If you are pulled over by a cop and issued a citation, can you request a copy of the video for legal purposes?

Question

I was pulled over this morning for allegedly failing to stop at a stop sign.
My issue is that I did in fact stop, as I was making a right hand turn onto another street in which there was oncoming traffic.
The officer who pulled me over (as I was about to pull up to my house) stated that he stopped me for running a stop sign. When I stated that I had stopped he said that he was flagged down by another vehicle, the driver of which was... in his words, "freaking out".
I know that I did indeed stop, long enough in fact that I was able to identify an oncoming vehicle as a late model green GMC SUV, before determining I had enough time to go before the vehicle passed me.
My original thought was that the officer saw this as an opportunity to meet his monthly citation quota, however I now know that the act of enforcing quotas on officers is illegal in my county (a bill was passed into law in 2006 making it so), and as such has left me confused to the officers true motive for stopping me.

Answer 1

We have cameras in our cars. If I am watching red lights or stop signs, I tend to record everything. It's amazing how many people claim either the light was green or that they stopped when I have it clear as day on video them not doing so.



That being said, most of the time if an officer is on patrol, the camera isn't running. It is unlikely you will be able to see anything before he turns his lights on to stop you,.

Answer 2

Not all police vehicles have video cameras, and not all police officers wear recording devices during car stops. I would actually say that most police officers and police agencies do not employ these devices. You typically only these such devices on officers who do Highway partol, IE: not the kinds of places where there are stop signs. So your first problem is whether or not there actually is video of this.



If you do know that this particular vehicle did have a camera and the officer was wearing a recording device then I suppose you could request the video and audio. To be honest though I wouldn't get my hopes up. I doubt that any police agency freely turns over video to any citizen who simly asks.



The one bright side is that if there is a video and it is to be used against you at traffic court then you will see it when you go to court.



As for your quota comment, that is a little extreme. Yes there is truth to the fact that most agencies have in place some type of summons quota for their cops, but that is not the only reason cops do car stops. It is possible that that cop saw you, or thinks he saw you, not come to a complete stop at a stop sign and felt you deserved to be written a summons for it.



Keep in mind, a complete stop means that your vehicle came to a complete stop before the stop sign and then continued on. (IE the wheels stop moving entirely) 99% of people, myself included, don't do this at stop signs. They tend to do a rolling slow down and the proceed on. They only stop at the last minute if they have to because of on comming traffic and typically by then they are way past the point where they were supposed to stop.



To be honest if I were you I probably wouldn't fight the summons. I know you feel you were right and it sucks when you think you are being unfairly punished, but the reality is it will probably cost you more in court costs and missed work to go down and fight the ticket. On top of that if you actually do take the time to go down and you loose then you will really have been taken. 90 bucks insn't the end of the world, I'd probably just pay it and save the headache.

Answer 3

The dash cam video is not entered into evidence as you are being told. There would be way too many videos being logged into evidence for simple traffic infractions. This means that the video will not come up in court or in a motion for discovery. Most departments keep the video for a certain period of time, such as 1 year, for civil liability reasons and citizen complaints. You can get this video but it you will have to subpoena it and probably pay a fee. Most police dash cam recorders begin recording when the emergency lights are activated but some cameras are totally digital and the recording backs up to 30 seconds or longer before the lights were activated.

Answer 4

A citation is a ticket. And whats coming in the mail is probably a courtdate. Usually a citation has an amount on it...Try looking on the back. And if you still see no amount you need to call the courthouse in the county you were pulled over in and tell them your dilemma. If it was just a routine traffic stop "speeding within a certain limit" or "a common violation" you got pulled over for you usually wouldnt have to go to court unless you wanted to contest to it,But however i dont know what you got pulled over for and what state or county your in....Best of Luck!

Answer 5

How far back from the sign did you stop? It could be that you stopped far enough back from the sign that you were out of the officer's view while stopped. If all he saw was you moving, that could be the reason for his "mistake."



Also, officers watch your hubcaps to see if your wheels actually came to a full stop. If you came to a stop, but were too quick to get off the brake pedal, that hubcap might not have appeared to actually stop turning. Sometimes, we stop, then go very quickly to try to beat oncoming traffic, even when they're kinda too close.



Could any of this describe what happened in this case?

Answer 6

You can subpoena that. If it is going to be used as evidence against you, then you should get a copy anyway as a part of discovery. However, the dash-cam usually only comes on when the lightbar is acivated. If the officer did not see you, then it will not prove or disprove that you ran the stop sign. In some states, such as mine, the officer must witness the violation, or have a warrant to cite you.

Answer 7

You should be able to request a video. Call the police station. Are you sure you made a complete stop and the tires were not rolling? I was stopped years ago for this. I relized that I didn't make a complete stop. No cars were coming and it didn't seem like a big deal, I didn't get a ticket just a verbal warning.

Answer 8

Is it possible he was actually told by another vehicle that you'd passed a stop sign and the one you are thinking is a different stop sign than the one you missed?



I mean, after all, from what you say, if you'd seen the stop sign, you definitely would have stopped, since you're a law-abiding citizen.



I'm saying that the driver that flagged him down may have seen you several blocks away, was behind you a bit and saw the cops so decided to do something about it.

Answer 9

No you can't get a video of it. First of all it is your word against the officer and I hate to tell you this but the officer wins every time. Second of all you think the officer was taping the area and got you on video so they could pull you over. This type of ticket is only like $50 or so. The dash cam isn't always taping it starts when the lights are turned on.

Answer 10

You can request anything. You can request that the officer strip down to his boxers and do a tango. But it won't happen. The police video is evidence, and will not be released to you on the spot. It has to be entered into evidence, and if you want a copy, you will have to make the proper request from the judge once your trial is scheduled.

Answer 11

U CAN REQUEST IT BUT WHAT U LOOKIN FOR PROBALY WONT B ON THERE. BECAUSE THE TAPE ISNT ROLLING 24/7, AND IF IT IS THE CAMERA MAY NOT BE POINTED AT WHAT HES LOOKIN AT