Rights when stopped by police

[bienamor]

If you want to come to Puerta Plata PM me and you can get your license. Don't worry about language, just bring a few pesos.

Sorry am wondering about this??

In Santo Domingo there is no way to scam the system as prior to the overview you are fingerprinted, and at each step after that they verify via fingerprint and your cedula who it is. Everything was computerized.
I just went through this 2 weeks ago. am now in the 45 day wait period. They would not let anyone in the booth with you while taking the theoretical test. But its not hard and the speaker speaks nice and slow, and enunciates well.

 

[MikeFisher]

Sorry am wondering about this??

In Santo Domingo there is no way to scam the system as prior to the overview you are fingerprinted, and at each step after that they verify via fingerprint and your cedula who it is. Everything was computerized.
I just went through this 2 weeks ago. am now in the 45 day wait period. They would not let anyone in the booth with you while taking the theoretical test. But its not hard and the speaker speaks nice and slow, and enunciates well.

when I did my theory Exam, I guess somewhere in 2008 that was, they asked me if I am fine with spanish in there on the computer.
I am fluent in the understanding so I said yep and been left alone, but the way they asked me I guess I could have gotten some help translationwise, too. but that wasnt as big as St Dgo, been just 2 computers at that Time where I did the exam.
Mike

 

[Mack]

Does anyone know why they will take away your gun in a public place, when you have all your papers in order, now the gun was not where everyone can see it, it was under my shirt, I pay my dues, my taxes, I just dont understand

jeffrey,
Maybe it's because

I am a very good friend of the Chief of police, and I went to talk to him, and I told him that I will not be bringing any more supplies for them...this will be the last time that I will assist you, and I just walked out

Revenge?
Mack.

 

[MikeFisher]

now that been some postings of a lot of crap up there.

Yes, to search your house or your Car the Cops need a warrant, OR the "Suspicion of a big Case", one or the other is always available if they want it, so forget about that crap.

if stopped by a simple PN uniform he want's 100 pesos for dinner,
you can be nice and give it to him, or you can deny and get into the trouble of stupids.

if stopped at a Roadblock where they search for firearms and drugs and stolen vehicles, it is usually done for all 3 of them at the same roadblocks, then the Squad of that Roadblock has already a warrant signed by a Judge in hands, because they start those numerous blocks on "orden del juez", always/mostly, lol.
we have 3-5 per week in the wide PC area since a long time, they are easy to pass when you have all your papers up to date and ready, if some papers(cedula/residency/Gun Permit/Drivers license/Car Insurance/Revista/Placa etc etc) are not up to date in orden, then you are rightfully in to trouble even for things which have their papers ready.
a simple example:
your Cedula expired Yesterday,
that means Your "up to Date" Gun Permit, Drivers License and Car Insurance is NULL Today, and they have all rights of the world to take them away from the stupid.
you get stopped somewhere in the middle of nowhere by Cops who plant some kinda Drugs under your Carseat and by coincedence 'somebody' unknown films the whole scene from the other side of the road and then runs from the Cops quicker than they can chase him down??
Hey Kid,
wake Up and think about better stories.
the Clown Bin on the DR1 Bord has better jokes to offer.
cheers
Mike

 

[MikeFisher]

Does anyone know why they will take away your gun in a public place, when you have all your papers in order, now the gun was not where everyone can see it, it was under my shirt, I pay my dues, my taxes, I just dont understand

even with your so called "Chief of Police" friend/hey, what's that General's name??, lol,
You do not have any Permit do carry a Gun at Public Places like Carwashes, Bars, Restaurants where alcohol is sold, discotheques/nightclubs, Banks, casa de cambios etc etc etc.
the Law is very clear on the restrictions where a license "Porte de Arma" is not valid, and there are many.
those places include "Military Zones",
Yes, in front of every Police station of this country, around the Airports and around every Maina de Guerra Station, there are signs that say "Zona Militar", didn't you know that you are not allowed to carry a Gun there neither?
and for the simple minded who don't get the point:
you are by Law not allowed to enter any Colmado with the Gun if the Colmado does sell alcoholic beverages,
that's the simple to understand Law and as a so called Gun Permit "de Porte" owner you been instructed about those Laws, or did your Police Chief Friend forget to mention that before he sold you for more than 30.000 pesos that cheap deal Gun with permit?
cheers
Mike

