local policeman gives me a scare

hello everyone, beautiful day in carlisle to take the car out and run some errands. bright, sunny, breezy and about 65 degrees, perfect weather, the car is running strong,when its up to temperature it likes the cool morning air.theirs a couple of back roads i like to use on the way back home.couple of good sweeping turns and some short straights into a nice s turn and very little traffic on saturaday mornings.up shifting down shifting acceletering thru the gears it makes my heart pump and this is what its all about.anyway leaving town i'm being followed by a motorcycle, driving very sensible and cautious as i continue on to my favorite back roads. i just put the power to the road and let the adrendlin run.theirs nothing like the sound of that big block running thru the gears and downshifting is just music to my soul.i,m pulling up to a stop sign at the end of the road. a few seconds later the motor cycle pulls up behind and beeps and waves to stop. he pulls up besides the drivers side and lifts his face mask and says wow, what a awesome ride, beautiful car, and you have some serious power there. he wants to know where i,m from and whats my address, i hesitate, he opens his jacket and pulls out his police badge, well i,m speechless, look i can run your plate if you don't tell me. so i give him my information. he tells me hes not going to bust on me but to be careful and choose my excitment wisely.we have a few more words and shake hands to leave. i motion for him to go ahead, he lifts is mask and says no, i want to follow you, i like to watch that car run from behind and get a little squirrely.needless to say i was the best darn driver the rest of the way home. anyway food for though, i know everyone will be heading for homecoming next week and i want you all to take care and have a safe trip and on the cruise likewise. i'll be thinking about you love to be there but other priorities this year.

take care and have lots of fun
take lots of pictures to post
Glenn

FYI if a police officer EVER gives you that reason as one to run your plate he has just committed a felony. Running plates for personal reasons is a very serious matter.

Glenn, As you know PA police officers do not have a sense of humor. Your lucky he didn't hold you there till an on-duty police officer arrived.Glad everything worked out OK.

Yikes, stories like this scare me. I wouldn't have told the guy a damn thing. If he was off-duty and wasn't in uniform or in a marked vehicle, then he has no business stopping me, or even pursuing me, for something that is not a felony. I would have told him to contact the supervisor on duty and get them out there before giving him ANY of my personal info or even showing him my ID.

He could just have been some punk security officer with a badge that says "patrolman" on it, and now he has the address of where the car is located. Or, actual police badges are available on the internet from certain military / police collectors sites.

I hate to go to the darkest corner with this post, but we've had a slew of impersonating-an-officer crimes lately here in KC, so this stuff has been all over the local media.

Sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock movie to me. Gotta do what feels right....

Glenn,

I have been a cop for 27 years now and I have a Unique Cobra, as such I can see the view from both sides of the street. First of all you weren't doing anything that I haven't done myself in the past you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The off duty cop on the motorcycle if in the town/city where he is employeed had every right to do what he did, however you could also in that same situtation respectfully request that due to the lack of supporting evidence (uniform, marked squad car ect.) he call for a marked unit before you answered any of his questions. As a supervisor I would tell my officer in a similar situtation to call for a marked car to make the stop instead of doing what he did. Anyway it happened and I think you acted appropriately and saved yourself from getting a ticket.
Beats me why he bothered you in the first place, you were both out doing the same thing....enjoying your machines on a nice day. Now don't spend the rest of your summer looking over your shoulder because I can tell you that 99 percent of the cops would never bother you while off duty as it can cause more trouble than it's worth. And yes, he would have been within his rights to run your plate in connection with a witnessed offense but again why bother.....I say live and let live. I stop lots younger kids while working for "displays of speed " that I have witnessed ....and unless they were very reckless most of the time I compliment them on thier cars explain to them the error of thier actions and that's it, but stop them while off duty ? Never happen.

Pete

glenn, i think he just wanted to make sure you werent crazy , drunk, or both at the same time. as for his comments on being careful and wise, im sure he was just playing the role and was something he felt he had to say only because he stopped you. i think he really only wanted follow you after because he was diggin your car getting squirrelly as much as you were. most cops i come across when they pull up along side me at a light ask me to get on my car. i almost always ask em if they want to drive my car while i chase em in their cruiser. that always gets a good laugh. i wouldnt sweat it any. enjoy. later, freakin`brian

I stand by my comment. If the reason he gave was that he just wanted to know where you were from and he then ran your plates to determine that. That is a class 6 felony. NCIC checks must be for legitimate reasons. For example - what if you were a hot chick and he wanted to know where you lived.