Florida Man Pulled Over, Asked For ID After Photographing Unmarked Cop Car

July 19, 2011 @ 3:45PM

Florida Man Pulled Over, Asked For ID After Photographing Unmarked Cop Car

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Bill Beebe of Orlando likes to keep a close watch on things in his neighborhood, so when he spotted what appeared to be an unmarked police car waiting for speeders, he snapped a photo.

That, of course, got him pulled over.

He then turned on his lights and pulled us over. He then walked up and asked me if he could help. I told him I lived in the neighborhood and I pay attention to the unusual. That's when he asked to see my ID and registration. I pulled out my license and showed it to him. Before I could reach for my registration he said "that's fine", that he wanted to make sure I lived in the neighborhood. I wonder if I would have been ticketed for some trumped up charge if I hadn't.

Beebe said the unmarked silver Pontiac Grand Prix, driven by an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy, was in violation of a Florida Statute 316.605 because of an obstructed license plate, which was covered by a piece of smoke-tinted plastic.

If the officer hadn't decided to chase me down and harass me, I wouldn't have been provided this wonderful view of the statute-violating tag on the rear of his unmarked vehicle. This is the kind of license cover that would earn a civilian a ticket every time a cop sees it. The only way I was able to read his tag clearly was to post-process the image to black and white with Lightroom 3.4.1 and Silver Efex Pro 2 in order to make the license clear enough to read.

The license plate number was Q20-2FN.

Comments

Happy Tinfoil Cat

9 months ago

I photograph any unfamiliar vehicles or people in my cul-de-sac. If something happens I have evidence.

Those license plate covers not only block the view of the plate, but also are made to reflect the strobes of red-light cameras. I wish they'd enforce the law around here because these things embolden people to speed and run red lights. Those and mirrored sunglasses are indicators of asshole drivers, not always but usually.

I'd be glad to have cops protect my neighborhood. We had to gang up and force the city to do something because the city officials wouldn't believe cars could even get up to 70MPH on a short street like ours. I explained that the lowered Hondas would already be going 45 as they power drifted around the corner, downshifted and punched it. Our kids were not safe. The city put in a temporary speed camera and were shocked to see 65+MPH speeders. They put in speed humps as a way to placate us (we were asking for the street to be closed). Funny part was, the stripe painting crew didn't show up until several days after the humps were put in. Several Hondas had already hit them in the mean time.

Phred

9 months ago

The "Mythbusters" cable TV show did a segment on things like reflective license plate covers, special sprays, etc. that are advertised as being able to thwart speeding and red-light cameras. None of them worked.

Matt B

9 months ago

Red light and speed cameras do nothing to make people safer. Only to raise more money.

Iroc

9 months ago

I also notice no front plate.
That is a violation in my state.

Phred

9 months ago

Front license plates are not required in my state.

corkdork

9 months ago

Not sure about Phred up there, but in Florida, only rear plates are required. In fact, I'm not sure if I could even GET front plates if I asked...

Phred

9 months ago

Years ago, Florida had a slogan on its plates that said, "Arrive Alive." Some clever entrepreneur copied the plate design and substituted the slogan, "Arrive Stoned." Those plates often could be found on the front bumpers of Florida-registered vehicles.

Rich

9 months ago

The crime was pulling a car over with no probable cause to do so not the licence plate

Elliott

9 months ago

Since he said he lived in the neighborhood if he didn't then the cop would say he provided false information..

Either way NEVER talk to cops any more than is absolutely required.

In this case when he asked if he could help me I would have said No, and provided him with the obligatory documentation. Absolutely nothing else. I have no legal obligation to explain myself, and the supreme court has ruled that laws that require me to are unconstitutional.

Rusty Carr

9 months ago

Elliott wrote: "I have no legal obligation to explain myself, and the supreme court has ruled that laws that require me to are unconstitutional."

You also would have no legal obligation to tell the ER doctor how your face got so messed up! I try to play along with cops even if my rights are not being particularly well respected. Between the doctor's bill and and the lawyer's bill my life savings would probably just about be wiped out. YMMV

Tijuana Joe

9 months ago

Well, I guess the cool part is now you can
google "Q20-2FN" and this story comes up.
These secret police get famous in direct proportion
to how hard they try to remain secret..
Some lady has a blog "I heart Jade"
about all the secret cops in Jefferson County Virginia.
http://iheartejade.blogspot.com/

Shawn Wright

9 months ago

"Unmarked Cop Cop"?

nigmalg

9 months ago

"Beebe said the unmarked silver Pontiac Grand Prix, driven by an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy, was in violation of a Florida Statute 316.605 because of an obstructed license plate, which was covered by a piece of smoke-tinted plastic."

Do you think they give a damn if they're in violation of traffic laws?

gobbly

9 months ago

perhaps not on unmarked's as much, but the departments certainly care how their cruisers look. How often do you see cop cars with dents, or headlights out, or scratched paint? Do you think they aren't getting regular vehicular inspections? Naw, cops might break the law's, but they don't tend to flaunt it.