Posted on 01/06/2012 8:10:43 AM PST by Altariel
A Chicago police officer allegedly turned a $132 speeding ticket into a pick-up opportunity when he later tracked down the female driver and asked her out, saying the least he could do for the money he cost her was to treat her to dinner, according to a lawsuit the woman filed in federal court.
Evagelina Paredes filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago, accusing police officer Chris Collins of violating her privacy, according to the Associated Press. She alleges that after she was ticketed on Oct. 22, Collins searched for her address in the motor-vehicle database and left a handwritten note on the windshield of her car, which was parked outside her apartment in the Chicago suburb of Stickney, asking her out on a date.
In the note, a copy of which appeared was included in the court documents and was obtained by the Associated Press, the 27-year-old police officer tried to woo the female driver with humor and a seemingly heartfelt plea.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I agree. Overkill; unless she really, really thought he was a perv. If he was just a dumb guy, then give him a break and let his superiors deal with his poor judgment in this arena.
Probably just a stupid cop (she was probably super polite and nice during the traffic stop and he thought she actually liked him), but it begs the question of propriety? Is he pulling over a lot of pretty girls, etc?
Altariel
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bigdirty
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Something doesn’t smell right here(Noob Trolls perhaps)!
The cop may have been sincere, then again he might have saw an opportunity and used it to strong arm her for a date.
Dumb.
You are obviously ignorant of the law and the difference between right and wrong. He DOES have a legal responsibility not to use information for personal purposes given to him in his official duties. Anyone with half a brain knows that. Since he obviously has no self control he needs to be dismissed and never again given access to confidential information.
No one with access to government information may use that information for personal purposes nor disclose that information to anyone else for their personal purposes.
I don’t understand why he had to use a data base. He had her drivers license when wrote the ticket.
Just plane stupid.
You figured out she’s a vile skank, just from this article?
Perhaps she could have opted that route; assuming she wouldn't then be harassed at home, have her tires slashed, get pulled over for 'broken tail light', 'running a stop sign' or other harassment issues. We all know that a cop can 'harass' individuals - it's not a secret and it's not unheard of either.
This sent a message, loud and clear to the department. Perhaps she was harassed previously? Perhaps the Department has a habit of 'looking up hotties' and doing this sort of crap. We don't know if this cop did it every day, to everyone in the neighborhood - or if this was his first abuse of power. But, at the end of the day, this was clearly an "Abuse of Power".
If she drops the case, the message will be sent. If she keeps the case open - the message will be sent to every cop .... every where. Personally, I like this sort of thing. My private and confidential information is to be kept private and confidential - or someone is gonna pay. If I wanted my private residence displayed for public consumption, I'd have it printed on my car door, or listed in the phone book. Those people I know, who I want to know where I live; are informed of my home's location, personally, warmly and confidentially.
Why didn’t the moron use the White Pages web site...??? He really needed DMV database to find an address??
I haven't followed this case, but maybe she did so and they blew her off?
I'll let my grandfather, father, and brother all know how dumb they are, but that they're all good liars.
Broad brush much?
The cop here was definitely out of line, but your comment makes his misbehavior pale in comparison.
I’m only going on the information provided ...
1. Have more pretty women cited just because of their looks, i.e. cops fishing for more than just trafiic violators.
2. Same women would be pressured to comply to an ever increasing level of "cooperation".
Cops have to be aware that the public will not accept an abuse of trust.
Only problem is that the union and the department may hold him harmless, financially.
—This is meritless lawsuit from a bitter person that got a ticket, probably angry that her flirtations didn’t get her out of said ticket. —
I will not say it “is” meritless, but I am open to the possibility that it is.
However, ANY information he got from here was information she had no choice but to give him, as the officer that pulled her over. As the “man” who conversed with her, he has no right to that information. She did not have the opportunity to voluntarily refuse to give the info.
IOW, you or I could not have gotten that information even if everything he acted on was what was on her license, if she chose for us not to have it. His badge took away that choice for her.
I think it stands.
Craig Peyer
And just what are her damages? No competent attorney would ever take this case on a contingency basis.
another Stupid cop. I’ve always said, if you’re too dumb to do anything else you can always become a cop. Must be a very good liar as well.
I'm sure there are some cops with more than two or three functioning IQ points. I'm also sure there are some cops who grasp the concept of ethics. But this obviously isn't one of those cops.
Dang, I’d have been impressed by the effort, and if he was even remotely attractive, I’d have gone out with him. But I’m kind of a sucker for bald guys in uniforms. Especially if they smell good. ;^)
you assume a lot ...
You originally asked what else could she have done. According to all the information presented - she got a note on her windshield and filed a federal civil rights complaint - there is no mention of any threats, any contact, nothing.
So, she COULD have done the things I mentioned first ...
As to HIS actions - definately not in order.
Pretty classy response, Gabz. Wonder why the attitude by some of the knuckleheads on this board at times. This guy is probably one of the “JBT” hate crowd that shows up like buzzards on roadkill every time there’s a thread like this.
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