Originally posted by Marla Daily
Just when we thought we had made it through Tecate without getting pulled over, on the last hill to the border crossing, about 500 feet from the
border gate, a motorcycle cop standing by his parked bike, wagged his finger at us to pull over, as he walked up to the camper. We were told to follow
him to the police station where he would write us a ticket for having dogs in the truck cab. (The F250 truck cab is extended with a back seat where
the dogs ride.)
He was in uniform but without a name tag or ID number. We asked for his name, and he refused to give it. Thus we simply refused to follow him unless
he identified himself. I said that according to Sindacatura rules, all officers had to identify themselves ~ that otherwise we had no way to verify he
was an official. He said "it wasn't done that way in Tecate." He had a gun; he said that we would get his ID at the station. He said that dogs had to
be in crates and not loose. It was a polite standoff, but we refused to follow him. At no time did he ask for money, and at no time did we offer any.
I asked if he could please just give us a warning. He ultimately agreed.
When we got to the agriculture check on the US side, we reported the incident to the Supervisor on duty (Lopez). What a nice guy! He called the Tecate
Chief of Police and asked about the guy on the motorcycle and the law about dogs in the car. We learned the guy was one of 3 motorcycle cops on duty
at the time; that yes officers needed to identify themselves, but that they didn't like to do so and he was still having "issues" over this. Also that
the law says that dogs cannot be in the driver's lap (which ours weren't).
Information is always a good thing. |