What did I experience?

[bananaman]

I was driving on a two-lane highway in the Sierra foothills. I was on a 1-mile straight (estimated) 5% downgrade. My speed was slightly less than 55. About 250 yards from the bottom of the grade a man emerges from the bushes and stands in the middle of my lane. He draws a gun and holds it with both hands. He is peering down the gunsight right at me.

I try to stay calm, and begin to weave in my lane while ducking down to avoid any bullet coming through the windshield. This goes on for a few seconds until I see that the individual looks to be CHP. I finally make out his black holster belt and can see he has on your sort of shirt. By now my speed (because of the grade and my concern for my personal safety) is 58-59.

When I pass the officer, he has some sort of greyish gun in his hand. (If it was a radar gun, I have never seen any officer aim a radar gun like a pistol.) His patrol car is parked about 50 feet off the highway behind a tree. And then he has the temerity to yell at me to slow down!

And so you know, I check my speedometer with a stopwatch and the CalTrans paddles along the side of the road with regularity; my speedometer is not miscalibrated. Furthermore, the patrol car was clearly marked with your customary logo and star on the passenger side door.

What was this officer doing pointing a gun at an oncoming motorist? I assume he was performing his duties. Shouldn't he have parked his car in a visible location to let drivers know that he is around? Also, I thought part of your uniform is a campaign hat. Had he worn his hat, I would have known it was an officer and been less freaked out.

It occurred to me after I drove by that this officer risked causing an accident or harm not only to me, but to himself and perhaps another motorist coming from the opposite direction who happened to think that it was safe to pass only to see the officer standing in the middle of the opposite lane.

With all due respect, couldn't the officer have performed his duty in a safer manner and still accomplish his objectives?

And, what would you have done if you were out with your family and experienced this situation?

Thanks!

[TheForceCHP]

LIDAR

[JCH]

Nobody here can speculate to what happened because nobody here was there and experienced what you experienced. It never hurts to call the local area office and inquire.

[HonkingAntelope]

/* SNIP */
What was this officer doing pointing a gun at an oncoming motorist? I assume he was performing his duties. Shouldn't he have parked his car in a visible location to let drivers know that he is around? Also, I thought part of your uniform is a campaign hat. Had he worn his hat, I would have known it was an officer and been less freaked out.

...

With all due respect, couldn't the officer have performed his duty in a safer manner and still accomplish his objectives?The police are under no obligation to make their presence known. In fact, it's not unusual for them to run radar at night with every single light on the vehicle turned off to hide themselves.

And, what would you have done if you were out with your family and experienced this situation?Probably just shrug it off since the trooper appears to have been visible enough and didn't really create too much danger to anyone except himself. If you are REALLY, REALLY sure the officer created a dangerous situation and upset about it, feel free to file a complaint if you so desire.

[ResQ]

Bananaman,

Thanks for posting. Big words like 'temerity' might slip by the casual observer or a caveman like me under normal circumstances, but you have obviously experienced something paranormal.

I woud offer a possible sighting of the north american hairless ape. Although rare, it is possible.

Alternatively, you may have been a target of Lidar in an effort to keep our roadways safe.

I was victimized myself by a careless surveying crew one time with what appeared to be a man-portable tripod mounted anti-aircraft weapon. I soon realized my aggressor was surveying for a quaint starbucks application. I feel your pain.

I am sufficiently calmed that you were neither injured nor cited for you infraction on what would presumably be a maximum speed limit. I encourage continued dialog in order that we flush out this hatless, hiding, hideous harbinger of hazard and rectify lawlessness or law enforcement.

I trust that You will forgive my spellin' and grammar as this telegram has reached me at a point within the realm of technology where postin' is only available via droid.

May the wind be ever at your back,
your truly
Resq

[snowdog]

Bananaman, maybe you can provide the highway and location where this occurred and someone who works the area might be able to provide some insight. Your description sounds like many locations in the Sierra foothills.

Honking Antelope, where do you get your expertise in how someone might react? Based on your suggestion sounds like you recommend he take out, or as you put it, neutralize the Officer. That would likely result in a real gun with real bullets being pointed at him. Sounds like he reacted properly.
You aren't an Officer so you don't know policy or procedures. Perhaps you should get a handle on your imagination and offer your advice/opinions in your area of expertise. If you are basing your response on a discussion with a friend maybe you should allow your friend to respond.
And thanks for suggesting he file a complaint which sounds like it has no merit. I'm sure the Sgt and Officer appreciate the extra work coming their way.

[HonkingAntelope]

@snowdog: I just thought someone would speed up a little more than by 5mph if they honest-to-god believed a real gun was being pointed at them by some guy standing in the middle of the road 250yds away. In this case, OP saw that the 'man with a gun' was a CHP trooper and all was well.

I would never advocate attacking a police officer. Sheesh.

