Have you ever been wrongly accused / targeted by police?

[Stickywhitelovepiss]

I was stopped by the police 2 weeks ago for being on my mobile phone - apparently a plain clothes spotter saw me looking down as if viewing my phone in my lap, and I was pulled over almost immediately after utterly shitting myself as have never, ever got a driving offence ever, not even speeding.

The thing is, I wasn't on my phone! It was on the seat next to me when I was pulled over, but I definitely wasn't on it - the only thing I might have done was reach down for a bottle of water I had open in the cup stand by the gear box. I said this to the policeman, who replied that he has no discretion in this matter, and that they'd be in touch by post.

I have now received an email saying I get either 6 points and a fine or need to challenge this via the courts. And yet there is no proof (photographic, video, etc.) to say I was ever on my phone; and I know for a fact that my phone records will bear this out.

I would never have thought I had to go to court (at my own expense) for one person's say so, or that the police would think to charge me without evidence - I've never even nearly broken the law, driving-related or otherwise too much of a rule-abiding coward.

I'm honestly in shock. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, what was the outcome? I'm not so naive that I think the police are whiter than white all of the time - but they surely shouldn't be able to do this without any checks and balances, should they...?

Any thoughts gratefully received on this.

Get a copy of your phone records for the time they state you were on the phone and send it with a letter to the police complaints committee. Email the people who sent you the letter and tell them you are seeking legal advice and dispute,the accusation. Ring around for solicitors who offer legal aid or talk to citizen advice.

My exh brought 3 police to my door demanding all of ds stuff as he had a court order. He didn't but they believed him!! Told me to get his stuff or I would be arrested!! Long court case later he got no access to the dc.

You don't 'challenge it via the courts'. It's up to them to decide whether they have enough evidence to take it to court and then it's up to them to convince the court. They haven't made a ruling which you have to challenge. There's an important difference.

What offence are they accusing you of anyway? Looking at your phone, or even touching and using it while driving, isn't actually an offence. It's using it while holding it that's the offence or alternatively 'driving without due care and attention'.

Kind of I suppose
But if a take really...
We were warned when we moved to our last house that the ndn could be a bit ‘much’ we were friendly distance/ anyway she became a nightmare trying to say where our friends could/could not park, leaving notes on their cars, sending letters to us,putting music on all night,and leaving dog locked up and barking all day in the end I ignored most of it but the dog I couldn’t ignore so contacted dog warden and environmental health obviously didn’t go down well with ndn who then repeatedly call the police about me harassing her! Anyway the backlog of calls and the facts she’d threatened my midwife when she was visiting my newborn ds meant I could prove it was vide Versa and that any more police visit I would seek legal advice to show that the police were being used as another method of her harassment which worked never saw police again but by then we’d had enough so decided to put house up for sale.

Hope you get it sorted op

I would just let it go to court and defend yourself. The likelihood is that it won’t go that far but as long as you are prepared to sit in the magistrates court and tell the truth then I think that’s what you should do. My only worry is that bending down to do anything, and you admit that you may have bent down to grab your water, will be seen as driving without due care and attention and you may get done for that. I don’t think the penalty is as high though.

You may need to consider your defence here as the water bottle story may be considered as driving without due care and attention.

Thanks for not all saying I must have been guilty and am just denying it!

Op, sounds like the offence may be not being in a position of having proper control of your vehicle if you were seen to be looking down.

Dp had two police officers turn up at his parents address looking for him. They were told it was urgent and he needed to present himself at the police station. The only other thing they said was that it was to do with an incident in his car. He was incredibly worried and already suffering with mental health problems, so really didn't need this.

He was told that he had been reported for driving around an area around 20 minutes away with a child hanging out of the window shouting rude things at people and squirting them with a water pistol. He had been nowhere near the area and we would most definitely not allow dd to behave in that way. He told them this, I confirmed that he had in fact been decorating the kitchen for the whole day and had not even been out. Also, dd was still in a 5 point harness car seat at this time, so there was no way she could have hung out a window!

He was allowed to go while they investigated further. He didn't hear anything further in the next week or so and became increasingly worried about it. He called to ask what was happening and was told they found out it was a mix up the day he went to see them and no one had bothered to let him know. They had told him they knew it was his car initially, but it turned out that they had just been told the car make, colour and first bit of the reg. They had jumped to the conclusion it was him despite having no actual proof at all.