Nothing really exciting...my wife, three girls and I had just been shopping at a local strip mall. We loaded up the girls and my middle child (age 4) said she needed to go to the bathroom. We had buckled all three girls into their car seats and I drove over to the front of Target to let me wife and middle child out to go to the bathroom. My youngest child (age 2) started to get upset so I told my oldest girl (age 7) to help me lift her out of her car seat and I set her beside me and turned down the lane of parking spaces. I was in 1st gear doing less than 5MPH (less than 1000RPM). A county cop was coming up the lane and my oldest girl waived at him and smiled. As I was turning into a parking space, the cop swung around (fast enough that I heard his tires squeal) and stopped his cruiser right behind my truck with lights flashing. He came up with his hand on his sidearm demanding my liscense and registration. I very calmly handed him my documents and asked if there was a problem and he said "yeah, a big problem. You can't operate a motor vehicle without having your children properly restrained". I tried to explain I had just dropped my wife and middle child off at the door to use the bathroom and I had just taken my youngest out of her seat to sit beside me to go from the door of Target to a parking space (literally les than 150' away). He said that wasn't allowed. I should have kept my mouth closed but I said I thought that the parking lot was private property and that the child restraint laws didn't pertain. He said "any moving vehicle" and walked around my truck and performed a little inspection and then was off to his cruiser with my docs. Meanwhile, my wife and other daughter walked back to the truck and she asked what was going on. When I told her, she started to go off but I asked her to please calm down and not to make the situation any worse. My oldest daughter started to cry thinking we were all going to jail but I reassured her that all that was going to heppen would be a ticket and we would be going home. After about 5 minutes, the deputy came back with just my liscense and registration and no ticket book. He said he was going to let me go with a warning since we had apparenlty gone to school together. I didn't remember him but whatever. I feel that he just wanted to run my info and hope something would come up. It's been all over the news about the local jurisdiction having to lay deputies off due to lacking county funds. My truck was current on state inspection and registration. My liscense was of course valid with no prior moving or non moving violations in 5+ years and my insurance was up to date and valid. He started to ask me who all I had seen recently from school which I simply stated that I don't see anyone we went to school with because I work and travel all of the time. Then he started to say something like "I really like your truck, blah blah blah" I said listen, I hate to cut this short but I really need to get my girls hope and put them to bed. We shook and he left. I then noticed that two more cruisers were parked directly behind him for back up! In Target parking lot! And to fininsh off the night, when we got home, I had my mid year personal property tax bill in the mail (which is used to fund the county law enforcement) Really makes me want to pay my taxes! This is not a rant against law enforcement. My father inlaw is retired Va State Police and I have the upmost respect for anyone who is in the field but this type of thing leaves me a little bitter!

We have a huge problem with meth labs (I live in a very rural area), domestic violence, drunk driving, etc... but they want to spend their time in a freakin parking lot harrasing patrons of establishments that I had just spent hard earned money! Sorry for the rant, just had to get it off my chest.

Oh, I did check the Code of VA and all references to child restraint states "while the motor vehicle is in motion on any public highway" I still don't think that the Target parking lot is a public highway!

Off rant.

 

Man, that is sucky. I'd look into filing a complaint for harassment. I'm not one of those kind of people to do stuff like that, but he was obviously in it for a bust... I'm sure that there is some technical legal jargon for that, but it's messed up regardless.

 

Well, they can enforce handicap parking laws in a store lot, so I guess they can enforce the safety seat laws too........just seams like a CS place to do it and are trying to drive up revenues.

 

If ya dont mind what county as I want to be sure this was not none of our people.... also in VA the only thing you can write on a private parking lot is reckless driving and DUI, (besides handicapped)

 

Hey Unit44, what town or county are you in? I'm about as South and West in Va as you can get!

 

If this was a private lot, In Louisiana, Title 32 (traffic laws) do not apply.

 

Washington County VA, exit 7 Target strip mall.

