IA DOT harasses retiree with CCW

[Sheldon]

Definately varies by state... Some DOT officers have full arrest powers and others may not. In my state, CVE (commercial vehicle enforcement) falls under the Department of Public Safety. All the officers in CVE are state troopers with full arrest powers.

Which means they must drive a marked state police vehicle wear a state police uniform, and not just some unmarked car that has a plain generic DOT enforcement sticker and plain clothes....

Our State police officers also do DOT duties but there are unmarked cars with DOT only officers out there... The only ID is a DOT enforcement sticker on the side with non uniformed drivers....

If I were on the road and a vehicle that was not properly marked tried to pull me over, with plain clothed people inside... I would automatically assume they are trying to car jack me and act in a appropriate manner for the threat...

True story, we have cop wanna Be's out there and I have seen multiple times where a "Bounty Hunter" will go and buy a DE commissioned police car to drive, they have been known to try and play cop on more than one occasion and these are just a few of the people you need to be on the look out for when out and about....

[Glockster20]

Which means they must drive a marked state police vehicle wear a state police uniform, and not just some unmarked car that has a plain generic DOT enforcement sticker and plain clothes....

Our State police officers also do DOT duties but there are unmarked cars with DOT only officers out there... The only ID is a DOT enforcement sticker on the side with non uniformed drivers....

If I were on the road and a vehicle that was not properly marked tried to pull me over, with plain clothed people inside... I would automatically assume they are trying to car jack me and act in a appropriate manner for the threat...

True story, we have cop wanna Be's out there and I have seen multiple times where a "Bounty Hunter" will go and buy a DE commissioned police car to drive, they have been known to try and play cop on more than one occasion and these are just a few of the people you need to be on the look out for when out and about....

You are correct. They mostly drive fully marked expeditions and occasionally the ole Crown Vic. The SUV's are marked but do not have a lightbar on top. All warning lights are blue and located inside these vehicles and some in the grill. The officers are uniformed state troopers...

[carl schneider]

here is an update to our story, IDOT has launched an investigation and two commanders came to speak to us yesterday The Hawk Eye

[carl schneider]

Another update to our story. The officer has been placed on administrative leave http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/Leave-040909

A lengthy blog here describes what it is like to deal with govt bureacracy! IDOT INVESTIGATES TRAFFIC STOP, RV SEARCH Iowa Defense Alliance

[gdcleanfun]

That officer needs to be disciplined and re-educated/re-trained. No one should be treated the way you were treated!

[carl schneider]

We suggested to IDOT director Nancy Richardson that from what we've seen and heard, her entire agency needs to be investigated from the outside....Her response to a request for information from the Hawkeye reporter has been to shut him down completely on any facts concerning the investigation IDOT has supposedly been conducting on Officer Wiegand. She cites that under Iowa law IDOT cannot reveal anything to the general public, but we are all searching for that law, she could be somewhat off base or else we just can't find the law, we would like to know if it exists.

REQUEST FOR IDOT TO BE INVESTIGATED The Hawk Eye

You can read the full text of our letter to the IDOT director here IDOT SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED BY AN OUTSIDE AGENCY Iowa Defense Alliance

[carl schneider]

Supreme Court limits authority of police in searches Top court clips police authority to search cars | csmonitor.com

[carl schneider]

IDOT DIRECTOR SHOULD RESIGN IDOT Director Nancy Richardson Should Resign Iowa Defense Alliance

[carl schneider]

There are new allegations, MUCH MORE SERIOUS THAN OURS, against the officer who harrrassed us. We hope the state of Iowa does something about this man because he is certainly not giving law enforcement a good name.Note that the incident in this article supposedly occurred four years before our encounter.The Hawk Eye

[gatsby]

sounds like somebody on a power trip. unfortunate.