I was pulled over today.

[JonDuke]

Originally Posted by curves2000

If you do decide to file a complaint, make sure you ask your wife 100% EXACTLY what she said and what the police officer mentioned in the call.

If this does proceed and they pull video/audio from the car/camera and something different comes up, it can be embarrassing.

People, police included, sometimes forget what happened, what was said and more. When audio or visual proof comes out, then it's an altered story.

I am not saying anything specific about your wife, but police call from their work issued devices all the time in the course of their investigations from private numbers.

It's usually standard practice for officers to indicate they are CPS, their badge number, a police report/file number and more. If any concerns regarding the authenticity of this call, should be directed to the police non emergency line etc.

I fully trust my wife's account especially based on his words to my own face, saying that he was tempted to give me a ticket based on her tone with him,

[JonDuke]

Originally Posted by jar_e

As someone who has probably made probably hundreds of those phone calls, there’s a litany of reasons to phone the registered owner. Driver not matching the registered owner is a very common one. CPS would only have access to the main registered owner (which lists physical description). Maybe they were the subject of a complaint from the public and we’re following up. I’ve warned registered owners over the phone a lot when it’s not worth the effort to pull them over, it’s only going to be educational, etc.

File a complaint through Calgary Police Professional Standards if you feel the demeanour wasn’t professional. Phoning a registered owner of a vehicle wouldn’t really be anything out of the ordinary though.

Thanks for a view from the other side.

I actually considered filing a complaint and even printed off the foip form from the CPS website and wondered if I could get footage from the time I passed him, so it included the actual phone call to my wife then his interaction with his partner up to including when they pulled me over. Not to post it anywhere but to perhaps understand the logic of their choices. But in not sure if I would be given all of that footage anyway.

I also considered calling CPS and just seeing if I could get that officer to call me so I could explain that he caught my wife at a bad time and to justify her tone so he may consider that if and when he deals with someone else in a similar situation

But I'm probably not doing either.

For me the biggest thing here was the way he told my wife" fine if you want to do it that way" and then him telling me " I'm tempted to give you a ticket because of your wife". Maybe he was just having a really bad morning too but that whole thing doesn't sit well with me

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

For me the biggest thing here was the way he told my wife" fine if you want to do it that way" and then him telling me " I'm tempted to give you a ticket because of your wife". Maybe he was just having a really bad morning too but that whole thing doesn't sit well with me.

It sounds pretty crummy but you didn't get a ticket and it's probably just best to let it go and move on. I'm not saying that your wife's recollection isn't correct but it's also possible the officer feels he was just doing his job and was being disrespected even though your wife was simply playing things cautiously. At the end of the day no harm done and maybe in the future you may even drive a little more cautiously in bad conditions as I used to do a lot of back and forth driving from Calgary to southern alberta back in the day and you can get into that zone where the conditions no longer bother you and you take your safety for granted.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

I am the co-owner of the vehicle as well and my name is on all paperwork. They called my wifes cell number. I'm assuming (but can't be sure) if my own cell number is there as well.

Just to answer this part...for the most part, no. All of the 'quick/usual' methods of looking at a vehicle registration only have a single Registered Owner visible and the contact info for that info. Even for vehicles with co-owners. 99% of the time, police are only going to see the info for the Primary Registered Owner. The other 1%, they are going to have to go digging for co-owner info.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by jar_e

As someone who has probably made probably hundreds of those phone calls,

And when you call what is your expectation of the person receiving the call given that you're showing as private number?

You expect them to flat out believe you are who you say you are right off the bat? Because you say so and give a name and badge number over the phone?

Or, do you accept that treating you with skepticism and a thanks but no thanks isn't an irrational response?

Also, driver n not matching the registered owner? How m many vehicles are out there with multiple drivers?

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

This is a bizarre story. I had no idea they phone you if they perceive an issue. Very strange.

A few years ago my husband got a text from a CPS officer who let him know that the registration on the vehicle was expired. It was awesome, friendly reminder rather than a pull over and possible impounding of the car. I much prefer that!

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by Bagor

And when you call what is your expectation of the person receiving the call given that you're showing as private number?

You expect them to flat out believe you are who you say you are right off the bat? Because you say so and give a name and badge number over the phone?

Or, do you accept that treating you with skepticism and a thanks but no thanks isn't an irrational response?

Also, driver n not matching the registered owner? How m many vehicles are out there with multiple drivers?