 

Since you were headed in the direction of the exit, the cop responded I am sure, thinking you were headed to the public road. The fact you pulled into a parking spot may be what got you off but personally I think your rant is a little lame.

It is reckless to have a vehicle moving at any speed with a young child unrestrained. The issue may not be with hurting your child but even at 5 mph you will roll over and kill any pedestrians and all it takes is a couple of seconds of distraction looking to keep your kid from doing something that would not have been an issue had they been restrained.

 

It is also possible someone did something in a truck like yours...I got pulled over once and I was completely worried thinking about what I had done. Kids in the back etc. Officer asked for my information and went to his car. 10 minutes later he came back and said, "You're all set, sorry for taking your time."

Turns out that night, a boyfriend had dropped his girlfriend at a Wal-Mart and taken off with her kids. He was in a white 2nd gen dodge ram with a camper top...so it looked like mine.

Maybe it was a similar situation?

 

First, I understand your view about unrestrained children especially on a highway. My wife and I are very strict about having the kids restrained while on the road. My wife and middle child were involved in a roll over accident due to faulty suspension on a 2003 Isuzu Rodeo in 2007 and she came out without a scratch due to being in a Graco Snugg Ride. The officers that responded even said that the reason she faired so well was due to the fact that we have installed the Graco saet base correctly! My argument is that I was not going towards an exit, but towards a parking area down the same lane from the front entrance. The exits are 2-300 yrds from wher I was and I am sure he saw me drop the wife and middle girl off at the front door. Also, I was going maybe 3 mph at most and you'd have to do some pretty good convincing to show me a 5mph or less roll over accident at that speed on a flat surface parking lot! in an 8000 lb truck (with no lift or suspension mods etc...)

And it's not lame when you are accused of doing something against the law when there is no law that states that what I was doing was wrong! We keep letting this type of thing happen and we might as well start saying bye bye to the constitution!

I also have a farm and we let the kids ride in the truck unrestrained while going through the fields and I even let my oldest ride on my tractors with me. I guess I'll be reported to child protective services now huh?!

 

Good point but there was no indication that this was the issue. I really think this guy was having a bad day or something.

 

Not an issue of what the cop thought. If the stop was legal in a parking lot......... fine.......if it is illegal then he was wasting tax payer money, as the ticket would be overturned in court. The rant would be lame if it is invalid.......other wise it is justified. You listen to the radio in your truck? Studies have shown that that is just as distracting listening to music as using a cell phone to talk on( I hate seeing people talk and especially text on a cell phone in a moving vehicle), but where do you draw the line. Studies also suggest that wearing a helmet while you drive significantly improves your chance of survival in an accident.......you want to be required to wear a helmet?

 

I don't have a problem with his explanation of the evenings events. In fact, I think it falls short of a rant. That said, and since I'm a retired LEO, I'll give you another take on it. Police Officers are charged with enforcing the law AND protecting the public, often from their own mistakes. In reality, if RC51 was going to drop off his wife and one daughter and park until they came back, let her fuss for another 30 seconds until the truck is parked. By doing that he protects his daughter and satisfies the law, assuming it applies to the parking lot. What if some idiot decided to cut across the parking lot, between the rows of cars and didn't see RC51's truck and T-boned it. An unrestrained child would likely be injured, maybe even seriously. I don't have a problem with why he was stopped.

 

Just a reminder that this great site also has a Private Message tool so that
we do not publicly excoriate someone for their experiences or opinion should you have an alternate opinion. Thank you. just sayin'....


sorry for your situation and the involvement of your kids in it. kind of unsettling with the back up units....then to see the tax bill.

doctors and lawyers have mal practice zones.......hmmmmmm

 

I've had that very thing happen to me. Well almost......a young lady was cutting across the parking lot at a local Wally world and had I not seen her at the last second she would have T-boned me at what appeared to be 40 mph.
I had the wife dial 911 and we followed her until she finally stopped. Since it was on a private lot the officer just let her go but she was wetting her pants after I got through reaming her and up until the officer let her drive away.