Officer said he would give me a warning for speeding, but he gave me a ticket!?

Question

I got my first speeding ticket today after many years of responsible driving. The officer was even impressed that it was my first one, and he told me so. He said he was going to give me a warning, but he handed me a piece of paper anyway. I've never had a ticket before, so I didn't know if they gave you anything to mail in or not even if you only get a warning, but my grandfather confirmed to me that it was indeed a ticket. There were two other people in the car with me at the time, and neither of them have ever had tickets, and they both heard the officer tell me he would give me a warning. I feel cheated, and even though I was speeding, I don't understand why the officer would take advantage of me like that. Is there any way to contact the officer and question him about the ticket and work all this out outside the legal system? I don't have to appear in court, all I have to do is mail in the fees, but I'd rather not go to court and fight this all out. I'm a student who works part time, so I really have no time for that anyway. I just simply want to plead my case to the officer, because he seemed like a nice and understanding man, and I'd like to try and appeal to his better nature.

Answer 1

Lesson.....It's people actions that count.  What people say and what they do are many times two different things.  This lesson will serve you your whole life.   Pay the ticket.  You were speeding.  

Answer 2

you can call the police station and ask for him if you remember what his name was and ask him, but don't come off defensive b/c then he'll be a lot less likely to cooperate

Answer 3

Then you shouldn't have been speeding!  Pay your fines and be done with it!  Stop speeding if you can't afford the fines!

Answer 4

Ignorance of the law (speed limit in your case) is no excuse for speeding.  JUST PAY IT.

Answer 5

Are you sure he didn't just give you a written warning?  If it is a ticket, it will have an amount you have to pay, the charge, a court date and location.  A warning will not have amounts or court dates it will just show the charge you are being warned about.

Answer 6

I'd double check that it is a ticket.  They give you "a piece of paper" with a written warning.  

Answer 7

Once the ticket is written, the only person who can nullify it is the judge, not the officer.

Plus, if you were speeding, than you deserve a ticket. I agree it was pretty rude of the officer to say he was going to give you a warning, then write you a ticket, but why should he let you off with just a warning anyway? Just because you've never had a ticket before doesn't mean you're entitled to a warning first.

Answer 8

Are you sure it's a ticket and not a written warning?  

Is there an amount on the ticket?

There should be a number on the back of it that you can call to ask someone.  

Unfortunately, once the Officer has written the ticket, he can't take it back.  Calling him would be pointless, as it is out of his hands.

Answer 9

I work for the police, and although you can contact the local dispatch center and get in contact with the officer, you will still have a ticket. He can't and won't over turn it. Pay the fee, slow down, consider it a cheap alternative to getting in a horrid car wreck.

Answer 10

You should fight it in court, which is the only way you can fight it ,hopefully   the officer does not show to the hearing and you can win the case automatically.However he cannot overturn the ticket outside court, as mentioned above the only person who can do this is the judge.  If you just mail in the money you become easy prey for every other officer who stops you and checks out your record, as they know you will just pay instead of drag them to court.

Answer 11

He gave you a written warning?

Answer 12

It may be a written warning

Answer 13

fight it

Answer 14

I would suggest that you go to court, but not to contest what the officer said (because it is a "he said, she said" situation).  If you go to court and plead "guilty with an explanation" sometimes the judge will be lenient and forgive your ticket or reduce the fines if you complete a state sponsored defensive driving course.  

Such courses are usually offered as a one day, all day course at a local municipal building.  Upon completion you will get a certificate.  You then will mail this in to the court.  (However, this will not work to do it in reverse by taking the course first without speaking with the judge.)

Answer 15

Have you actually read this "piece of paper"? If it really is a ticket, it will tell you what to pay, how to pay it and by what date.  You could always show it to any police officer and ask what it is if you can't understand it.