Tale of the Dragon harassment

Believe it · 09-08-2023, 02:09 PM

A friend of mine took a few days to enjoy the mountain roads on and around the Dragon. He was stopped by a Blount County deputy and accused of reckless driving and drag racing. He had his go-pro on the whole time and not only is there no drag racing, he was well below the speed limit. The video is revealing on many levels, including when TJ informed thee officer of his concealed carry permit and to alert him of a firearm in the glovebox, he responded, this is Blount County Tennessee, everyone has a gun, I’m not scared of you!

I am hoping to find local representation to review the go pro footage, etc. TJ is a hardworking young man and fighting this travesty impacts his job and life, but he did not violate any laws. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Tbone98 · 09-08-2023, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Believe it

A friend of mine took a few days to enjoy the mountain roads on and around the Dragon. He was stopped by a Blount County deputy and accused of reckless driving and drag racing. He had his go-pro on the whole time and not only is there no drag racing, he was well below the speed limit. The video is revealing on many levels, including when TJ informed thee officer of his concealed carry permit and to alert him of a firearm in the glovebox, he responded, this is Blount County Tennessee, everyone has a gun, I’m not scared of you!

I am hoping to find local representation to review the go pro footage, etc. TJ is a hardworking young man and fighting this travesty impacts his job and life, but he did not violate any laws. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry, but what is the travesty? did he get arrested or beat up, shot?

GMteSSted · 09-08-2023, 02:27 PM

Reach out to this group of Facebook "Tennessee Driver's Club".
They do a lot of driving events in East TN and have a several members who can help.
BTW - on the dragon you will get a ticket for crossing or driving on the yellow line....

Believe it · 09-08-2023, 02:32 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, that sounds promising

He was cited for drag racing and reckless op, neither of which happened

WhiteMale · 09-08-2023, 03:53 PM

Take the day in court with a traffic lawyer type, thats what he should do. Whats the fine and the insurance impact? Balance that against court and attorney fee’s.

Believe it · 09-08-2023, 04:32 PM

Thanks, and exactly, looking for the right attorney, and the video is clear, and some of the things Sid by the deputy are eye opening. I’m guessing this is fertile ground for county fund raising, some deserved, some not so much

arpad_m · 09-08-2023, 05:46 PM

Very sorry to hear this happened to your friend, like everyone else, I can't stand revenue generation traffic stops. These charges are nontrivial unfortunately, hope the video will exonerate him if he was just having fun in his car.

Gen6cyl · 09-08-2023, 05:48 PM

You could try to talk to the judge and see if he will drop the charges. Sounds like you have a good case. Good luck.

Ventmaster · 09-08-2023, 06:44 PM

+1 for fight it. Chances are the deputy will not even show for the court appearance, which should result in automatic dismissal. It is also likely the court will be aware of this deputy's reputation, and will discount his accusation from the get go. Having video proof would be icing on the cake.

Rode the "Tail" the first time in 2001 on a motorcycle, never did it in a car. Back then you didn't see a lot of cars. But by 2003 word had gotten out and many car clubs were enjoying it. 318 curves in 11 miles if I remember correctly. What they didn't mention was the elevation changes- often mid-curve. First time I was literally laughing out loud in my helmet. Zero police presence back then.
Good luck to your buddy.

BTW- https://www.killboy.com/ is longest existing tail of the dragon photographer on the road and likely has a high quality picture of your buddy driving on the tail in a really "great for a picture" corner. I had mine for years on a coffee cup.

Ventmaster · 09-08-2023, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Very sorry to hear this happened to your friend, like everyone else, I can't stand revenue generation traffic stops. These charges are nontrivial unfortunately, hope the video will exonerate him if he was just having fun in his car.

LOL- reminded me of revenue ticket I got in my brand new '86 Z/28 in S. Ohio.
Of course I was speeding- national interstate speed limit was 55mph and S. Ohio (I-23S) is a pretty flat, boring place.

First thing I said to the officer was, "When was that last calibrated?!". It stepped him back for a moment... but he still wrote that ticket. But I could tell he and likely all his co-workers felt the same about the "55".

Megahurtz · 09-08-2023, 07:38 PM

Have you personally reviewed his dash cam?

arpad_m · 09-08-2023, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ventmaster

LOL- reminded me of revenue ticket I got in my brand new '86 Z/28 in S. Ohio.
Of course I was speeding- national interstate speed limit was 55mph and S. Ohio (I-23S) is a pretty flat, boring place.

First thing I said to the officer was, "When was that last calibrated?!". It stepped him back for a moment... but he still wrote that ticket. But I could tell he and likely all his co-workers felt the same about the "55".

Massive LOL here as well... the one single time I ever set foot in Ohio, and Cleveland at that, some bullshit residential automated system ticketed me as an easy "out of stater target", and, not unexpectedly, I swear it lied about the posted speed limit (see this thread, post 9, 11 and 12 down: https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=579043).

Nothing like automating their little revenue generation scheme

Ventmaster · 09-08-2023, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megahurtz

Have you personally reviewed his dash cam?

No, of course not. So I dunno if he was having a bad day, but I didn't say he was a bad guy. I knew he just had to do his job. So I expect a lot of those officers were as happy as anyone when they dropped the "gas saving" speed limit.
I guess I'm not following your question.

