Wrongly Given a Warning by the Police

luckwudaveit

This afternoon I was stopped by the police for allegedly using my phone whilst driving. Here's how things briefly went:

I stopped immediately once they flashed their lights and was asked to sit in their car while one officer spoke to my wife in the car. When he returned to join his colleague (who was driving the police car), I was given "one chance only" to tell them why I had been stopped. I had no idea so I said I presumed it was because I may have been speeding? The officer gave me a final chance to receive a "warning" but again I said I had no idea what the stop was for. He then claimed he had seen me on my phone a short distance earlier - something which I stated I had not done.

He asked to see my phone's call history which of course showed no call records since 24th Nov. He said "Well your wife could have deleted it" and proceeded to tell me I could take a penalty fine or go to court. I sat there and thought about at which point I asked where the alleged offence occurred. He stated the location and said that as they had pulled alongside (2 lanes away) he had seen my arm / hand move away from my right side of my head down to my side "rapidly". He implied I had done this because I was using my phone and had seen then. In reality I was looking left and out of the corner of my eye had seen their car and moved my arm so I could see them. Why I did that I'll never know.

Anyway, I am left handed when I use my phone (its kept in my left jacket pocket and I had earlier handed it to them using my left hand). This is when I realised that without call history, wrong hand use and I had a witness that I wasn't going to accept a fine. I explained this and he went and spoke to my wife again.

On return he said that she had "dug a deeper hole" for me. (I later learned he used the same terminology to her when talking about me). I stood my ground and he proceeded to do vehicle and person checks, etc. All of which were clean.

Eventually I was asked to leave their car and given a warning and a talking to about "people make mistakes, etc". I went back to the car frustrated at having been given a warning about something I categorically didn't do. He had seen an action which someone using their phone might have done, but he didn't see the phone and there is no proof that I did.

Any thoughts about what I should do? Surely diagnostics from the phone would prove I didn't attempt to make a call or receive one? I just feel as though I've been criminalised for something I didn't do and my wife and I were intimidated.:(

john_white

luckwudaveit wrote: »

This afternoon I was stopped by the police for allegedly using my phone whilst driving. Here's how things briefly went:

I stopped immediately once they flashed their lights and was asked to sit in their car while one officer spoke to my wife in the car. When he returned to join his colleague (who was driving the police car), I was given "one chance only" to tell them why I had been stopped. I had no idea so I said I presumed it was because I may have been speeding? The officer gave me a final chance to receive a "warning" but again I said I had no idea what the stop was for. He then claimed he had seen me on my phone a short distance earlier - something which I stated I had not done.

He asked to see my phone's call history which of course showed no call records since 24th Nov. He said "Well your wife could have deleted it" and proceeded to tell me I could take a penalty fine or go to court. I sat there and thought about at which point I asked where the alleged offence occurred. He stated the location and said that as they had pulled alongside (2 lanes away) he had seen my arm / hand move away from my right side of my head down to my side "rapidly". He implied I had done this because I was using my phone and had seen then. In reality I was looking left and out of the corner of my eye had seen their car and moved my arm so I could see them. Why I did that I'll never know.

Anyway, I am left handed when I use my phone (its kept in my left jacket pocket and I had earlier handed it to them using my left hand). This is when I realised that without call history, wrong hand use and I had a witness that I wasn't going to accept a fine. I explained this and he went and spoke to my wife again.

On return he said that she had "dug a deeper hole" for me. (I later learned he used the same terminology to her when talking about me). I stood my ground and he proceeded to do vehicle and person checks, etc. All of which were clean.

Eventually I was asked to leave their car and given a warning and a talking to about "people make mistakes, etc". I went back to the car frustrated at having been given a warning about something I categorically didn't do. He had seen an action which someone using their phone might have done, but he didn't see the phone and there is no proof that I did.

Any thoughts about what I should do? Surely diagnostics from the phone would prove I didn't attempt to make a call or receive one? I just feel as though I've been criminalised for something I didn't do and my wife and I were intimidated.:(

Your network provider will have a history of all calls made and received. Get that to prove your story. And your wifes phone too while you are at it.

Guys_Dad

Does that not fail with smartphones as OP could have been reading an email or text received hours before? Or finding a Video/audio track?

Not that I disbelieve him and the copper seems to have made a mistake or wanted to up his arrest count!

luckwudaveit

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Does that not fail with smartphones as OP could have been reading an email or text received hours before? Or finding a Video/audio track?

Not that I disbelieve him and the copper seems to have made a mistake or wanted to up his arrest count!

The officer claims the offence took place as he saw my hand resting on my right cheek and then moved it away "rapidly" as they appeared alongside. He is (wrongly) alleging I was "on the phone" and this implies he thought I was making a voice call.

What is interesting is that he was adamant to start with but then backed down from a ticket to a warning when he found out I was left handed.

Avoriaz

luckwudaveit wrote: »

Eventually I was asked to leave their car and given a warning and a talking to about "people make mistakes, etc". I went back to the car frustrated at having been given a warning about something I categorically didn't do. He had seen an action which someone using their phone might have done, but he didn't see the phone and there is no proof that I did.

Any thoughts about what I should do? Surely diagnostics from the phone would prove I didn't attempt to make a call or receive one? I just feel as though I've been criminalised for something I didn't do and my wife and I were intimidated.:(

Forget about it.

All you have lost is a bit of time and you have had the minor indignity of a verbal warning for something you didn't do.

Don't waste any more time on this. There is nothing to be achieved by taking it further.

I doubt if anything official is recorded when a verbal warning is given.

Oli.s

You havent been criminalised, Warning = I cant do anything about it so Im going to tell him its a warning so he thinks Ive recorded it somehow.

You are not know on some database of criminals, a verbal warning is just that, he told you not to use your phone when driving. End of matter, nothing for you to worry about.

Sgt_Pepper_2

/\ what he said.

Carpi09

Like others have said, it's just a verbal warning. If he was certain you were on the phone, he would have given you a ticket right away. He was waiting for you to admit to him you were on the phone...

luckwudaveit

Thanks everyone. As its not recorded then fair doos,I'll sleep on it and hopefully by the morning something else more important will come my way.

Just goes to prove what the police get up to and probably get away with. Opens your eyes a bit when something like this happens.

DUTR

luckwudaveit wrote: »

Thanks everyone. As its not recorded then fair doos,I'll sleep on it and hopefully by the morning something else more important will come my way.

Just goes to prove what the police get up to and probably get away with. Opens your eyes a bit when something like this happens.

Just leave it, the left handed thing doesn't wash anyway, I'm right handed but use the phone in my left hand, don't know why so few have car kits, irrespective of the legality, they are just easier to use whilst in the car.

david29dpo

Believe me, having gone though a similar thing, its not worth taking this any further.
It will take over your life and you will have wished you have never had started.