Police Aggression at Car Meets

Police Aggression at Car Meets

Author
Discussion

Aidancky

Original Poster:

243 posts

137 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
Hi all

I attended a car meet last night where I was wierdly singled out and spoken to in some interesting ways, despite me committing no crimes and being 100% polite at all times. I'm curious about the legalities of some things that were said.

So; a meet was planned on facebook by some local car group (who i dont know) - I attended since as it's getting to the time of the year where meets stop due to the weather.

A person was revving at the first location and around 6 police vehicles turned up just to keep an eye on things it seemed. Later on the meet moved to another location and I ended up going there to meet up with one of my friends.

Some of the attendees were driving like idiots in the carpark; and shortly after the police turned up and asked everyone to leave. Here's where my issues start:

A young male police officer walked past me, shouted "get back in your car, and fk OFF!", in a way that reminded me of a teenager having a tantrum. I didn't react to this, and started getting ready to leave. Me and my friend arranged another place to meet up to have a chat away from the meet.

A female police officer then approached me as I was sat in my car, and started to threaten me with a Section 59 offence, saying that I could have my car siezed and be fined. Bear in mind I was sat in a car with the engine turned off, had not done anything silly, or illegal.

So I said I was leaving, and drove to another carpark, just with my 1 other friend so we could have a chat. This officer approached me AGAIN, threatening both of us with Section 59's and our cars would be siezed.

I was 100% polite, friendly and compliant with these officers the entire time. The female officer even said I was the only person there who had not abused her.

Is this legal? I was being harrassed by 2 police officers very unprofessionally, i was being told to leave a public carpark when I had committed no offences or disturbance. Not even a rev of the car, I drove at 20mph or less in and out of these places.

- Can I be given a Section 59 for being near a car meet?
- Can my car be siezed for being parked 300m from a car meet in a carpark?
- Are police officers supposed to tell people to "fk off", wouldn't I have being possibly detained if i'd retaliated to that?


Edited by Aidancky on Sunday 1st December 23:42

Lemming Train

5,567 posts

71 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
This thread won't go the way you are hoping hehe . The site is about 50% police and it'll be turned around accusing you of making stuff up and/or missing out important bits and/or "you failed the attitude test" etc etc. I can guarantee you it won't be the police's fault.

Cerdo Espada

432 posts

63 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
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Did he commit an offence with his verbal onslaught ? Any footage ? Report him.

Aidancky

Original Poster:

243 posts

137 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
Lemming Train said:
This thread won't go the way you are hoping hehe . The site is about 50% police and it'll be turned around accusing you of making stuff up and/or missing out important bits and/or "you failed the attitude test" etc etc. I can guarantee you it won't be the police's fault.
If people want to take it that way, sure - but I just felt these officers were trying to intimidate me when I was complying with everything they were asking - the lady officer wouldn't leave me alone despite me being friendly and agreeing to leave when she asked...

I don't bother with aggressive attitude with police as it seems pointless to me to do that.

Aidancky

Original Poster:

243 posts

137 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
Cerdo Espada said:
Did he commit an offence with his verbal onslaught ? Any footage ? Report him.
The entirety of his onslaught is what I said. "Get back in your car and fk OFF" as he walked past me, didn't even look up as he said it. No, I dont have any footage. Was just curious if this is normal for officers to be doing.

BertBert

18,954 posts

210 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
the reason why s59 was created is that it's very hard for plod to stop anti social car behaviour. The very thing that your group was involved in.

As you heard the police get a load of abuse for doing their jobs and I suspect, don't have the time or inclination to be nice to the less rowdy of a meet.

I'm not saying the language was right, but I'm not surprised they do a lot of shouting to break rowdy groups up.

Bert

Graveworm

8,476 posts

70 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
Aidancky said:
Hi all



Is this legal? I was being harrassed by 2 police officers very unprofessionally, i was being told to leave a public carpark when I had committed no offences or disturbance. Not even a rev of the car, I drove at 20mph or less in and out of these places.

- Can I be given a Section 59 for being near a car meet?
- Can my car be siezed for being parked 300m from a car meet in a carpark?
- Are police officers supposed to tell people to "fk off", wouldn't I have being possibly detained if i'd retaliated to that?
No
No
Rarely No

There are other powers to disperse, which it's possible to fall foul of if you don't leave, but, failure isn't S59 and you wouldn't get your car seized in the same way.

Aidancky

Original Poster:

243 posts

137 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
BertBert said:
the reason why s59 was created is that it's very hard for plod to stop anti social car behaviour. The very thing that your group was involved in.

As you heard the police get a load of abuse for doing their jobs and I suspect, don't have the time or inclination to be nice to the less rowdy of a meet.

I'm not saying the language was right, but I'm not surprised they do a lot of shouting to break rowdy groups up.

Bert
I do get that. But is a section 59 applicable for someone stood next to a car that was turned off? And hadn't been used for anything anti-social. I had been at the meet for 5 minutes at that point. They told me to leave and I was getting in the car to leave when this officer started threatening me with a Section 59 lol

OldGermanHeaps

3,801 posts

177 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
covert body cams are very cheap now, carry one to the next meet. if it is as you describe it puts you in a much better position.

Graveworm

8,476 posts

70 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
OldGermanHeaps said:
covert body cams are very cheap now, carry one to the next meet. if it is as you describe it puts you in a much better position.
The police officer will almost certainly have a body cam so they could use that.