Believe it · 09-08-2023, 08:46 PM

Thanks for the insight. TJ will fight this, he is a very talented car guy, working for a major brand, but the video is indisputable, and there are disturbing exchanges with the deputy, beyond the gun comment. His insurance was on an app, and service is not great in the mountains, it was touch and go for a while. I’ll post the video when this is over, it is shocking and depressing.

09-08-2023, 02:09 PM	#1
Believe it Drives: Camaro SS. 2001 Z3 M coupe Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: South Carolina Posts: 23	Tale of the Dragon harassment A friend of mine took a few days to enjoy the mountain roads on and around the Dragon. He was stopped by a Blount County deputy and accused of reckless driving and drag racing. He had his go-pro on the whole time and not only is there no drag racing, he was well below the speed limit. The video is revealing on many levels, including when TJ informed thee officer of his concealed carry permit and to alert him of a firearm in the glovebox, he responded, this is Blount County Tennessee, everyone has a gun, I’m not scared of you! I am hoping to find local representation to review the go pro footage, etc. TJ is a hardworking young man and fighting this travesty impacts his job and life, but he did not violate any laws. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

09-08-2023, 05:46 PM	#7
arpad_m Drives: 2018 Camaro 2SS A8 Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 11,627 View My Garage	Very sorry to hear this happened to your friend, like everyone else, I can't stand revenue generation traffic stops. These charges are nontrivial unfortunately, hope the video will exonerate him if he was just having fun in his car. __________________ 2018 Camaro 2SS — G7E MX0 NPP F55 IO6 735 rwhp \| 665 rwtq Magnuson TVS 2300 80mm pulley \| Kooks 1 7/8" LT headers \| JRE smooth idle terminator cam \| LT4 FS & injectors \| TSP forged pistons & rods JMS PowerMAX \| DSX flex fuel kit \| Roto-Fab CAI \| Soler 95mm LT5 TB \| 1LE wheels \| 1LE brakes \| BMR rear cradle lockout \| JRE custom tune 1100 - 1/30/18 \| 2000 - 1/31/18 3000 - 2/06/18 TPW 2/26/18 3400 - 2/19/18 \| 3800 - 2/26/18 4300 - 2/27/18 \| 4B00 - 3/01/18 4200 - 3/05/18 \| 4800 - 3/14/18 5000 - 3/16/18 \| 6000 - 3/19/18

09-08-2023, 05:48 PM	#8
Gen6cyl Drives: Chevy Camaro 2021 ,rs, v6, manual Join Date: Feb 2022 Location: Georgia Posts: 868	You could try to talk to the judge and see if he will drop the charges. Sounds like you have a good case. Good luck. __________________ B6 dampers, x pipe, mbrp axel back

09-08-2023, 06:44 PM	#9
Ventmaster Drives: 2017 1SS 6spd Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Utah Posts: 2,869	+1 for fight it. Chances are the deputy will not even show for the court appearance, which should result in automatic dismissal. It is also likely the court will be aware of this deputy's reputation, and will discount his accusation from the get go. Having video proof would be icing on the cake. Rode the "Tail" the first time in 2001 on a motorcycle, never did it in a car. Back then you didn't see a lot of cars. But by 2003 word had gotten out and many car clubs were enjoying it. 318 curves in 11 miles if I remember correctly. What they didn't mention was the elevation changes- often mid-curve. First time I was literally laughing out loud in my helmet. Zero police presence back then. Good luck to your buddy. BTW- https://www.killboy.com/ is longest existing tail of the dragon photographer on the road and likely has a high quality picture of your buddy driving on the tail in a really "great for a picture" corner. I had mine for years on a coffee cup. Last edited by Ventmaster; 09-08-2023 at 07:06 PM.

09-08-2023, 02:27 PM	#3
GMteSSted Drives: 2018 ZL1 1LE Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Tennessee Posts: 877 View My Garage	Reach out to this group of Facebook "Tennessee Driver's Club". They do a lot of driving events in East TN and have a several members who can help. BTW - on the dragon you will get a ticket for crossing or driving on the yellow line....

09-08-2023, 02:32 PM	#4
Believe it Drives: Camaro SS. 2001 Z3 M coupe Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: South Carolina Posts: 23	Thanks for the suggestion, that sounds promising He was cited for drag racing and reckless op, neither of which happened

09-08-2023, 03:53 PM	#5
WhiteMale Drives: 23 ZL1 A10 Rapid Blue Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: MO Posts: 1,992	Take the day in court with a traffic lawyer type, thats what he should do. Whats the fine and the insurance impact? Balance that against court and attorney fee’s.

09-08-2023, 04:32 PM	#6
Believe it Drives: Camaro SS. 2001 Z3 M coupe Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: South Carolina Posts: 23	Thanks, and exactly, looking for the right attorney, and the video is clear, and some of the things Sid by the deputy are eye opening. I’m guessing this is fertile ground for county fund raising, some deserved, some not so much

09-08-2023, 07:38 PM	#11
Megahurtz Snackbar Tuning Drives: 2023 SGM ZL1 Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Florida Posts: 1,121	Have you personally reviewed his dash cam?

09-08-2023, 08:46 PM	#14
Believe it Drives: Camaro SS. 2001 Z3 M coupe Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: South Carolina Posts: 23	Thanks for the insight. TJ will fight this, he is a very talented car guy, working for a major brand, but the video is indisputable, and there are disturbing exchanges with the deputy, beyond the gun comment. His insurance was on an app, and service is not great in the mountains, it was touch and go for a while. I’ll post the video when this is over, it is shocking and depressing.

User Name		Remember Me?
Password