Stopped this afternoon by 2 cops at Sosua for money

drisforme

Active member
May 28, 2016
206
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Around 2pm this afternoon,I got stopped by 2 cops on a motorcycle.
It happened on the main road at the level of Super Pola.
One of the cop stayed on the motorcycle when the other one opened the passenger door.
I was alone in the car.
He checked my ID which was my US driving license to tell me "no problemo".
It's the only document requested.He gave me my ID back right away.

Then, started to ask me for money.Saying "100" .Was not sure ,what he was requested for:
USD 100 or 100 pesos. So,I opened my wallet that he could see based on where he was, saw I did not have any 100 pesos bills so I gave him USD 2 .I did have a lot more in my wallet ...

Nevertheless ,the USD 2 made the deal and I left.

Questions:

1-Should I stop next time that 2 cops on motorcycle ask me to do so ?
2-Should I continue to give money ?
3-Should I report it ?

Thank you !
 

Jaime809

Bronze
Aug 23, 2012
1,152
0
36
That cop and their partner will stop you every time they see you now. Tell them no. They get in big trouble for hassling people for money if you make a stink about it.
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
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That cop and their partner will stop you every time they see you now. Tell them no. They get in big trouble for hassling people for money if you make a stink about it.

word of advice to those who are foreigners here...

be thankful these guys will leave you alone for 2 USD. it is not as if they are going to stop you 5 times per day. jobs are hard to come by, so i would think twice about getting a guy fired for the price of a beer. bad sh1t could happen to you...

and, yes, i know they can be a pain in the ass. however, one day you might need a favor, and they will be there for you.
 

JasonD

Bronze
Feb 10, 2018
1,009
2
38
word of advice to those who are foreigners here...

be thankful these guys will leave you alone for 2 USD. it is not as if they are going to stop you 5 times per day. jobs are hard to come by, so i would think twice about getting a guy fired for the price of a beer. bad sh1t could happen to you...

and, yes, i know they can be a pain in the ass. however, one day you might need a favor, and they will be there for you.

Wisest reply, listen and take it.

I will just add, ensure that when stopped you pull into a safe, public populated place.
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
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0
Wisest reply, listen and take it.

I will just add, ensure that when stopped you pull into a safe, public populated place.

hey, the same cop you tried to get into shyte could be one of the guys who stop you one night in a roadblock at 12 midnight. funnily enough, your car just mysteriously happens to be the location of a few ounces of blow...

what then?
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
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This is the only country where $2.00 USD would rid you of off so many nuances. :)

i got pulled over in Jamaica by some cops, and the drill is the same as it is here. i was driving a rental car, and they knew, because the license plates of rentals in Jamaica all start with the letter Z. i gave the guy 20 dollars USD, and he said '' not enough''. i took it back, gave him 50, and was on my way. my Puerto Rican girlfriend, who had never been to Jamaica, asked me why i gave him the money. i explained to her that he gets paid to stay in that spot all day. i had other places to go.
 

Drperson

Well-known member
Sep 19, 2008
1,061
290
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word of advice to those who are foreigners here...

be thankful these guys will leave you alone for 2 USD. it is not as if they are going to stop you 5 times per day. jobs are hard to come by, so i would think twice about getting a guy fired for the price of a beer. bad sh1t could happen to you...

and, yes, i know they can be a pain in the ass. however, one day you might need a favor, and they will be there for you.

great advise
 

JasonD

Bronze
Feb 10, 2018
1,009
2
38
i got pulled over in Jamaica by some cops, and the drill is the same as it is here. i was driving a rental car, and they knew, because the license plates of rentals in Jamaica all start with the letter Z. i gave the guy 20 dollars USD, and he said '' not enough''. i took it back, gave him 50, and was on my way. my Puerto Rican girlfriend, who had never been to Jamaica, asked me why i gave him the money. i explained to her that he gets paid to stay in that spot all day. i had other places to go.

If people would just get that on their head as opposed to be righteous about it, their lives would be happier here.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
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I had help one time from the police....
A day or two later I dropped by at lunchtime with a few beers 
Those boys are my friends now.

