What is considered to be police harassment?
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What is considered to be police harassment?
An officer waited in a parking lot for an extended period of time in order to pull me over for expired out of state plates. I made no driving errors before he pulled me over. He then slapped me with a criminal misdemeanor charge for having a an in-state DL with out of state plates. Could this be considered harassment?
Asked on December 23, 2013 under Criminal Law, Colorado
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
Harassment by the police is very difficult to prove. Unfortunately, in your situation, the police will claim that you were stopped because of an expired license plate and that as part of a routine traffic stop, the police always ask to see your driver's license. Your in-state driver's license resulted in the misdemeanor charge. That law is probably intended to prevent people from registering the car in another state where registration fees may be lower.
It would be advisable to contact an attorney who handles traffic violations to determine if there is a plausible defense to the misdemeanor charge.
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