 

[dv8]

license:
i took my exam in POP with nearly zero spanish. theory test consist of a series of short movies consluded with "fue la accion de chofer correcta?". pretty self explanatory
i liked most the eye test. no one asked me about glasses or contact lenses (i use contacts). everyone had the same question: what is the second line on the board? by the time they got to me i had it memorized two letters only, so not much work. and yes, i could see them well anyways

police:
we were stopped few times. they look at papers, they look at me, they let us go. in POP it usually turns out that miesposo knows policemen or they know him and we pass by.
i have never been stopped when driving alone but i am not very worried. a gringa is not likely to be bothered, i think.

 

[djuno718]

You do not have any Permit do carry a Gun at Public places like casa de cambio
you are by Law not allowed to enter any Colmado with the Gun
Mike[/QUOTE]

Hmmm what colmado doesnt sell beer or romo??? Lol and would never dream of going to a casa de cambio without becky if this is this the case then i am a wanted fugitive ... Luckily i dont drink so entering them colmados has always been to buy something!!

 

[Hernandez]

lol,
You do not have any Permit do carry a Gun at Public Places like Carwashes, Bars, Restaurants where alcohol is sold, discotheques/nightclubs, Banks, casa de cambios etc etc etc.
the Law is very clear on the restrictions where a license "Porte de Arma" is not valid, and there are many.
those places include "Military Zones",
Yes, in front of every Police station of this country, around the Airports and around every Maina de Guerra Station, there are signs that say "Zona Militar", didn't you know that you are not allowed to carry a Gun there neither?
and for the simple minded who don't get the point:
you are by Law not allowed to enter any Colmado with the Gun if the Colmado does sell alcoholic beverages...

Yes, the Law is very clear. LOL ))) try to read the Ley 36 first.

----

Art. 61

Se dispone por medio de la presente Ley, que las personas de la clase civil cuyas funciones no lo exijan, no podran llevar consigo armas de fuego en sitios de diversiones ni en reuniones publicas.
----

That's all.

Also there is one resolution from SEIP that says that it's prohibited to enter places where people consume alcoholic beverages (like bars and night clubs). But that resolution is not the Law 36, it's some kind of Minister of SEIP's crap like another "diciembre sin armas" resolution, I hope everybody remember that.

So, Casa de Cambio is not the place where people go to meet each other (like a night club), it's not any kind of an enterntainment center (like a cinema), so you CAN enter it with the gun until the owner says to not enter. You can also enter the bank with the gun until the bank has "no guns" sign at the front door or inside. For example, Banco Leon and BanReservas have those signs, but Banco Popular does not have. And it's very very questionable that you cannot enter the carwash with your gun )))) Law 36 does not say anything about carwashes, and I am not sure that the court will say that the carwash is the "sitio de reuniones publicas", because carwash is definitively the place where people wash cars.

 

[Hernandez]

if stopped by a simple PN uniform he want's 100 pesos for dinner,
you can be nice and give it to him, or you can deny and get into the trouble of stupids.

To give him 100 pesos = kiss his ass. I never do that. I carry the gun every day here for 5 years, I was stopped by police many times, and I never gave them even 1 peso. I can call my lawyer who has a lot of friends in SEIP and Palacio de Policia, and I can explain very clear that I better pay even U$1000 to my lawyer than give 100 peso to an idiot in police uniform. I am very sure that all of my papers are up?to?date, so I have no reason to pay to somebody, I know my rights and I have enough money and connections to protect my rights here.

I don't understand people who SOOO afraid of police here. Give them $100 pesos because you are so afraid that they can confiscate your license, gun,.... your socks and panties, what else? And you know, those people feel if you are afraid, they act like stray dogs.. but if they feel that you are not afraid, they usually let you go and wait for another cowardly gringo.

