this is what happan. My friend owns a 97 I30t infiniti. It got stolen right off his job about a year ago but, he got it back minus the rims and the heating system + radio. The car is fine now after insurance and a little fixing from him. About 2 days ago the cops pulls behind him ran this plates then proceed to pull him over. The cops had their weapons drawn and told him and the two other people in the car to turn the car off and get out the car with their hands up. At this point he was then told to lie down face flat on the pavemant they rush him roughed him up and handcuff him like a criminal. The two other people in the car where also handcuff too and immedately arrested. After showing the cops his license and insurance info and that infact he is the owner of the car,they still took him to the station for questioning. After all that embarrassment they told him was that the car was reported stolen and they released them. With just a pat on the back...

 

why is it everyone in america is so damn quick to sue.. jesus christ.. they were doing their damn jobs..

what if they same senario happend and it was the car theives in the car.. and they did the same thing.. he would be saying.. oh yeah.. the cops were on top of their jobs and they found the guys who stole my car.. in the act..

it was a simple mistake.. no one was hurt.. they were doing their jobs.. i mean after all.. they car "WAS" a stolen car.. if it wasn't.. then yeah.. go ahead.. do what you want.. my God.. you can't even take a **** in your own home anymore without someone trying to sue you for some bullsh!t.. next time someone steals your car.. think about this situation.. and hope to God the cops react hte same way..

if you guys are so hungry for money.. go better yourself and get a better job.. everybody wants something for nothing in this damn country.. my God you people sicken me..

 

well that just shows that they were doing their job.. what if he really wasn't the owner? would you wish the cops would rough up the criminals? it's not really the cop's fault for that, it's more of those ppl in the filing room.

 

hey dont kill the messager. i was just putting it out their.

 

Who reported the car stolen in the first place and whose responsibility was it to report it to the police as a recovered vehicle? I'm betting it was his responsibility and he just never did it...maybe it should have been the insurance company to report it recovered I don't know.

What would he sue for anyway? Being arrested in a stolen car? All that would be accomplished by a lawsuit here would be to waste the taxpayer's money...the police would win.

 

If he can prove that either he or his insurance company alerted the police that the car was recovered, he may have some sort of case, but I doubt he will get much, and he'll have to pay a lawyer. Not worth it.

 

Tell your friend he has no respect for police officers and their job

 

Well put SprintMax.

Nothing makes me more sick to my stomach than the frivilous lawsuits in the US. I.e. fat man suing fast food joints....IF only I could be a judge on these cases, I would make a mockery of the plaintiff.

 

Well, I have to agree that cops get a little out of control when comes to arresting people sometimes. Cops can be way over bearing on people and can rough them up pretty badly in process of handcuffing them. If the suspect is resisting then there reason to subdue them. But when you pull a car over for being stolen and the suspect is cooperating, there is ABSOLUTELY no need to draw weapons. Weapons should only be drawn when there is a situation where life may be in jeopardy. Most guys who steal cars aren't violent nor armed except for carjackers. There is also no need put you knee on the suspects head and neck while yanking their arms in directions the arm wasn't suppose to move, and tossing them into the squad car if they aren't resisting.

Put yourselves in this guys shows and tell how you would feel? While I've never had a gun pulled on me, it's safe to assume that it puts you in a state of panick and nerviousness plus when everything is over, you probably would feel pretty violated. I think sueing is a little extreme, but I would demand a formal apology from the officers and the department head and an explanation for the way they handled things.


Dave

 

thanks for the your opinions on the matter. I will relay your thought to my friend

 

statistically, the most litigious time for this country was the turn of last century. What we have now is actually tame, comparitively.

You can sue for many different reasons. Hey, if they have some outdated dangerous system, then he should sue for a tiny sum but mainly for them to update their records/systems. In that case, your suit would be a public service. Good luck finding a lawyer that will work for the betterment of mankind, but you get the idea.

Thats how all those tragic stories start, the police pulling someone over that wasnt even *really* wanted. Someone gets confused, makes the wrong move, innocent person dead. All because some half wit data entry person didnt update the records back at the station, or the cops have outdated computer systems/data in the cruiser.

I dont think a civil rights suit is appropriate. And unless he was hurt, then I dont think there is much there either.

 

Maybe out in your neck of the woods, car jackers aren't violent, but in NYC, you never know what can happen. How many times have you seen those TV shows where someone is getting pulled over for a tailight being out, and they pull a gun on the officer (or somehting similar).

Even if they don't show it, I'm sure a cop is just as nerveous as the person who is pulled over, because no one knows what might happen.