I mean I don’t know if I have any expectations. I definitely take no offence if someone doesn’t believe me. If it’s anything dire or important, they’re probably showing up to your door/work/etc in person to deal with it. CPS probably makes hundreds of outgoing phone calls (thousands?) in a day for a variety of reasons. There’s safeguards in place that if you don’t believe the person is a cop, you can phone and verify. I would say in my experience that is usually requested under 10% of the time. My interactions with the public are significantly less so maybe that’s risen.

I’ve said this before on this board but I would guess an average frontline cop could be running 100+ license plates in a day. 99% of those plates result in nothing more of glancing at the screen to verify information and then it’s done. There are an infinite amount of variables why this would be done. In a day and age of plate swaps, increasing stolen vehicles, re-vinned/fraudulently registered vehicles, that is one tool to determine the validity of a vehicle.

I have no idea why the OP had the experience they did. Maybe there was a vehicle that matched that description that was stolen, used in a crime, etc. I think it’s tough for the public to truly comprehend the absolute vast amount of information that comes in from a variety of sources and frontline has to be aware of sometimes. There is so much context to every police interaction that makes providing a definitive explanation to these stories nearly impossible without knowing first hand.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

There is no way for your wife to verify who was actually calling so the officer being annoyed by her reaction is just ridiculous. She can't just assume the caller is legit and then start giving out information to a stranger. There are way too may scammers out there.

I don't even answer calls if I don't recognize the number.

This. Did this police officer fall off a turnip truck?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by jar_e

I mean I don’t know if I have any expectations. I definitely take no offence if someone doesn’t believe me. If it’s anything dire or important, they’re probably showing up to your door/work/etc in person to deal with it. CPS probably makes hundreds of outgoing phone calls (thousands?) in a day for a variety of reasons. There’s safeguards in place that if you don’t believe the person is a cop, you can phone and verify. I would say in my experience that is usually requested under 10% of the time. My interactions with the public are significantly less so maybe that’s risen.

I’ve said this before on this board but I would guess an average frontline cop could be running 100+ license plates in a day. 99% of those plates result in nothing more of glancing at the screen to verify information and then it’s done. There are an infinite amount of variables why this would be done. In a day and age of plate swaps, increasing stolen vehicles, re-vinned/fraudulently registered vehicles, that is one tool to determine the validity of a vehicle.

I have no idea why the OP had the experience they did. Maybe there was a vehicle that matched that description that was stolen, used in a crime, etc. I think it’s tough for the public to truly comprehend the absolute vast amount of information that comes in from a variety of sources and frontline has to be aware of sometimes. There is so much context to every police interaction that makes providing a definitive explanation to these stories nearly impossible without knowing first hand.

Is it generally possible to call the police non-emergency number and get through? I've only called twice in the last 10 years, and both times waited 20 minutes without an answer.

Once the situation escalated enough during that time that I called 911, and once I just said forget it. That experience doesn't make me think of calling them as a reasonable choice in most situations.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by jar_e

I’ve said this before on this board but I would guess an average frontline cop could be running 100+ license plates in a day. 99% of those plates result in nothing more of glancing at the screen to verify information and then it’s done. There are an infinite amount of variables why this would be done. In a day and age of plate swaps, increasing stolen vehicles, re-vinned/fraudulently registered vehicles, that is one tool to determine the validity of a vehicle.

How long is a shift? 8 hours with 100 lookups = a lookup every 4.8 minutes.

[Firebot]

Originally Posted by Slava

I feel for you, because you’re about to get slammed by the “holier than” crowd on CP. t To me, other than the potentially stolen vehicle angle, they shouldn’t be pulling you over for that. It’s ridiculous.

After reading this thread and who posted afterwards, I genuinely feel the purpose of some posters is: "how can I make the thread about me"

Originally Posted by JonDuke

For me the biggest thing here was the way he told my wife" fine if you want to do it that way" and then him telling me " I'm tempted to give you a ticket because of your wife". Maybe he was just having a really bad morning too but that whole thing doesn't sit well with me

To OP: file a complaint, provide the situation (timeline) as best as you recall and the issue you have with the incident, CPS can review the body cam and dash cam audio and determine if the officer was inappropriate about your wife. Based on the written story as is, I would say it was.

I don't agree with letting it go. There are some undertones in that talk, and there is a reason why it doesn't sit well with you. At the very least, filing a complaint, regardless of it any action is taken, investigates the matter and provides closure to you. It may just be a bad day for an officer, or it may be a pattern. Your filing provides a track record.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Is it generally possible to call the police non-emergency number and get through? I've only called twice in the last 10 years, and both times waited 20 minutes without an answer.

Once the situation escalated enough during that time that I called 911, and once I just said forget it. That experience doesn't make me think of calling them as a reasonable choice in most situations.