 

[waytogo]

they usually let you go and wait for another cowardly gringo.

During this waiting time between cowardly gringos, do they just twiddle their thumbs or do they look for another cowardly Dominican.....
Since we are probably outnumbered 10,000 to 1, the police should be very very busy.

 

[Hernandez]

that means Your "up to Date" Gun Permit, Drivers License and Car Insurance is NULL Today, and they have all rights of the world to take them away from the stupid.

Bullsh@t. Your Driver's License is a Government issued photo ID, and can be used as your ID like your cedula, passport or residencia. And even if you forgot your cedula at home, that does not mean that your other IDs are "expired". There is no law saying that. If your cedula is expired yesterday, that means only that you need to renew it, but you are still the same person here, and there is no law saying that you cannot drive your car or carry your gun if your license and permits are not expired too. Even if your residencia is expired, you may have the renewal in process, you also may have "reentrada" card for that period (I am not 100% sure if they still issue those "reentrada" permits now because I have dominican citizenship so I don't care about residence papers).

Actually, if I stopped by police I always show them my driver's license as my ID. If they ask about the gun, I show my gun permits (both). But I never was asked to show my cedula.

 

[Hernandez]

do they just twiddle their thumbs or do they look for another cowardly Dominican....

It's not so easy for them to f**k with dominican if all of his papers are up?to?date. In this case "100 pesos para pica pollo" doesn't work.

I live in Santo Domingo, even gringos here are not so flabby... not like guys who live in tourist reservations like Bavaro. Welcome to the jungle )))

 

[beeza]

My approach to the police or AMET that have stopped me is to be the perfect gentleman.

I am extremely polite, I shake their hand ask them how they are and their families. This seems to immediately knock them off guard, especially coming from a Gringo.

I always have my papers in order. But there was a time when a copper from Sosua tried it on and wanted to arrest me for driving a rental car that didn't have a valid revista. I took out my phone and made a phone call to my imaginary friend, General Gonzales in Santo Domingo. When I finished my bogus call, I used my phone to snap a photo of the policeman and then showed it to him. I said that my General wanted to know who was going to arrest me and that if he hadn't done anything wrong, then he would have no problem in sending the photo on!

He let me go!

 

[Hernandez]

Yes, they are so afraid if you start to write down their names, take a photo of them or their car/motorcycle's license plate. They feel that something goes wrong if they see the camera )).

Most of AMET agents are 20–30 year old oligophrenic cretins. They never tried to drive the car themselves because they never get money for the car in their sh#tty life. They don't know traffic rules, they don't know laws, nothing... So, if I start to talk with them, I talk the same way like if I talk with 7 year old kids, because their IQ and mentality is on the same level. And it always works!

 

[ExtremeR]

To give him 100 pesos = kiss his ass. I never do that. I carry the gun every day here for 5 years, I was stopped by police many times, and I never gave them even 1 peso. I can call my lawyer who has a lot of friends in SEIP and Palacio de Policia, and I can explain very clear that I better pay even U$1000 to my lawyer than give 100 peso to an idiot in police uniform. I am very sure that all of my papers are up?to?date, so I have no reason to pay to somebody, I know my rights and I have enough money and connections to protect my rights here.

I don't understand people who SOOO afraid of police here. Give them $100 pesos because you are so afraid that they can confiscate your license, gun,.... your socks and panties, what else? And you know, those people feel if you are afraid, they act like stray dogs.. but if they feel that you are not afraid, they usually let you go and wait for another cowardly gringo.

Don't follow this advice, this dude will end up in deep **** one way or another, this is the example of arrogance without nothing to back it up that can put an expat life on serious danger.

This is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Hernandez]

Don't follow this advice, this dude will end up in deep **** one way or another, this is the example of arrogance without nothing to back it up that can put an expat life on serious danger.

This is a disaster waiting to happen.

What's your advice, dude? If you see the police, open your wallet, give each of them 100 pesos and kiss their asses just because they are police and you are "expat"??

