#77 and unmarked police cars

[norcalchick]

(got this as a forward. just wanted to post it for people to know. my BF alwyas tells me to be careful about this)

Lauren was 19 yr. old and in college. This story
takes place over the Christmas/New Year's holiday break.

It was the Saturday before New
Year's and it was about 1PM in the afternoon. Lauren
was driving to
visit a friend. An *UNMARKED* police car pulled up
behind her and put his
lights on.

Lauren's parents have 4 children (high school and
college age) and have
always told them never to pull over for an unmarked
car on the side of
the road, but rather wait until they get to a gas
station, etc..

So Lauren had listened to her parents advice, and
promptly called "#77"
on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that
she would not pull
over right away.

She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was
an unmarked police
car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind
her.

The dispatcher checked to see if there where police
cars where she was
and there wasn't! He told her to keep driving,
remain calm and that
he had back up already on the way.

Ten minutes later, four cop cars surrounded her and
the unmarked car behind
her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the
car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled
him to the
ground ... the man was a convicted rapist and wanted
for other crimes.

I never knew about the "#77" Cell Phone Feature -
but especially for a
woman alone in a car, you should not pull over for
an unmarked car.

Apparently police have to respect your right to keep
going to a "safe" place.
You obviously need to make some signals that you
acknowledge them (i.e.,
put on your hazard lights) or call "#77" like Lauren
did.

Too bad the cell phone companies don't give you this
little bit of wonderful information.

So now it's your turn to let your friends know
about "#77".
Send this to every woman you know, it may save their
life.
Men, Please send this to your women friends.

[Lady Pi Phi]

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/fakecop.htm

[juniorgrrl]

I know Louisiana has a *LSP (*577) code for cell phones where you can get them directly. If my backwards state has it, I'm betting other states do too.

[WCUgirl]

I know Florida has it - I think it's *FHP. Had to use it once when I was in high school and my mustang P.O.S. broke down on a road trip in the middle of nowhere! I think other states have it in certain areas, for example SC has their "DOT Assistance Zones" (or something) outside of Ft. Mill/Rock Hill, then also when you approach Columbia. Not sure if NC has it though.

[valkyrie]

I just found this, which lists emergency numbers by state, but of course I don't know how accurate it is.

[chideltjen]

you are better off just dialing 911 apparently.

And i have received that email too.

[ThetaGrrl]

http://www.coloradoan.com/news/coloradoanpublishing/Miller/

This happened to a girl in Fort Collins who worked up the street from where I lived last year. I had seen signs all over town saying that Lacy Miller was missing, and soon it was in the news that she had been kidnapped by someone who posed as a police officer.

I'm not going to go into details, but when I read the article in the paper after the man was convicted, I cried. I don't know how someone could do something so horrid as what he did to her.

It's already illegal to impersonate a police officer, but it's not illegal to purchase police gear. Tougher laws are being looked at, that will have more severe penalties.

So, be careful, and know that while the story in the email may or may not be fake, Lacy's story is unfortunately real.

[GMUBunny]

We have #77 here and I'm so glad we do. I was riding in a car with a friend of mine at night and an unmarked car put his lights on because she was speeding. She started to pull over but I told her to call #77 and tell the dispatcher that we were going to pull off on an exit that had a well-lit gas station. She confirmed the officer behind us, we pulled off at an exit, she got her speeding ticket, and we went home. I would never ever ever pull over for an unmarked car by myself, especially at night.

[Rio_Kohitsuji]

This story just reminded me of some incidents that happened here. I guess a few years ago some pretty sick students had gotten ahold of some police gear and a light bar. Well, everytime they pulled a female driver over they raped her ( I believe they got 4). Eventually they did catch them but dag on, I couldn't believe it took them a long time to catch them.

[preciousjeni]

I don't even understand this. You cannot be pulled over by an "unmarked" vehicle. In order for a patroller to pull you over, the car has to be VISIBLY marked from at least 50 feet away!! I found this out in a safety speech given by Georgia state patrollers.

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by preciousjeni
I don't even understand this. You cannot be pulled over by an "unmarked" vehicle. In order for a patroller to pull you over, the car has to be VISIBLY marked from at least 50 feet away!! I found this out in a safety speech given by Georgia state patrollers.

Tell that to the City of Richardson, Texas traffic gendarmes! Depends on their definition of 'visibly marked'; it could mean having red/blue lights, siren and flashing headlights and not necessarily 'HIGHWAY PATROL' or 'POLICE' insignia.

Many traffic cop units will get around the 'unmarked' rule by just adding a couple of stickers to an unmarked vehicle; those familiar with the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor can see the plain wheels and overall police hardware (ram bumpers, etc.) No light bar in plain sight.

[lifesaver]

Originally posted by AlphaSigOU

Many traffic cop units will get around the 'unmarked' rule by just adding a couple of stickers to an unmarked vehicle; those familiar with the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor can see the plain wheels and overall police hardware (ram bumpers, etc.) No light bar in plain sight.

SAPD has 11 new Unmarked Vehicles that are all different colors (maroon, forrest green, navy and have matching stickers that say SAPD but can only be seen at the right angle). It's not really undercover if they are in an LTD and have the little thing on the back that actually says 'police interceptor' . IF they want to be undercover, I wanna see an officer in a 89 Nissan Stanza.

[SATX*APhi]

Originally posted by valkyrie
I just found this, which lists emergency numbers by state, but of course I don't know how accurate it is.

I can't believe so many states make you remember a number other than 911. I don't know what the reasoning is for it, but I am glad we are able to dial 911 from our cell phones here in Texas.

[SATX*APhi]

Originally posted by lifesaver
and have the little thing on the back that actually says 'police interceptor' . IF they want to be undercover, I wanna see an officer in a 89 Nissan Stanza.

Defintiely! I don't know if it's my background in working with different law enforcement agencies, but I can ALWAYS spot an undercover. Always! The 'police interceptor' at the rear is a dead give away, as is the red and blue lights on the dash. And not only that, they are all Crown Victoria style cars and none of their paint jobs look like those from a car you'd buy off a lot. I vote for all law enforcement agencies who have undercover cars as I've described above to receive a Stuid Award. Congrats!

[gphiangel624]

Not all undercover police cars are Crown Victorias, but typically, the ones that are used in traffic incidents are.

Many departments use other mainstream "family-like" cars as undercover cars. Ford Taurus', Mercury Sables, and 80s Pontiac Celebrities are often used in southern California. But most of the time, you will never know these are police vehicles- they are usually used by investigators for non-urgent reasons. But don't think they can't pull you over and ticket you.

Just an FYI.