For what it's worth, I did hear of an undercover officer getting killed in a similar fashion when he pulled a gun to help with breaking up a fight but the responding officers had no way to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

[AyatollahGondola]

I've experienced a somewhat similar event before, however it only startled me for a moment.
Probably would be good to come up with a less provocative stance or pose to operate that system in the future, like maybe the officer could lay on his back, elevate his knees a little, and stick the business end of it between his legs to aim it. I'll bet that might look a lot less scary to those of us drinking more than 3 cups of coffee a day

[cjincognito]

Geez, they hide...they're bad...they stand in the middle of the road in plain view...they're scary. :rolleyes:

How about a simple, "Thank-you!" for putting his life in harms way all in the name of public safety, service and security. And be thankful you didn't receive a citation...or worse, a gunshot wound to the forehead from your perceived would-be attacker.

[Fire1]

Ahem. TROLL cough cough:hitwall:

You all responded to this guy like he was serious. :noidea:

Oh, and for you HonkingA, I would advise you against posting your opinion on things you know absolutely NOTHING about. Nuff said.

[KingFrankSam]

CHP officers will look through and aim a LIDAR device at a vehicle to enforce speed laws. However, none will do it while standing in the middle of a lane.

[emcviper]

Awhile back I was pulled over about 200 miles from home under suspicion of DUI. (No other driving infraction was committed.) I felt I was truthful, courteous and cooperative to the officer. I said I had a pint of beer with lunch about an hour earlier, and even went for a walk before getting back behind the wheel. He told me I passed all 9 of the coordination tests, and showed me the breath machine reading of .01+.

He then ordered me back to my car, and he went to the passenger seat of his patrol vehicle for about 10 minutes. He returned to my car, tossed my paperwork on the passenger seat, and said, "you are free to go." I thanked him, and asked him his name. "My name is Officer D. Smith [NOT HIS REAL NAME.]" I then asked for his first name, and he replied, "I said my name is D. Smith, you better leave before I change my mind." OK, I vamoosed.

Several months later I was in the area again, and stopped in the office nearest my detention. The officer behind the desk was VERY cooperative and friendly and concerned. However, he had never heard of Officer D. Smith, and when he checked the computer, he said there were 4 officers on the force with the name D. Smith, all based in different locations more than 150 miles from where he pulled me over. The desk officer told me further that patrolmen all the time are temporarily reassigned to other duties and responsibilities without the knowledge of the local office.

So here is what I would like to know, in case this ever happens again:

Am I entitled to know the full name and any other sort of identification of this or any officer? Is there a regulation or law that requires officers to remain anonymous?

Are patrol officers supervised, and if so, how do we motorists find out whether the officers are from the local office or from some distant place?

After he determined that I had not broken any laws, and that I was not DUI, why was I not released? What was he doing for 10 minutes back at his patrol vehicle?

Finally, I assume that he has to make some sort of accounting of his time, especially when he was not patrolling for nearly one hour. What sort of information is contained in this accounting? Since I was the person directly involved with this procedure, am I entitled to a copy of this accounting to see what the officer wrote down about me?

Thanks for your responses, and I hope this does not happen again. It had been over 20 years since my last traffic stop for any reason, and this one did not leave me with a particularly good feeling about the CHP procedures once it was determined that no infraction or crime had been committed.
:rolleyes:

[Mac]

I was driving on a two-lane highway in the Sierra foothills. I was on a 1-mile straight (estimated) 5% downgrade. My speed was slightly less than 55. About 250 yards from the bottom of the grade a man emerges from the bushes and stands in the middle of my lane. He draws a gun and holds it with both hands. He is peering down the gunsight right at me.

I try to stay calm, and begin to weave in my lane while ducking down to avoid any bullet coming through the windshield. This goes on for a few seconds until I see that the individual looks to be CHP. I finally make out his black holster belt and can see he has on your sort of shirt. By now my speed (because of the grade and my concern for my personal safety) is 58-59.

When I pass the officer, he has some sort of greyish gun in his hand. (If it was a radar gun, I have never seen any officer aim a radar gun like a pistol.) His patrol car is parked about 50 feet off the highway behind a tree. And then he has the temerity to yell at me to slow down!

And so you know, I check my speedometer with a stopwatch and the CalTrans paddles along the side of the road with regularity; my speedometer is not miscalibrated. Furthermore, the patrol car was clearly marked with your customary logo and star on the passenger side door.

What was this officer doing pointing a gun at an oncoming motorist? I assume he was performing his duties. Shouldn't he have parked his car in a visible location to let drivers know that he is around? Also, I thought part of your uniform is a campaign hat. Had he worn his hat, I would have known it was an officer and been less freaked out.

It occurred to me after I drove by that this officer risked causing an accident or harm not only to me, but to himself and perhaps another motorist coming from the opposite direction who happened to think that it was safe to pass only to see the officer standing in the middle of the opposite lane.

With all due respect, couldn't the officer have performed his duty in a safer manner and still accomplish his objectives?

And, what would you have done if you were out with your family and experienced this situation?

Thanks!
Not only is your scenario highly implausible (to say the least), we do not publicly discuss policies and procedures on this board...of the CHP nor any other law enforcement agency.