ISP Unmarked Cars

[K_W]

In Indy, the have unmarked Mustangs, a blue, a silver, and a red, and an unmarked white or silver Dodge full size truck.

 

[Davis0023]

I said full uniform, and officer does not have to be in what many would consider a full uniform. For example, high ranking officers, unmarked vehicles with stealth lights/sirens. They can be be leaving the office and be wearing dress pants, with department dress shirt and badge. They don't have to be wearing full patrol uniform.

And if the lights are going off you DO have to stop. You cannot tell if he is in uniform from 100 feet away and you cannot flee the scene. So I don't quite get what your point is. I suppose if it turns out to be an illegal stop, you can ask to speak to a supervisor.

So...

Cop lights up, unmarked car, 911 dispatch confirms he is a cop.
Cop happens to be out of uniform.
Are you telling me that since it's not a legal stop, that you will just drive off?

The officer dressed in the above manner "Can' you legally. If that is a dress shirt is like a uniform shirt with a badge of authority just with it sewn on, not metal. Other wise your just splitting hairs
This a case/issue with the Excise Police a few years back. They had to tighten up there uniform/ lack of for the purposes of traffic stops.

Now of course exceptions are made.... felonies in process etc etc and he is there. (but a marked and uniform person will quickly follow)

But on a whole he has to be in a uniform (or close to i.e. dress slacks, badge on hip and a uniform coat with patches and badge.. but this is even pushing it)., In full uniform he can be on bicycle or skateboard...
But in a fully marked car, then he can be in sweats.

How do I know? Because I had to follow these rules/laws myself.

But the steps you below is exactly what you do.
See the lights,
slow down,
turn on flashers,
call 911 and drive to either a public well lit place or until it's confirmed he is real or until another marked car arrives( which is what normally happens).

Also it is worth noting, the officer in any car can follow you till you stop on your own somewhere. Get out identify him/herself and then ticket /lecture you.
But remember just because one can doesn't mean they will. The courts really frown on it in most cases as does some of the agencies.


This isn't to argue or to pee on anyone. This is just getting the correct information out there. But then again, you don't have to believe me. These are just the rules/ laws I have personally followed and defend used.

 

[Indiana Camper]

The problem is different departments may consider certain things to be a "uniform". I've seen police officers in small towns with not much more than some type of t-shirt and jeans.
Also define unmarked? Many cars are marked on the sides but have no visible light bar. From your vehicle in front you may think they were unmarked. It'd be pretty bad going to jail for felony resisting with a vehicle because you wanted to make a stand about a car being marked or not.

 

[Denny347]

I can tell you that if we are in an unmarked car and wearing anything less than a class C uniform, we can't stop cars for traffic violations. Now the law only specifies "A law enforcement officer may not arrest or issue a traffic information and summons to a person for a violation of an Indiana law regulating the use and operation of a motor vehicle on an Indiana highway or an ordinance of a city or town regulating the use and operation of a motor vehicle on an Indiana highway unless at the time of the arrest the officer is". Nowhere does it say we cannot stop for crimes not relating to traffic...they are theft suspects...some other crime OTHER than traffic.

 

[robbran144]

that white dodge ram that lights up like a christmas tree says INDOT on the side of it

 

[karl77]

don't forget about the "commercial enforcement" (truck) cops, their cruisers are just like the regular cops but have a wide (7-8") blue band the length of the car vs. the flashy gold chevron on the door of the regular cruisers.

 

[Denny347]

don't forget about the "commercial enforcement" (truck) cops, their cruisers are just like the regular cops but have a wide (7-8") blue band the length of the car vs. the flashy gold chevron on the door of the regular cruisers.

Those are non-LEO's. They don't even carry firearms. They can only enforce motor carrier regulations.

 

[pimpskillet]

I remember watching a state cop stop someone in a drivethru line before. He made the initial contact, but if I recall correctly, he called a local city cop to 'deal with it'.

That being said, you guys should feel lucky not living in Fort Wayne. I've seen a ton of different unmarked cars around here. Impala's, Vic's, Chargers, Suburbans, new Taurus's, Mustang's, Harley's... geez I don't know where it all stops. That being said, there are a lot of agencies with offices here in the Fort. FBI, CIA, ATF, US Marshall's... that sort of thing.. and I know they are part of those vehicles crusing around from time to time

I can't wait until these new Taurus's are out for sale... how could you not want a twin turbo police package with AWD? Pretty sure that will be my first 'interceptor' purchase, as I've been a SHO fan for ages....

 

[BehindBlueI's]

My youngest will be learning to drive soon. We was having one of many conversations on what to do and what not to do. I came across something I wasn't 100% sure of.

I remember hearing that if a Police Officer pulls you over in an unmarked car, they are required to be in full uniform. This would help prevent someone impersonating an officer doing a traffic stop. Is this correct or urban legend???

Sort of correct, but misses. I am in an unmarked car and am not in uniform, as I am a detective. I can still pull over cars. I can't write tickets or make arrests related to traffic by myself. If a traffic arrest were to be required (like a DUI) I would need a uniformed officer to show up. I can still make arrests for non-traffic things without a uniformed officer present.

 

[TTravis]

Unmarked police cars are usually new, shiny, tricked out, and powerful. When they start driving dirty beaters like the rest of us, that's when I will get worried.

