Q: Can an "officer" pull someone over when he has not yet completed academy
I was pulled over in a parking lot for a no seatbelt. The officer was not behind me on the street, he was already in the parking lot. My gf left a bottle she had been drinking on in the car and the officer spotted it and made a big deal out of it and used it as probably cause to search my vehicle, which was a waste of his time. I was told I was stopped for no seat belt and did not have proper insurance verification. But when the officer was then searching my car he told me that he had to have another officer right my ticket for open container I did not receive a ticket for no in proper insurance verification and I did not receive the ticket for no seat belt come to find out the officer could not write me a ticket because he hadn't been to academy yet so what even gave him the right to pull me over and search my vehicle in the first place I have court on this open container ticket soon and I was wondering if there's a way to get out of it because the cop had not been to academy yet
A:
Your situation raises some important legal questions about police authority and proper procedures. Generally, someone who hasn't completed police academy training should not be conducting traffic stops independently - they typically need to be accompanied by a certified officer during their training period.
The fact that the initial officer couldn't write your tickets but had another officer do so might indicate procedural issues with the stop. The probable cause for the search stemming from the visible open container could potentially be challenged if the initial stop itself wasn't properly authorized by someone with the right credentials and training.
You should consider bringing these concerns to your court date or discussing them with a local traffic attorney beforehand. The key points to focus on would be: whether the officer had proper authority to initiate the stop, if the subsequent search was legally conducted, and why you weren't cited for the original violations that supposedly prompted the stop. While getting legal advice would be helpful, you could also request documentation about the officer's status and credentials at the time of the incident through proper channels before your court date.
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