Cop Refused to View Footage

[Ladytemplar]

I have fairly compelling dash cam evidence of a distracted driver drifting into my lane and damaging my vehicle in a slow speed accident. At the scene the officer declined to view the footage and the subsequent police report is inaccurate. The officer lays blame solely on me even though the video the other driver drift into the rear of my vehicle. I recently attempted to provide the footage to the officer and ask that he update the report. He and a second, unaffiliated officer, aggressively refused, stating that "police reports are based on opinion." I recorded him admitting that the dash cam shows something other than what happened but he's adamant that it doesn't matter because his opinion is that I'm "at fault." Does this seem wrong? Can an officer just ignore video evidence because it contradicts his expectations?

I should add, this happened in a very VERY wealthy town in New Jersey and I very much don't look like the demographic of people from said area.

 

[jokiin]

if you're insured might be better to let your insurer deal with it, if not you might have to find a different cop

 

[SawMaster]

This is why you need a really good lawyer to deal with your legal problems. You can't force the hand of the Police but a good Lawyer will likely know how to get an audience with the supervisor of the on-scene Cops and get this sorted out properly. And if that doesn't work, they will know how to pursue the matter in court where your video should exonerate you. Good Lawyers and good Doctors ain't cheap, but when you need that kind of expertise second-rate people just won't do.

Phil

 

[Ladytemplar]

At this point, I'm definitely going to have to get a lawyer which is disappointing. In my fifteen years with the US Army I've mostly only dealt with MPs who have always been courteous and respectful toward me. This is the second time dealing with a civilian officer and in both cases they had the same aggressive, bias attitude right from the start. I am so disappointed in the young man's behavior.

 

[dash riposki]

Did he write a ticket, or just do an accident report?

 

[genesplitter]

My understanding is you don't really benefit by having the police correct the police report, it's an opinion just as the police officer told you. If you have evidence that shows something different, then give that to your insurance company. Going further, next time you record another party being the cause of the accident, then do not tell the police officer that you have this proof and simply let the officer write a ticket against you. This is what an insurance adjuster claims anyway:

How to handle an accident - My take

New to the forum here, Hello everyone. I am currently researching what DashCam to buy. I have a 31mile each way commute on Central Florida surface roads and highways. I should have purchased one of these years ago. I have handled auto insurance claims for the past 11 years. I have seen...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[genesplitter]

Forgot to add, if the cop thinks you did something else "bad", like driving with expired insurance or an expired tag, then it's certainly possible the cop felt you were not at fault but needed to learn a lesson. This doesn't seem to apply in your case though although you said you don't look like one of the wealthy residents. That would be really sad so I'm going to say (and hope) that wasn't the case. What may have happened is you got into an accident with another cop, firefighter, friend of the cops, etc. The post I linked to indicated it's best practice to not tell the cop that you have a dashcam, becasue most cops are good and honest but there are a very small minority of cops that may "need to keep your dashcam as evidence".

 

[kamkar]

I hand over footage to my insurance, and if that document something else than the other part or police say, it is their job to proceed with this however they like to,,,,, thats what i pay them for too.

What ever the other part say on the scene, or any other for that matter, and what they will claim on their papers, i just hope are enough lies that they ( other part ) can get nailed for document fraud ( on their insurance claim ) and maybe lying to a police officer on site.
But i am not sharing anything with anybody on site, nothing but my name insurance company and E-mail address if its someone else mess i have caught on camera in which case i would be " i think i have this on video so email me on xxxxx@gmail.com and i will send you the footage later today"
I am not sharing my phone number with anyone, the 10 people that have it now are more than enough.

 

[Dashmellow]

I have fairly compelling dash cam evidence of a distracted driver drifting into my lane and damaging my vehicle in a slow speed accident. At the scene the officer declined to view the footage and the subsequent police report is inaccurate. The officer lays blame solely on me even though the video the other driver drift into the rear of my vehicle. I recently attempted to provide the footage to the officer and ask that he update the report. He and a second, unaffiliated officer, aggressively refused, stating that "police reports are based on opinion." I recorded him admitting that the dash cam shows something other than what happened but he's adamant that it doesn't matter because his opinion is that I'm "at fault." Does this seem wrong? Can an officer just ignore video evidence because it contradicts his expectations?

I should add, this happened in a very VERY wealthy town in New Jersey and I very much don't look like the demographic of people from said area.

Police reports are supposed to be based on facts and evidence, not "opinion".

It sounds as if the police officers involved here are acquainted with the driver who hit you and are protecting him. It would probably be a good idea to hire an attorney to contact the commanding officer of the particular barracks or station house involved demanding an answer to why this matter is being handled like this despite the existence of hard evidence. You could probably begin the process of dealing with this on your own, as well as involving your insurance company. The important thing is that everything you do going forward should be in writing so you have a paper trail. Insist on written replies to your correspondence.

It is possible that the local commanding officer may also be acquainted with the driver who hit you and is as corrupt as the other two officers you are dealing with. It is not uncommon that entire police departments are composed of "good ol' boys" who are beholden to or friendly with certain individuals in a local community. If that should turn out to be the case you or your attorney need to keep bringing your case to the attention of officials further up the chain of command until you get to someone who will do what needs to be done. If necessary you can try to escalate your case to your state attorney general's office.

 

[genesplitter]

I'm confused, what does the police report have to do with this accident? The at-fault insurance company will mail a check to the OP after she sends her own insurance company her dashcam footage. I see no harm if the police won't put blame (lie) because the at-fault driver is a friend of the police (just a guess, more likely just too lazy or having a bad day). No lawyer will "go after" the police officer. If this police officer commited a crime then the only responce is to .... call the police! Life's not fair unless your one of the few like us here that have dashcams.