As for roadblocks, I’m selective....sometimes I wave myself through....other times I stop.
You can tell how serious they are...after some experience 

There are no hard and fast rules...IMO

Again, common sense

Yes, $2 is a cheap payoff 
 

jahjahwarrior

New member
Mar 14, 2017
137
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0
One night I got out of my car a little tipsy to argue with a PN who was trying to stop me for a traffic violation which isn't his jurisdiction, ended up giving him some cans of fruit juice I had in the back.

The other day in front of the monument in Santiago a cop asked me for a refresco, meaning money. I explained i only had mil pesos but next time I would give him some.

I'm hindsight I should have given him mil pesos in exchange for his phone number.

In the US every 2-4 years I get stopped and pay a lawyer $200-$400 to handle it. $40 a year here is cheap by comparison and who can't use more friends? Give the cops a few bucks at every opportunity!
 

Jaime809

Bronze
Aug 23, 2012
1,152
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36
I usually hate this analogy, but it fits:

Ever notice how many restaurants in DR have many stray dogs? It's because people feed them.

I'm not saying report the PN over $2; I'm saying tell them no, because they get *themselves* in trouble over $2 if they don't take no for an answer.
 

VJS

Bronze
Sep 19, 2010
846
0
36
One of the cop stayed on the motorcycle when the other one opened the passenger door.
I was alone in the car.

Keep you doors locked at all times when driving (and stopping) in the DR or you will have much larger problems.
 

Seamonkey

Bronze
Oct 6, 2009
1,896
755
113
Keep you doors locked at all times when driving (and stopping) in the DR or you will have much larger problems.

He was in Sosua. No need to lock our doors here. I drive a topless Jeep as many others do. Never had a problem.
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
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0
I usually hate this analogy, but it fits:

Ever notice how many restaurants in DR have many stray dogs? It's because people feed them.

I'm not saying report the PN over $2; I'm saying tell them no, because they get *themselves* in trouble over $2 if they don't take no for an answer.

on average, how many times per year do you think the average expat gets stopped in the DR? 15 times? that sounds high. 10 times. that is 20 bucks, for a whole year.

is anybody here that hard up that they make an issue of giving 20 dollars to some broke ass cops who make less in a month than some guys spend on a Pedro Clisante chick in a night?
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
5,808
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is anybody here that hard up that they make an issue of giving 20 dollars to some broke ass cops who make less in a month than some guys spend on a Pedro Clisante chick in a night?

Ignoring the real problem and passing the "buck" is not a solution.

Remember, expats always get told it´s not "their" country, yet they expect us to pay for it.
 
Aug 21, 2007
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I don't know if any of you speak Spanish. I speak fluently, but badly. Been stopped many times. Each time, I open my window, greet the police as is proper here in this culture, do not act nervous or defensive, but instead, sincerely friendly and glad to see and talk with them. We always end up with a nice little chat and I am on my way. Never have I been asked for or given money.

It is kindness that pays.

Spoken by the gringa in rose colored glasses.

Lindsey
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
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Ignoring the real problem and passing the "buck" is not a solution.

Remember, expats always get told it´s not "their" country, yet they expect us to pay for it.

what are you paying for? you think giving a cop 2 dollars is paying for the country?

i lived in America. my children and grandchildren still live there. i know what things like property taxes look like. guys come here and live better than they could ever live back home on the same money, and think giving a cop a dollar is ''paying for the country''.

guys, spare me the moralizing. when you get pulled over in your home countries by a cop, and the ticket is going to cost you 250 dollars, add 4 points to your license, and your insurance rate is going to skyrocket, and your credit score is going to get jacked if you do not pay the ticket on time, you will gladly fork over 100 dollars to a guy who can fix the ticket. but you don't want to squeeze off 2 dollars to a DR cop.
 

ctrob

Silver
Nov 9, 2006
5,591
781
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Ignoring the real problem and passing the "buck" is not a solution.

Remember, expats always get told it´s not "their" country, yet they expect us to pay for it.


But we have no control over their extremely low wages. I am not here full time so it doesn't affect me a lot. But when it does, I just consider it a small tax that is going towards a good cause. For the most part these are honest working men trying to support families on meager wages.

So I pay my small tax. It's not a perfect system, but it's the one we live in.