Posted by Hippie on January 03, 2001 at 18:45:34:
In Reply to: POLICE SHAKEDOWN posted by BLAZERS on January 03, 2001 at 17:45:28:
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Oh great. By paying them, you assured that they will try it again on some other unsuspecting foreigner. I realize that the trumped up drug charge is scary, but by paying them for the traffic ticket when you had done nothing wrong, you let them know that you were an easy mark, especially if you didn't even try to bargain them down. I obviously have no way of knowing for sure, but if you had not been so easy on the ticket, they might not have even tried the drug crap. How many times do people have to say this: "If you have done nothing wrong, stay polite, don't argue when they say you will have to go to jail or to see the judge, and above all, DON'T PAY THEM OFF." I do not personally know of one single person who has followed this rule who was actually taken to jail. If a crooked cop is taking you to jail, that means he is losing quite a bit of time he could be out robbing someone else. They may cuff you, hoping this is sufficient intimidation. At worst, if you are in the zona, they MAY take you to the little substation and leave you standing around for a few minutes hoping you will break down and pay them off. Now, if you are rude and belligerent, however, they may decide it is worth their while to fuck with you. If you really are guilty, pay the bribe, but bargain, bargain, bargain. A normal traffic violation should cost you no more than $20, and if they truly believe that all you have is $10 or $12, that will probably work. I am told that the going rate for a DUI is $40, but I suspect that varies from cop to cop. You get someone who had a friend hurt by a drunk driver, there is no telling what it will cost. If you get popped for a legitimate drug or weapons violation, my advice would be to give them every damn penny you have on you, plus your credit cards (you can always cancel them right away), as fast as you can, and then immediately get the heck out of Mexico. The longer you spend standing around in a situation like that, the better the chance of additional cops showing up, and each will want a cut.
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