#1 Rule of Dashcam - never say you have a dashcam!

 

[Ladytemplar]

I suspect it's very much a friend of a person in some position of power. Unfortunately, they "threw the book at me" with enough tickets to suspend my licence for a low speed side swipe on an empty road on a quiet evening with no injuries. I was hoping that the police report could be made accurate because it could only help my case but the more this goes on, the worse it seems to be. I've been hunting for a lawyer for a few days but am in a whole new world now.

I don't really know anything about dash cam culture either. I just got one because of the massive amount of driving I do (60k+/year) and I've seen some really crazy stuff. I'll have to review the linked article about not mentioning the dash cam footage. Any other user-best-practices out there?

 

[dash riposki]

I suspect it's very much a friend of a person in some position of power. Unfortunately, they "threw the book at me" with enough tickets to suspend my licence for a low speed side swipe on an empty road on a quiet evening with no injuries. I was hoping that the police report could be made accurate because it could only help my case but the more this goes on, the worse it seems to be. I've been hunting for a lawyer for a few days but am in a whole new world now.

I don't really know anything about dash cam culture either. I just got one because of the massive amount of driving I do (60k+/year) and I've seen some really crazy stuff. I'll have to review the linked article about not mentioning the dash cam footage. Any other user-best-practices out there?

Get a lawyer, go to traffic court for the tickets if the lawyer thinks you have a chance.

FWIW, in a major accident i was in 30 years ago, a young state trooper who did the initial accident report weakly tried to blame me for the accident. (I was not ticketed for anything) His report was reviewed by a senior trooper, who disputed those findings. 25 pages of Junior Trooper wandering around on paper with his head up his butt, 5 page rebuttal by the Senior trooper, who pretty much said 'junior' had his head up his butt.

 

[genesplitter]

Really sorry to hear about your situation. Best practice when the police "throws the book at you" is to talk to a lawyer. Bring the police report and video to the initial consult, which will likely be free. Ideally your dashcam video shows what really happened, so your lawyer has an easy job, which generally means you don't need to pay a lot of money. In a few months, after you (well, your lawyer actually) clear this mess up, then hopefully you can post one of those "my dashcam paid for itself" stories that we all enjoy reading.

 

[Nigel]

Unfortunately, they "threw the book at me" with enough tickets to suspend my licence...

How can they do that without looking at any evidence and only using the word of a single witness?

Must be more to this incident...

 

[SawMaster]

Once a Cop decides which party they want to listen to, nothing the other party says matters to them. You wouldn't believe how bad some of the cops here are unless you were there as I was, and that is why my first move is always to my lawyers office. It's been rough learning that lesson but I've learned it and it is one of the main reasons I'm a dashcammer now. And the Cop's report is considered to be part of the official investigation so what it says in it matters, and will be considered to be "gospel" until proven otherwise. The scene of the incident is not the place to argue that, the courtroom is, thus you need a courtroom expert.

There does seem to be something fishy going on here but if the OP isn't hiding anything pertinent from us, that fishiness is with the Cop and the other party and that both needs correcting.

Phil

 

[genesplitter]

Once a Cop decides which party they want to listen to, nothing the other party says matters to them.

So true.

 

[Ladytemplar]

When I'm inevitably proven innocent I'll definitely post the video. It's really a "is that it?" kind of thing. Everyone who has seen it is very confused by the whole thing because of just how straight forward and simple it is. Very low speed, minor damage. The only thing fishy here is whatever is going on with the PD. At this point, I think maybe it's an ego thing.

 

[Dashmellow]

When I'm inevitably proven innocent I'll definitely post the video. It's really a "is that it?" kind of thing. Everyone who has seen it is very confused by the whole thing because of just how straight forward and simple it is. Very low speed, minor damage. The only thing fishy here is whatever is going on with the PD. At this point, I think maybe it's an ego thing.

Assuming things are as you say, you could probably make a case for monetary damages from this "very VERY wealthy town in New Jersey" that has conspired to break the law and intentionally violate your rights for an ulterior motive.

 

[SawMaster]

Assuming things are as you say, you could probably make a case for monetary damages from this "very VERY wealthy town in New Jersey" that has conspired to break the law and intentionally violate your rights for an ulterior motive.

They can probably get something in monetary damages in the end but it will be neither a fast or easy process. In the US Cops and Judges are nearly untouchable legally. The usual outcome of malfeasance-type cases won against them is solely monetary, with a total "gag" agreement going along with it. At worst the bad person may get fired but they usually turn up in another place later on doing a similar job, so the problem isn't solved- it's merely hidden from the public eye waiting to happen again (which it often does several times over). And the settlement money comes from an Insurance company, not the source of the problem, so again they feel little pain for their error(s) which might bring about the needed change. Just they way it is here But it is still something worth pursuing, both for personal exoneration and for hopefully having the right things happen to the ones who have erred, and that takes a good Lawyer.

Phil

 

[kamkar]

Police here are quite understaffed ATM, and they just found that in several cases with phone data being used in almost the past decade, well they will have to review all those cases again due to a "IT malfunction".
I really get quite annoyed when i hear about these kinds of things, and it just happen again and again, though they did try to make a new IT system for the police some years ago, but after it was trialed on a single station and found to be utter useless, instead of fixing it, the program / software was just thrown out ( to the tune of 75 million USD )

This was 2012, they are now trying to make a new system for the police,,,,, but it bloody well better not have AI in it as the police say.