cut you a break twice?
What next, loud pipes save lives defense?

I took my Harley from TX to SoCal a few years back. I knew I had 49 state legal pipes before I left on the trip. I got escorted out of every city I visited while in SoCal due to the noise. At least I didn't get any tickets, like I would care anyway.

Cops don't like loud pipes in SoCal.