I was working at my uncles gas station once 2 years ago in stamford, ct and some ghetto punks prank called the police saying that the store was being robbed. Like 5 cars arrived, stormed the sotre with shotguns, and pistols, and pointed them at me, yelling and screaming, "PUT YOUR HANDS UP, WHERE'S THE ROBBER, CMON!." I froze, and didn't know what to say, so they got even more ****ed off, because they thought the robber might still be in the store, and thought i was staling.

So I guess you need to have guns pulled on you multiple times to get comfortable with it

 

find out what the deal is 1st, then if in fact is was a filing mistake on their part. seek legal action. did ur friend tell the cops that the was was stolen a year ago? or was he 2 scared of the guns drawn upon him? i say sue if it makes you happy.

 

Same type of thing happened to me back in '96. I had a '96 Honda CBR600F3 (my first sportbike), and had completely legit plates and everything else. I got pulled over one night, out of a huge group of riders by three squad cars, (I guess the first one had waited to hit his cherries until back-up had arrived). When I pulled to the side, they all jumped out with their guns trained on me, told me to get off the bike, throw my keys on the ground, and get on my knees with my hands interlocked on top of my head. I did everything they asked, they cuffed me, and put me in the back seat of the squad car.
They searched my bike over, then came back to the car and started asking me questions, wanting to know whose bike it was, etc. While I'm answering all of these, and wondering what I had done wrong, (or at least what they'd actually caught me doing wrong), I looked at the computer screen in in the front seat, and it was flashing a line saying "STOLEN" above a description of my plates!
I looked a little closer and sure enough, the numbers the cop had typed in were coming up stolen, but after staring at the screen for a few more seconds, I noticed at the bottom it said "Handicapped Automobile".
I pointed this out to the policeman, and after a few minutes of them talking to each other, they proceeded to let me go. They explained that they're SUPPOSED to type in "MC" before the type the plate # for a motorcycle, and they apoligized and all. I said it was cool, and I understood, and was on my way.
Over the course of the next three weeks I had similar incidents w/ the police, 12 times. Was late to work numerous times, had guns drawn on me in three different instances, and actually had one of the scenarios last for almost an hour, (even after the first thing I told the cop was that if he'd just look at the bottom of his screen, he'd see that it isn't a motorcycle plate, and that he just needed to type in the "MC" before running my plate #). He thought that I was just being a smart-***, and got pretty rough with me (physically).
After going to the DMV and asking for a new plate and being denied, I went back in after all the twelve times I was pulled over, (I finally got smart), and told them that I had LOST my plate and needed a new one. It really sucked!!!
I still never thought about sueing the PD, (even though my father's and attorney), because I kne that they were just doing their jobs, (except for the ***** who kept slamming me up against his squad car and then literally threw me into the back seat after banging my head on the doorway!). If my bike or my plate had been stolen, I would've wanted them to do the same thing to whoever they caught with my sh#t!

 

that's crazy

 

Matter of fact it was in NYC, Queens, Sulfin Blvd. and yes he did tell the cops the car was stolen a year ago.

 

what exactly did he get tailed/pulled over for? If something of consequence, that may have set the cops off to begin with.

 

Sue everybody!

Look at this guy:

June 1998: A 19 year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbour ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car, when he was trying to steal his neighbour's hubcaps.




And there's more:

October 1998: A Terrence ****son of Bristol, Pennsylvania was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation. Mr. ****son found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of half a million dollars.

 

you're right, if there aren't any actual damages, he won't be able to sue. the real issue is whether proper steps were taken to ensure that the records showed that the automobile was recovered. if your friend does talk to a lawyer and he shows him enough legal grounds to sue, i would say go ahead. to all of you who waved around the idea that frivolous lawsuits make you sick, think of it this way...these lawsuits also serve as a check on police power. if you look at countries that are less litigious, you'll find a much higher incidence of corruption, and more importantly, ABUSE OF POWER. if cops can whimsically handcuff and draw weapons on people, is that a society that you'd rather live in?

 

how do KC carjackers steal cars from people.. do they yell or do they just ask people to politely get out the car..

 

awww shoot who has a broken garage door and a bag of chips? i'm going in..

 

Stuff like that is what makes the US legal system a joke. Felons get more rights than victims.

They should change the laws to state that if you injured/anguished in the course of doing something illegal, they you do not have the right to sue.

I had to take a law course as part of my engineering degree and we had a career lawyer teaching the course. He said that its getting to the point that if you injure someone, you're better off finanically to "finishing" the job and kill them as this will be cheaper for you in the long run.

 

only in america.....

