Mystery vehicle making traffic stops on I-35

[Old Timer]

Uniform marking at the least would be nice. When you get officers driving anything from Dodge chargers, to large SUV's and even Toyota Tundra pickups, it sure makes you wonder who is who. Some are black on white marking, some are even black on black, almost impossible to see.
Even the road building contractors now have red, and blue strobes on their trucks. Do you pull over for a Haskel lemon pickup that is behind you?
With all of the crazys out there, you need to know who is trying to pull you over.

 

[SMS]

I don't care about markings on the car. How can you tell when they are behind you with lights and sirens on anyway? Do you flip a U-turn to check out their markings?

I really don't care what they're driving...but they should be in uniform or not be offended by a credentials check if not.

 

[SoonerP226]

This brings up something that I've been a little interested in since we moved here. How do you tell what's even a real marked car?

Easy--if it's a {Crown Vic|Malibu|Charger|300|Taurus|Police Interceptor|Police Interceptor Utility|Ford/Chevy/Ram half-ton|Expedition|Tahoe|Suburban|other} that's {black and white|black and blue|white|black|blue|silver|other} with red and blue lights {on the roof|inside the cabin|behind the grille|elsewhere}, it might be an OK LEO vehicle.

AFAIK, the only true distinguishing mark on OK LEO vehicles is the white "chevron" on the rear fenders of OHP's black and whites. The actually spray black paint over it before they sell the vehicle at auction. Alas, that won't help you much if they're behind you...

 

[SoonerP226]

I really don't care what they're driving...but they should be in uniform or not be offended by a credentials check if not.

Agreed. As I recall, they should be able to show you a CLEET card and a departmental ID/commission card.

 

[vvvvvvv]

Easy--if it's a {Crown Vic|Malibu|Charger|300|Taurus|Police Interceptor|Police Interceptor Utility|Ford/Chevy/Ram half-ton|Expedition|Tahoe|Suburban|other} that's {black and white|black and blue|white|black|blue|silver|other} with red and blue lights {on the roof|inside the cabin|behind the grille|elsewhere}, it might be an OK LEO vehicle.

AFAIK, the only true distinguishing mark on OK LEO vehicles is the white "chevron" on the rear fenders of OHP's black and whites. The actually spray black paint over it before they sell the vehicle at auction. Alas, that won't help you much if they're behind you...

Even more distinguishing is their shine.

Regular okies don't keep their cars that polished. That's how I spot you LEOs well outside of your radar range...

 

[vvvvvvv]

Agreed. As I recall, they should be able to show you a CLEET card and a departmental ID/commission card.

If they're reserve, make sure they're on duty. Some reserves will try to leverage that card...

 

[jstaylor62]

I make that drive daily, and if someone in an unmarked vehicle not wearing a uniform attempts to stop me, I'm not stopping. If they want to stop med bad enough they'll call OHP for assistance at which point I will stop.

To be honest, I have decided to do the same thing with any Valley Brook PD vehicle ...

 

[AKguy1985]

AFAIK, the only true distinguishing mark on OK LEO vehicles is the white "chevron" on the rear fenders of OHP's black and whites. The actually spray black paint over it before they sell the vehicle at auction. Alas, that won't help you much if they're behind you...

Yeah, i dont see that on mine. You can however see where it used to say state trooper on the trunk if you lookm hard enough.

 

[SoonerP226]

Yeah, i dont see that on mine. You can however see where it used to say state trooper on the trunk if you lookm hard enough.

The last time I went to an OHP auction, the spray job was really obvious--if you looked on the rear fender, just behind the door, you could see where they'd sprayed black paint over the white paint, but they may have gotten better about it. I was told that, because it is a distinguishing feature of OHP vehicles, they were required by law to paint over it before disposing of the vehicle, but I don't know if that was accurate or not.

 

[ByrdC130]

I have a question about Tribal Police. Here around the Shawnee area, they set up road blocks and stop people on the highways all the time. I've heard that if you are pulled over by them, your fines/court etc all go thru the Tribal agencies. I do know all of Pott counties dispatching is done thru the Tribal facilities. So my question is this, if the Indian Tribes are considered their own sovereign nation and exempt from most federal rules, wouldn't that exempt them from being able to perform LE duties on non Indian land. In other words, could the Canadian Royal Mounties do traffic stops on HW-9 on a Friday night? Could the Mexican police set up road blocks and make arrests and issue citations?