So I'm on the Yakima Police Watch List Options

[Coomer]

I just got a call from my boss(not my immediate one but the one right under the CEO), and he's angry because the cops called him at 1AM last night and woke him up "because there's this very suspicious yellow car that just parked and some kid went into the building."

I have a key and a security code to the building, and they let me come to my office whenever I want so I can work on stuff. But now he's mad, because he thinks I was doing something suspicious, but all I did was drive normally, park, unlock, and go inside.

My boss went on to say that the officer was in an unmarked car and the officer mentioned that my car was on their watch list and being watched because of suspicious behavior!

This is straight-up ridiculous. I don't know what to do...I'm a good kid and I don't have a bad driving record and they have no reason whatsoever to put me on their watch list...I bet that's why I'm pulled over every other week too.

I dunno what to do...filing a complaint will only make things worse I'm sure.

[Coomer]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm going to write a professional letter to the police department regarding the situation.

I just bought a personal recorder too so that in the future I can flip it on quickly once I am getting pulled over, then I can listen to the conversation later and take notes(since it's probably illegal for me to record the conversation, even though the cops can.) The only problem would be if they searched the car and found it, because my car's been searched a couple times(they've threatened me with a ticket if I didn't let them.)

And my car is legal for the most part. The only illegal thing is probably the exhaust noise at WOT, because it's loud, but I never hit full throttle in the city or anything, and the only thing a cop has ever said about it was "Any exhaust system that's not stock is illegal," which I know for a fact is wrong.

I've been told that my current headlights, windshield banner, and tint are illegal too. But they're not. My headlights are Sylvania lights(I keep the packaging in the car, but one officer still didn't believe it), my windshield banner does not extend more than 6" below the top of the windshield(I checked the law, and that's what it is), and I had my tint tested by another officer at the station who had a tint tester, and he said it was within the legal limit.

[Galcobar]

Ever asked for the code under which they are justified in searching your car? Don't object, just make sure you are told under what legal authority they are taking this action. If the police are non-responsive, well, that's just fodder for future complaints.

Better yet, carry quotes of the legislation dealing with your questionable modifications. The issue of headlight colour and output, window tint, etc. are all laid out. Have that printed out, with act, section, paragraph cited, so you can respond when an cop is being an ass. As a suggestion, don't pull it out unless he's threatening you with a ticket and refuses to give you a clear explanation of where you are violating the law.

Most states only regulate private conversations and recording devices. You are having a conversation on the street -- by definition a public place. Just as anything you do in a public place is subject to public scrutiny, so too is anything you say. It'd require some impressive legal wrangling to say citizens don't have the right to record their encounters in public with police -- that would mean media wouldn't be allowed to secretly videotape anybody doing anything in public.

And maybe keep a log of when you were pulled over the explanation you were given for being detained. If you can lay out a pattern of barely justified stops, you build a strong case. The media particularly like timelines, if it gets bad enough you need publicity.