 

your friend could sue, but it is most likely that NONE of the police officers involved will be reprimanded in any way. now, if they pulled a rodney king on yo a$$, that's a different story. being a police officer is a dangerous and high risk occupation, they are given the right to exercise more force than your typical american. tell your friend not to waste his time and money...

 

I agree that there are so many ridiculous lawsuits in America. However, who decides the outcome of a lawsuit? Yep, the jurors who are citizens of this country. Until the people get some common sense, stuff like this will flourish!

 

yes, you can sue, and I think it is the right thing to do. Don't blame the fella for wanting to protect his rights. Its not that everyone wants to get the free money, its about growing ignorancy, ppl just being ignorant and dont give a shiet about you. After vehicle has been recovered, it was the cops' duty to just change the flag in their system so the car is not listed as stolen anymore. This can amount as negligence, because 3 ppl were violated of their rights and suffered!

Nyc2kMax, go ahead and get a good lawyer, because the only way in this country to make ppl care about you is to punish them with a dollar. Many mods to you!

 

You have got to be kidding me!!! What a joke.

 

Beware, stupid people in large numbers.

 

Agh - It's a reasonable doubt thing. Who is Sue - and where does she live?

Hey-remember this guy?

Mr Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. In November 2000 Mr Grazinski purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having joined the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly the Winnie left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he couldn't actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie. (Winniebago actually changed their handbooks on the back of this court case, just in case there are any other complete morons buying their
vehicles.)


I'm in the wrong business............

 

I just heard of a case today where a guy stole a lady's debit card. he then went to the horse races and used her debit card to place bets. Well, he ended up winning about $50,000 and when he went to get the cash the cashier informed him that she would have to put the winnings on the debit card since that is how he placed the bets. After he was caught he actually had the nerve to sue her for the winnings that he won by placing bets on her stolen debit card! I don't think he won though. The owner of the debit card made out pretty well though!

 

If they were doing their jobs, they would have let him go after checking the license and paperwork. It's not hard to avoid a trip to the station.

 

I wonder if victims can sue the legal system for screwing them?

 

True that, these days u get sued for almost anything. Our system is so corrupted, and these lawyers will take the last penny away from you if they get any chance

 

will be deleted soon... just a heads up..

 

don't mock the guy, you are just jealous! He can sue and he will win! Exactly-the cops didn't do their job by changing the status of the car in their database, and hell yes, you would feel like shiet if all of a suddent cops cuff ya and take to the station!

 

Personally I think this sue happy attitude in America is disgusting. The only thing it shows is that everyone wants a free ride. It seems the number of people who actually want to work for they get is decreasing. The politicians don't help this matter by constantly producing legislation that throws money at just about every problem this country has. I'm not going to go into that because that is another discussion in and of itself. However, I do think that one of the largest reasons why juries hand out all of this money is that they are uneducated and don't really understand where the money comes from to pay for these lawsuits. If people realized that cases against the police department and other government agencies were actually paid out by their own tax dollars, they might wise up, but unfortunately most people don't understand even the basics of economics or finance. I think it all comes down to the decreasing education standards in this country. All of this PC crap makes me sick. Once again, another argument for its own time. The fact of the matter is that so many of our problems are intertwined its hard to pinpoint a reason for any of them. Education, decreasing family values, decreasing accountability, and more all contribute to the massive number of problems that plague us. Obviosuly there is no single solution to these issues, but there is a lot that can be done. Unfortunately, those in power, for PC reasons, are unwilling to do. I apologize for the rant, but this stuff really aggrevates me, as if that wasn't already noticable.

In conclusion, sue if it really makes your friend happy, but to get any settlement money, I think he should spend a day in the general population of a state prison, at least then he'll have been sufficiently assaulted to deserve the money.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one in the world who has a shred of decency or ethic left.

Why can't their just be an honest mistake anymore?!!!!!!!

 

but I needed a reason... thanks Ollie

neither of these stories is true

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/onlyinamerica.htm

 

you people are just as myopic as the views you are attempting to criticize. an "honest mistake" should not entail the drawing of guns on a group of unarmed civilians. he clearly had his rights violated when he was taken in for something that was not his mistake. lawsuits like these are what are going to make the POLICE more accountable. we take for granted how corruption free and how accountable our law enforcement is in comparison to some other countries. people forget that this accountability is a product of the system of restraint that is created by the legal system. put it this way...this man sues, he wins, the police will supposedly take steps to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. if no legal action is taken, this will ultimately lead to the police abusing their power. if they're not stopped from drawing guns on unarmed civilians, they will do it again - not a society that i hope ours is heading towards. please try to keep in mind why our bill of rights was put into effect in the first place.