 

[terrehautian]

As much as I hate to say it, they should be not shiny, or as new, or a common car they use (how many times have you see a Toyota Camry as a police car?). They should blend in, what do you do when you see a police car and are speeding, slow down. Now, my idea of speeding is only 5mph over and most of the time they won't bother me. The shouldn't get rid of all marked cars, but start mixing in regular unmarked cars.

 

[Valvestate]

I won't admit to anything, obviously, but let's just say I tend to identify a police car from the front or rear from several hundred feet just by the headlights/tail lights.

It's uncanny, and I can't explain it... People don't believe me until we're going down the road at night and I go "That's a cop ahead of us," or "That's a cop behind us," and they go "NO WAY YOU KNOW THAT!"

Shocks people every time when I'm right, and I've never been wrong (in the last 10 years).

That said, I tend to identify every make/model/year of vehicle I'm familiar with by it's headlights/tail lights without issue. I haven't actively tried to memorize anything either, it's just 'there' for me to use.

Low profile isn't invisible. Hard to spot? Sure. If you don't know what you're looking for or where to look... Sure.

They're getting better and better at hiding them but there are always still signs it is a police vehicle even if it's the fact that you can't see through and through the vehicle because the tinting is so dark.

At night, it would be much harder - but I tend to have no issues with that as explained above. Most likely wouldn't be this lucky but, then again, quit breaking the law a**hole! (Liar Liar Quote).

LED strips at the top and/or bottom of the rear glass. Strobes or LEDs in the reverse lights and/or brake lights. With the tinting they have in the back window it can be extraordinarily difficult to identify.

I'd get the tingle. Back when I was driving back and forth between northern Illinois and Indiana every few days, I could sense a cop on the highway within about a mile. Didn't need a visual. I just knew.

 

[MikeDVB]

I'd get the tingle. Back when I was driving back and forth between northern Illinois and Indiana every few days, I could sense a cop on the highway within about a mile. Didn't need a visual. I just knew.

I'm not that good . If I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings I could easily have one creep up on me.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

As much as I hate to say it, they should be not shiny, or as new, or a common car they use (how many times have you see a Toyota Camry as a police car?). They should blend in, what do you do when you see a police car and are speeding, slow down. Now, my idea of speeding is only 5mph over and most of the time they won't bother me. The shouldn't get rid of all marked cars, but start mixing in regular unmarked cars.

I've been issued a Camry as my police car. We've got Fusions, as well. We just don't use them for traffic.

 

[terrehautian]

I was just using Camry as an example, but even having marked cars that are not a fleet style car (Charger) for traffic would work also without light bars. Back before the Chargers, you pretty much figured out if you seen a Crown Vic, it more then likely might be a cop car (not always). The tail lights of a Charger are easily pointed out now and the headlights are getting that way. If you had a fleet of traffic cars that were all brands/models, you could catch more people doing things because as soon as someone sees a cop, they do the speed limit and be normal. If you don't know who is a cop or not, the first time you get caught, you will be a little extra cautious.

 

[BlackGun]

Watch out for those white full size trucks, now that would be a useful take home vehicle, what's the quota to keep one of those?

Watch out for the White Dodge Ram missing a hub cap east of I-65 along I-80
both ways.....

 

[actaeon277]

Maybe they need to rethink the undercover car?

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Man Charged With Impersonating Police Officer « CBS Baltimore

 

[Excalibur]

When I was younger, for the longest time, I was raised that any of the flashing colors means it must be some kind of state vehicle until I learned there are contractors that uses them and for police, I was shocked to see how many reports of people being ****ed over with umarked cars or even cars that look like police. So it is always best to remember, to be vigilant. Cops are trained to observe and be cautious when they pull you over, so you should do the same. Be cautious and observe when a cop car pulls you over and remember the rules.

 

[rsklar]

This issue comes up quite often. There are two different things to remember.

1) An unmarked vehicle can be used to pull someone over and the officer can simply dawn his police windbreaker or jacket with police markings and display his badge and that is sufficient. Likewise an off-duty officer, such as resident State Police who drive their MARKED patrol cars while off-duty, can likewise pull you over. They usually also have a quick jacket or windbreaker they can put on to help identify themselves.

The other option is they can simply call for a marked unit to meet them and when they are together they will pull you over and the unmarked unit's officer can still issue the citation.

Don't blow by an unmarked unit thinking they can't do anything to you. You cannot outrun Motorola.

2) If you are being pulled over by an unmarked unit and you are not sure if they are legit, you can call 911 and speak to the dispatcher to find out if you are really being pulled over. Females are often told to proceed to the nearest police station or public, well lit location and wait for a marked and uniformed officer. Most officers driving unmarked units know this and will not be upset with your decision to wait for a marked unit.

As for the jackets, these are simply a black or blue or yellow jacket that have Velcro tags allowing for them to display the word POLICE or AGENT or TROOPER, etc. on the back or front of the jacket. This with their identification/Badge is sufficient even while wearing jeans or shorts.

Lastly, remember that the unmarked car you passed on the side of the road or overpass, may be the one timing your speed and he than radios the information to the Marked units waiting down the road to pull you over.

 

[terrehautian]

You cannot outrun Motorola.

Greats Blues Brothers reference there.