I imagine there’s always likely some sort of wait. Obviously how much effort people want to put in to verify this will vary from person to person. It’s definitely not an instant thing.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by Shazam

How long is a shift? 8 hours with 100 lookups = a lookup every 4.8 minutes.

12 hours typically. I can’t speak for every cop but running plates is muscle memory and happens at every call you goto, on the way to every call, on the way to the office, coffee, etc.

[you&me]

I appreciate that a CPS officer calling identifies themselves with a badge number, but I can't be the only one that wouldn't recognize a legitimate badge number from some random made up sequence, can I?

"This is Contstable Twinkle Toes, badge number 44-36-J-Exclamation-216-Dollar Sign"

"Uhhhh, ok?"

[Firebot]

Thank you for sharing your side of the job jar_e, police officers are often singled out and scrutinized due to bad apples, but there is a lot of good work and well meaning officers that goes beyond their duty and check on the vulnerable. My good interactions far outweigh the bad.

[Cheese]

Goddamned Police state in Alberta! Move out Jon!

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by you&me

I appreciate that a CPS officer calling identifies themselves with a badge number, but I can't be the only one that wouldn't recognize a legitimate badge number from some random made up sequence, can I?

"This is Contstable Twinkle Toes, badge number 44-36-J-Exclamation-216-Dollar Sign"

"Uhhhh, ok?"

Yeah, honestly, I would be supremely annoyed to have some cop phone my cell to give me a lecture about anything, particularly for going the speed limit.

I think OP was going too fast for the conditions, personally. Well, such is life. I see a lot worse out there. I don't need phone calls to my wife or a cop chasing me down to...tell me not to drive fast? That's so dumb. Cop had to drive fast to tell me to drive slower than he was just driving? What? You have to be kidding.

Also curious about the vehicle the cop was in. A RWD Charger on summer tires? Yeah, yesterday would have felt psycho at speed. AWD Explorer with winter tires? He should have felt pretty sure footed. I just think it's possible his vehicle and tire situation could have greatly affected his judgement about OP, although OP rocking all seasons is a bit obtuse and sort of flies in the face of common sense and objective facts about winter tires and rubber compounds.

Regardless, if a cop called me I would literally laugh in his face assuming it wasn't real. And if he asked me to call the non-emergency line to confirm I absolutely would not have. I don't need two lectures and I certainly don't need a homework assignment from a cop upset that I was going the speed limit.

[Shazam]

We all know that many all-season tires work great in winter their first year, right?

[Ryan Coke]

In the context of this situation, what tires he was on is basically irrelevant (unless you want to give him an online lecture). The cop didn’t know whether he had winters or summers on when he decided to phone his wife at 530am and then get butthurt because she was rude to a perceived scammer (or maybe just a dick cop—not that all cops are dicks, to be clear, but this one seems to lack understanding of normal human behaviour).

So leaving out the tire choice that the cop had no idea of, he then has to venture into the “unsafe for the conditions” arena, which is of course vague, nebulous, and entirely discretionary.

And at no point should the wife’s demeanour on the phone have any bearing on anything, and should never have been brought up. She did nothing wrong, beyond possibly being rude to someone that she didn’t trust calling her at 530 am.

And I would hope most cops would see the problem with the way this played out, assuming it is basically accurate.

[TorqueDog]

I believe it was in 2019 that I got called by the honest-to-goodness Canada Revenue Agency telling me I owed ~$3.6 million dollars in taxes from my last tax return year. The caller ID was nondescript so it could have been anything, and those robotized 'the RCMP has a warrant for unpaid taxes' scam calls were en vogue. It was so absurd that I laughed and said "Sure, hold on a minute, I'll buy those iTunes gift cards right away for you; you guys still take those, right?"

It wasn't until she started confirming my personal information like address, employer and previous employer, SIN number, previous return amounts, etc. that I went white as a sheet and could feel my butthole pucker as the government was poised to do something very nasty to it.

Thankfully a (panicked) phone call to Locke revealed that someone had woefully fat-fingered something at the Winnipeg Tax Centre to make it look like I'm making Steven Stamkos money, and a quick resubmission to correct the error brought my taxable income (and blood pressure) down to normal again.

JonDuke's wife was right to be skeptical, since so many bad actors will find ways of socially engineering whatever they need out of someone (PepsiFree aside, he hasn't been bamboozled since that first time in 1984 when his uncle pulled the "Got'cher nose!" trick) and I think the CPS officer could have acted a little more professionally to convince Mrs. JonDuke that they weren't acting nefariously. Even just changing the way the question was asked could have been more disarming.