Where do you see arrogance here? They are breaking the law if they are asking for money. You are breaking the law if you offer money to them, even if it's 100 pesos. And they usually stop foreigners and ask them for money because they know that people like you will pay, 100 pesos for a sandwich or 1000 pesos because you "just crossed the white line" that does not exist.

I was stopped twice this year for the same reason, the PN's motorcycle patrol stopped me because they "saw how I was using my cell phone while driving". And at the same time I knew that my cell phone was in my pocket and I was not talking. Actually, I understand that they did not see any cell phone but they saw my white face, and white face means open wallet for them. But I preferred to call my lawyer instead of giving 200 pesos to them, so after they heard on the phone that they will be reported immediately if they continue to act like this, they just disappeared in 10 seconds. That's my point.

 

[Hernandez]

Maybe you don't know, but it's like a business for PN motorcycle patrols in Santo Domingo.. they look for all the cars with non-tinted windows, and if the driver looks like a foreigner or tourist for them, they stop the car and tell the driver that he/she just crossed the white stop line without stopping, and the penalty is 1000 pesos (sometimes they ask for 1500). I personally know some expats from Bavaro who paid them in this situation. This scam attempt also happened with me once, they stopped me in front of US Embassy at 1 AM, and they said that I crossed the white line blah blah blah.... Of course I explained clearly that there are no any stop lines, so they can call AMET if they want, but they are just loosing time with me because I will not pay any cash ))) So, I lost 10 minutes of my time, but I did not pay to those assh@les. What would you do in this situation, dear ExtremeR?

Don't you know that Politur officers in Zona Colonial in Santo Domingo ask some money monthly from business owners for "protection"? Most of them pay, but some say that they better report this to fiscalia, and they don't pay... and nothing happens to them, because they are not affraid of that mothaf@cking police.

If you pay to police, you just help the corruption to rise, and you just help the police to get worse. Think about it.

 

[ExtremeR]

What's your advice, dude? If you see the police, open your wallet, give each of them 100 pesos and kiss their asses just because they are police and you are "expat"??

Where do you see arrogance here? They are breaking the law if they are asking for money. You are breaking the law if you offer money to them, even if it's 100 pesos. And they usually stop foreigners and ask them for money because they know that people like you will pay, 100 pesos for a sandwich or 1000 pesos because you "just crossed the white line" that does not exist.

I was stopped twice this year for the same reason, the PN's motorcycle patrol stopped me because they "saw how I was using my cell phone while driving". And at the same time I knew that my cell phone was in my pocket and I was not talking. Actually, I understand that they did not see any cell phone but they saw my white face, and white face means open wallet for them. But I preferred to call my lawyer instead of giving 200 pesos to them, so after they heard on the phone that they will be reported immediately if they continue to act like this, they just disappeared in 10 seconds. That's my point.

Just reading that sentence is enough for me to learn that you don't know the DR police system at all. My advice is at the beggining of this page, and advice like yours will end up with you in the best of cases being beat up and then locked a whole weekend. It is not a matter of IF but WHEN.

Police officers in the DR are individuals with very limited education but with a gun and a badge, and if you or anybody else below them (civiles) intend to take that authority away from them they don't react nicely. I just don't want you or anybody else to learn that the hard way.

 

[Hernandez]

and if you or anybody else below them (civiles) intend to take that authority away from them

If you already positioned yourself BELOW them, you have no rights if stopped by police, like poor motoconcho driver without helmet. But not all the people here do the same, trust me ))) If you are afraid of angry stray dog, the dog will bite you because dogs can feel your fear.

Just reading that sentence is enough for me to learn that you don't know the DR police system at all.

I am from one of the countries in Eastern Europe. Dominican police officers are innocent angels if compare them to police in my hometown. This police system is not something new for me, I know how to survive in worse world than this... And once again, I live 5 years in Santo Domingo. So try to scare somebody else.

 

[Hernandez]

ExtremeR, I did not want to argue with you or somebody else here. I just left my opinion, that's all.