Red Light ticket question...

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  • Merlin

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 31, 2009
    3,953
    Carroll County, Maryland
    actually, one little quibble, they can't. MTA police only have jurisdiction on MTA property unless in fresh pursuit, under request from chief leo of another jurisdiction, or under special order from the governor (Trans Article 7-207)

    And I think when you say pursuit, I think they can't loose sight of who they are chasing.
     

    Merlin

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 31, 2009
    3,953
    Carroll County, Maryland
    First, I am not pursuing this, because I just recieved a warning. Let it go, I will. But I need to know.

    I did not see departmental identifiers on the Ford Expedition. I was in Carroll County, Liberty Road @ Hemlock. I ran the red light. The ticket reads, "Baltimore Police Department, Officer Phillips, Patapsco Region'. It was not a city badge, and it was not a county badge, it was not a trooper badge. He was not wearing green fatigues (DNR). It was not Sykesville Police or Carroll County Sherriff either. The badge also said, "Baltimore", that's all I could see.

    What other depts have policing/patrolling duties, that it could have been?

    Again, I am dropping it, it was just a warning, just morbid curiosity. (I know, it killed the cat, I know) Help me get to know my local Police Depts, will ya?

    I am not making a case of it. The officer was quite polite and friendly. (Maybe it was the NRA garb on my spy vehicle). I just gotta know. Help out would ya?


    OP, I say again. This may just be a real officer out of his area and that's why he gave you the warning. Or it may be an imposter. I recommend contacting the MSP and just express your concerns. Because nether should be happening. If it was a real LEO, one has to ask what is it with the one LEO that makes him so overzealous to want to write tickets out of his area.
     

    RoKKboXXer

    Active Member
    Feb 27, 2013
    299
    Catonsville
    SUNGJUNKIM, the badge does look right....?

    Rokkboxxer, Isn't that a bit far away? The intersection is right there on ths write up. Rt 26 @ Hemlock. West end exit of Carrolltowne Mall. (I use the term 'mall' loosely here)

    My intent was to say that it was too far away from the resevoir to be watershed police. A quick google map showed it was about 1.5 miles.
     

    MJD438

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 28, 2012
    5,849
    Somewhere in MD
    I talked to someone I know in BPD. Based on the photos posted, that does in fact look exactly like the "Citizen Contact Forms" that BPD uses whenever they make certain types of stops. Per his comments, it is completed in addition to any other citations. He was not aware of all of the "assignment regions" within his city (this is his rookie year - he knows his assigned district and his FTO district, but not the others).

    BPD has a wide variety of unmarked vehicles, assigned to a variety of individuals, with many of them assigned as take home vehicles (per his comments).

    ETA - here is an image of the current BPD badge for reference.
     

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    wheelgun

    Active Member
    Feb 23, 2009
    142
    Must be me

    Hi all,
    I live five minutes from that intersection. Up against the watershed area. While there are several different types of cops running around our area, I'd definitely figure out who gave you the warning. Because if it was an impostor, he now has a good bit of your personal info. In particular, your driver license number. Which I'm sure would come in handy for identity theft. Let us know, as I'm curious who the latest "Barney Fife" is. There are so many different "agencies" nowadays, I don't think anyone can keep track. I'd bet that's not by accident.:tinfoil:

    fabsroman Just finished reading the entire thread. Now, I am really wondering which police department it was, if any. Also wondering it it was an imposter. Don't forget that if it was an imposter, he now has your date of birth, address, etc. Previous post only mentioned driver's license number.

    :sad20:
     

    rbird7282

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 6, 2012
    18,538
    Columbia
    I don't think the MTA police can do anything anywhere except if it has to do with a buss or train or a buss or train stop. But I do not think if they were driving from one MTA stop location to another MTA stop location, (like the light rail stations) they have the the right to give anyone a ticket for running a red light.
    Yes they can. The Inter-county Connector (Rt.200) in Montgomery County is CRAWLING with MTA police. They are writing speeding tickets left and right on that road. (It is a toll road and I believe that is why they have jurisdiction there)
     

    zoostation

    , ,
    Moderator
    Jan 28, 2007
    22,857
    Abingdon
    Yes they can. The Inter-county Connector (Rt.200) in Montgomery County is CRAWLING with MTA police. They are writing speeding tickets left and right on that road. (It is a toll road and I believe that is why they have jurisdiction there)

    You are thinking of MDTA Police, not MTA Police.
     

    Yeti Poacher

    Active Member
    Dec 11, 2012
    143
    Hunt Valley
    BPD has a wide variety of unmarked vehicles, assigned to a variety of individuals, with many of them assigned as take home vehicles (per his comments).

    I have seen all sorts of unmarked police vehicle activity in the city during my travels to and from work.

    If this is the case maybe he was on his way home and just concerned that you ran the light and wanted to make sure you were not intoxicated or otherwise up to no good. If he knew the rules, this would explain why he didn't write a ticket.

    So either a great professional cop who cares about public safety or an impersonator. Worth checking out either way.
     

    Blaster229

    God loves you, I don't.
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 14, 2010
    46,410
    Glen Burnie
    Mta police would be my guess.

    This has reared it's ugly head several times. Let's clear it up right now.

    MTA police is the Mass Transit Administration. They work the light rail and bus routes. They are NOT considered a full service police dept. It seems your location has nothing to do with any Maryland public transit lines.


    MDTA is the Maryland Transportation Authority. The old " Toll facilities Police". They have statewide jurisdiction just like State Police and can write anywhere in the state. They work "bridges" and the airport mostly. They drive many different vehicles and have specialized units that do different duties.
    Their basic uniform is a grey one with a grey smokey "campaign" hat.
     
    Last edited:

    bigangrysob

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Mar 19, 2013
    1,059
    Cow County
    ... how many dept's we NEED in this state??? I wanna leave.

    Anyway, I still have not gotten to the MSP Barracks. Thanks to you guys, I really don't think I have to worry about this being an impersonator. It seems legit, and def seems to be MTAP, or just a concerned officer out of jurisdiction.

    Anyway, I'll just quit running reds. (when I'm not working, of course)
     

    dmbfanandy

    Member
    Mar 6, 2013
    17
    Here's your answer:

    It was a Baltimore Watershed/Environmental Police Officer. I used to work in Eldersburg and saw them frequently. They have jurisdiction over Baltimore City owned watersheds such as Liberty, Loch Raven, Prettyboy, Etc. and patrol the roads surrounding the watersheds. Their jurisdiction derives from concurrent jurisdiction agreements with Baltimore County Police, Carroll County Sheriff's Office and Baltimore City Police.

    They have arrest powers and are authorized to make traffic stops in said counties. They frequently write citations for trespassing at the watersheds, parking after dark, fishing w/out license, etc.

    They are not State DNR or affiliated with the State of Maryland. They actually are paid by the City of Baltimore.

    They drive dark green vehicles (Jeep Liberty, Ford F-250) with lightbars, Police markings, etc.

    Hope this clears up any confusion.
     

    aquashooter

    Active Member
    Apr 17, 2013
    892
    Monkey Co
    I'm a retired D.C. officer and I was stopped twice by impersonators early in my career. The first time I was only a cadet and the impersonator took off when he saw me in my real uniform. The second time, I was on Connecticut Ave and buddy was driving his Mustang. A security guard pulled us over for speeding. Unfortunately for the guard, my buddy was a Montgomery Co. officer. When he grabbed my buddy because we were laughing at him, my buddy arrested him.
     

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