Robbery attempt?

peso100

New member
Feb 20, 2006
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Passed the floating bridge this morning heading eastward. Waited for the semaphore to turn green when a man on a moto dressed in a police raincoat slowly slid up by my side and kind of between his teeth told me to turn to the right.
As my destination was the ferry terminal where I needed to receive a friend, I told him I was going to turn left.
He insisted again, and so did I. I got the impression that he did not want to show his face, he wore a helmet and never turned his head to look at me straight. He insisted again: this is the police stopping you!
Now he left although the lights were still red and turned left. In the distance I watched him stop at the parking lot in the Puerto.
As I was slowly proceeding in the dense traffic he came for a moment into a dead angle and approaching further, he had left.
A minute later I met him going the other way, he looked at my car but made no signs and I was soon at the ferry terminal where I was kind of hidden.
I did not see him again.

I am pretty sure that he was no cop, at least not on duty. Maybe he was a "busca vida", what worries me is that he wanted to lead me into an area well away from the mainstream.

Does anyone have an idea how the police works, I know that the Amet is in charge of traffic, what the "grey policeforce" is responsible of I do not know.
I have been stopped before by them when they searched for wapons or God knows what without problems.

Would it be ok to just take off when my intuition says that something is wrong? I was prepared to ask for an ID if he stopped me again, but what are my rights?
 

SKY

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Apr 11, 2004
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The best thing to do in a situation like that is ignore him like you do not understand and get away. If it is a legitimate road block for weapons you will see many police.
 

Rocky

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Apr 4, 2002
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Man, that's a tough call, and your rights have little, if anything to do with it.
Even asking a cop for ID, may not be helpful, as he could have false papers, not to mention, as you said, he may be a real cop trying to scam you.
Your gut instincts served you well, and I have no brilliant suggestions for you, other than keep on trusting your 6th sense.
I suppose if push came to shove, and you knew where there was a police station, you could go there, if he's chasing you, and even if he is a real cop with a genuine beef with you, you could at least get out and explain to the first cop that you see that you have been robbed by a fake cop before, so you were not evading the cop, but just trying to do the right thing.
 
Sep 19, 2005
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id ignore him until he pulls a gun....if you ignore him and he is a cop who REALLY wants to stop you, you will learn soon enough how serious he is. When you act like you could care less about him and hes a fake cop, then he will probably give up or show his hand. In either case you were in control....let him try to pull you over with that crappy motorcycle!!!!!!!!!

in the end if its the real cops and you ran, and they eventually catch up to you some how some way or day... then you just say you thought he was a fake cop trying to rob you!

from now on id stop only for AMET, military road blocks and anyone with a gun in uniform......other wise, see ya

thats just me....

did this happen in or arond Santo Domingo?

I get the feeling the fake cop stuff happens more over near that city than other cities

bob
 
That sounds alot like an a$$ hole cop who patrols by that bridge trying to shake people down he has a very scarred up face and usually works alone pulling tourists over or any non Dominican he sees. I had a run in with him once but when i got on the phone with my General friend he drove off in a hurry and has never bothered me again.
 

Snuffy

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May 3, 2002
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I never let the police see I am looking in their direction...but out of the corner of my eye I have seen them motion my vehicle to a stop on two occasions. They watched me pass by and did nothing. They can't really expect you to stop if you don't see them and they have plenty others to pull over.

However, if a single or duo pulls up and tries to get you to pull over...I would just keep going until I got into a very public area. You never want to stop for anyone in a remote and solo area. So you did the right thing. Any judge would understand.
 

peso100

New member
Feb 20, 2006
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Thank you all for your wise advices.

It was probably the same man that "Badpiece33" is mentioning, his scarred face is the reason he doesn?t look at you straight.

I find Rockys suggestion to head for a police station (or any place where several cops could gather) very usefull.

Not to look at the cops passing them is of coarse a smart and innocent way not to get involved at all.
 

gardito

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Jan 15, 2004
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Wow, that's a tough decision to make on the fly! You've got to have your mind set for that already. I've made the decision only to stop if AMET stops me or if PN already has a jump on me, like when my vehicle is parked.

While going up on M Gomez, I saw this lady run not only a red light during the day, but also the AMET cop's signal for her to stop while he was letting the cross-trafick thru. She almost t-boned the car that was crossing. The cop banged on her trunk and motioned her to the right hand lane. I told my friend "here comes the ticket". She said "nah, he won't". Lo & behold if he didin't just walk away !!!

This, and seeing AMET (or whoever those guys are that wear reflector vests at the intersections at night) not give a hoot when you run redlights send mixed signls to drivers :ermm: :ermm:

E.
 

Snuffy

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May 3, 2002
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For you folks who have not been here very long let me tell you that here the rule is: When in DR...do as the DR's do. Cops live and drive here also. They know what the conditions are. They are harder on those with money because they can get more...but will often walk away without issuing citation because the woman in the SUV mentions someone. But you being an obvious foreigner...you stand the best chance of getting the citation. As long as you make it easy on the cop. Don't make it easy on him. Simply don't look his way. I run red lights all the time. In fact a red light to me is a caution sign. If you are coming up on a cop...make sure your seat belt is on and if you have a child in front seat have a seat belt on the child or put the child in the back seat. In the first world you follow the rules because the infrastrucure is in place that allows you to follow the rules and still live a reasonable life. Here it is different. The infrastructure does not exist. Roads are bad and often require you to go into oncoming traffic in order to avoid a hole. Lights often do not work. Signs do not exist. There are no cops to police traffic. Cops live in this world and understand it. They will overlook a lot. But you being a foreigner will get a second look and you better have the seat belt on. Not to sweat it. You are not going to jail. You would get a ticket. The fine will be small. It is a simple process. No one here reports your ticket to the insurance company. So drive and relax. Enjoy the ruleless art of driving.