Aidancky

Original Poster:

243 posts

137 months

Sunday 1st December 2019
quotequote all
OldGermanHeaps said:
covert body cams are very cheap now, carry one to the next meet. if it is as you describe it puts you in a much better position.
This is probably 1 of 5 meets i've been to this year. And the other 4 have been on private land organised by the landowner. I have a dashcam in one of my cars that would have picked it up, but I was in my other car.

I just don't get the attitude they had. It's a car meet, not like we were having a rave or dealing or something...

Driver101

14,376 posts

120 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Aidancky said:
This is probably 1 of 5 meets i've been to this year. And the other 4 have been on private land organised by the landowner. I have a dashcam in one of my cars that would have picked it up, but I was in my other car.

I just don't get the attitude they had. It's a car meet, not like we were having a rave or dealing or something...
Where was this meet? How many cars?

Let's be honest Saturday night meets often end up with nonsense happening. It sounds like it already happened before moving on.


Second Best

6,402 posts

180 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
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Driver101 said:
Where was this meet? How many cars?

Let's be honest Saturday night meets often end up with nonsense happening. It sounds like it already happened before moving on.
That doesn't exactly implicate the OP in any of the nonsense.

I recently visited my sister and in the evening we went to watch a film. When we were leaving, the car park had filled with a dozen or so barry boys in Corsas and Fiestas. I'd driven there in my F-Type, probably the loudest car there.

If the police had come and accused my sister and I of being involved, I'd be quite annoyed. I'd probably take any section 59 or anything else official to appeal, as if you can demonstratably show you weren't involved (I would show my cinema ticket, dashcam video, and use my sister's testimony as evidence), then I'd expect it to be thrown out + costs paid for.

Driver101

14,376 posts

120 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Second Best said:
Driver101 said:
Where was this meet? How many cars?

Let's be honest Saturday night meets often end up with nonsense happening. It sounds like it already happened before moving on.
That doesn't exactly implicate the OP in any of the nonsense.

I recently visited my sister and in the evening we went to watch a film. When we were leaving, the car park had filled with a dozen or so barry boys in Corsas and Fiestas. I'd driven there in my F-Type, probably the loudest car there.

If the police had come and accused my sister and I of being involved, I'd be quite annoyed. I'd probably take any section 59 or anything else official to appeal, as if you can demonstratably show you weren't involved (I would show my cinema ticket, dashcam video, and use my sister's testimony as evidence), then I'd expect it to be thrown out + costs paid for.
If you fly with the crows......

His car was already in two locations and part of a meet he points out there was antisocial behaviour that he seen.

Aren't car meets banned in certain areas where action can be taken for simply groups of cars meeting up?


Flumpo

3,685 posts

72 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
I’m afraid you’ve experienced what policing is like first hand.

I’ve had about 4 interactions with the police in my life. 1 very positive and they were very helpful, the other 3, I was treated worse than when the marines pulled Sadam out of that hole.Despite being very polite and having done no wrong what so ever.

From what I can gather police training changed in the mid 90s. Now they are trained that everyone is a threat and behave accordingly. It’s that training coupled with 90% of the people they come across being scum bags that’s makes them like this- I think.

As has been pointed out, this section of ph is monopolised by police so it’s your fault for being at a meet.

The wider problem is most normal law abiding people get a bit of a shock when faced with the police behaving like this. Which I think is why there seems to be an increase in anti police feeling generally.

The best thing you can do is move on, they have a tough job and you might need them one day. But unless you need them, stay well out of their way and go along with whatever they say. You don’t really have any other choice.

GT03ROB

13,209 posts

220 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
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You are being judged by the company you keep. Some of your company had already been dicking around & that's why police were there.

May not be fair, but that's the way it is.

Tony1963

4,699 posts

161 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
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Perhaps the coppers noticed that you spell ‘seized’ and ‘weirdly’ incorrectly smile

Evanivitch

19,804 posts

121 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Aidancky said:
. I didn't react to this, and started getting ready to leave.
...
A female police officer then approached me as I was sat in my car, and started to threaten me with a Section 59 offence, saying that I could have my car siezed and be fined. Bear in mind I was sat in a car with the engine turned off, had not done anything silly, or illegal.


Edited by Aidancky on Sunday 1st December 23:42
The old snails-pace compliance? How long was this duration of "getting ready to leave" (which is what exactly in a modern car?) and still being sat there with the engine off?

BertBert

18,954 posts

210 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Aidancky said:
BertBert said:
the reason why s59 was created is that it's very hard for plod to stop anti social car behaviour. The very thing that your group was involved in.

As you heard the police get a load of abuse for doing their jobs and I suspect, don't have the time or inclination to be nice to the less rowdy of a meet.

I'm not saying the language was right, but I'm not surprised they do a lot of shouting to break rowdy groups up.

Bert
I do get that. But is a section 59 applicable for someone stood next to a car that was turned off? And hadn't been used for anything anti-social. I had been at the meet for 5 minutes at that point. They told me to leave and I was getting in the car to leave when this officer started threatening me with a Section 59 lol
It's just a crowd thing. The police aren't going through assessing each person, they want all of you gone. They have very few powers to deal with the situation other than shouting, threatening S59 or dishing it out.

If you were dealing it would be easier, they could just arrest you.

If you move 300 yards the possibility is that it all starts up again there when they are gone.

It's not great, but then people in groups with idiots driving stupidly round the car park isn't great either.

Bert

essayer

9,011 posts

193 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Evanivitch said:
The old snails-pace compliance? How long was this duration of "getting ready to leave" (which is what exactly in a modern car?) and still being sat there with the engine off?
then “talked to a friend” in the next car park. scratchchin

They don’t care about being polite, they just want you gone. As does anyone who lives nearby. Perhaps avoid organised car meets if this bothers you