It is bad when the cops follow people home from bars and restaurant looking to get someone on a DUI or other moving violation. I can understand three or four blocks but when it is all the way across town there is a problem. Especially when we were having problems with cars being stolen on mainstreet and other streets around town earlier this year and they could not catch who was doing it right away. Not every one who is at a bar or restaurants have been drinking. I think they could better their resources by patroling all the streets in town.

There was a guy that left a bar once that a cop started following and he was weaving a bit and after a few miles when they got outside this small town, he really started weaving and driving drunkenly...so the cop pulled him over....the man when tested was absolutely stone cold sober...the cop said "I don't understand this you were driving as if you were drunk and the longer I followed you, the drunker you drove"....and the man said "well I am the DD or Designated Drunk...While you have been following me all my friends have gotten out of the bar and been able to drive home without a ticket"... LOL...

I think following people home from the gas stations might be more productive. I have seen so many people who I suspected were drunk going into gas stations, buying beer and driving away.

Sooooooo. You're upset that a person hired to enforce criminal laws and traffic laws followed you. Didn't stop you for some borderline reason just to check you out or even stop you at all. You weren't stopped and held up or "shaken down", questioned, held without cause, profiled, or discriminated against in any way what so ever. Heck, I'd be pissed too.

If you aren't doing anything wrong you have no reason to worry

If you drink and get behind the wheel, im glad there following you. If you have an issue, pull over
and call disbatch with the car #. If you see a drunk buying beer and driving call them in, its saves lives, maybe your own

Maybe it was coincidence. Cop had no place to go and was following on autopilot.

Paranoia strikes deep.........................

Law enforcement is a tough job and popularity is not a pre-requisite from what I observed for over 30 years:-) Just be happy they come when you call:-)

Brian W,
There is also the possibility that someone in the establishment called the cops, told them you had been drinking and were leaving. It happens all the time, "weather or not you even had been".
The thing is, they can't stop you just because someone reported it, that's hearsay and can't be acted upon. However, they can investigate the call, (they're supposed to, it's thier job) observe your driving and if probable cause is established, pull you over. Obviously they didn't establish that, all appeared well.

[This message has been edited by Phil Shifley (12/23/2012)]

As someone who had his mother killed by a drunk driver, I have no problem with Police officers fallowing a car after it has left a bar or other establishment serving liqueur. For every two or three stopped, a life was probably saved.

Being followed by cops is a long-standing Miles City tradition. It doesn't happen in bigger towns in Montana, and is one of the many, many, many reasons I don't live there anymore, nor ever have any intention to move back.

By the way it was not me they fallowed home and yes it could have been that they were just going the same way. By the way if someone is drinking and they pull them over that is great I do not have a problem with that it is the fact they are waiting for people to leave the bar or other establisment insteat of patroling the town.

Gunnar,

It's probably time to admit to you that we taped the following picture onto your rearview mirror and left it there until you were leaving town.



No hard feelings?

FH

Miles city PD have been doing that as long as I can remember. I learned that lesson a long time ago. Very similar to Scottsdale AZ...where cops mark tires in parking lots of bars and restrauants every hour so when they pull you over (and they will pull you over) they can tell exactly how long you were there for. Nice thing about mc is you can walk within 10 minutes to any bar in town from any starting point in town.

God forbid drunk drivers are prevented from killing and maiming.

When was the last time there was a fatal drunk driving accident within the city limits of Miles City?

Hardly ever happens. Is it because of the great police or because the average rate of travel in Miles City is 8 mph?

I vote for the 8 mph average speed rate. The drunks probably drive 6 mph.

AMEN FOR THE COPS FOLLOWING,i would rather have someone fallowed and caught for drinking and driving then loosing my family or friends or hearing about someone losing their life because some stupid f*ck made a stupid decision

When I lived on Main Street. I observed many cars pulled over. Usually it was some poor hapless teenager who the police suspected as a "minor in possession." He usually stood out in the cold while the police thoroughly inspected the inside the car and the trunk. Often they drove away leaving the youngster shaken and hopefully with the fear of God. Booze and teenages are not a good mix. I served with the Prevention of Underage Drinking commitee with officer Barney Murnion and I applaud the Miles City Police and their long standing tradition. We lost so many sweet youngsters over the years, who made the mistake of drinking and driving, or riding in the car wih someone who did .

If there have been fatal accidents in Miles City is not important after all unless they fallow you how do they know where you are driving to or if you are headed out of town and higher rates of speed. No matter where they are at, it is important to get impaired drivers off the road.

I agree with Steve and neonfreedom that there is too much fallowing of cops in Miles City. Too many cops are being left uncultivated. We have to put those cops back into production.

It's probably best if some sort of rotation is in place to prevent depleting important nutrients.

Brian W,
There is also the possibility that someone in the establishment called the cops, told them you had been drinking and were leaving. It happens all the time, "weather or not you even had been".
The thing is, they can't stop you just because someone reported it, that's hearsay and can't be acted upon. However, they can investigate the call, (they're supposed to, it's thier job) observe your driving and if probable cause is established, pull you over. Obviously they didn't establish that, all appeared well.

That is not hearsay, what makes the difference on whether or not an officer can make a stop alone on that persons eye witness account is if that person is willing to sign a statement and testify to it in court. It's often up to the people to follow through and put a voice to there complaint.

When was the last time there was a fatal drunk driving accident within the city limits of Miles City?

To the person who said, "When is the last time Miles City had a fatality in city limits from drunk driving?" Really does it matter? What you should ask is when is the last time property damage was caused by a drunk driver in Miles City. I would put money on this weekend and sometime during the week and last weekend and so on. Do you have any idea how many times a month somebody gets woke up in the middle of the night or wakes up in the morning to find the back or side of there parked vehicle pushed in and no accountable driver in sight. Why do I say this because I know from experience that it happens on average a couple times a week. Now I know we shouldn't assume that when your vehicle gets hit at 2:15 a.m. and the driver drives off that that driver was intoxicated. But please use your biased for drunk driving brain and realize that if you were a gambling man and wanted to make a lot of money you should put your money on that person was under the influence of alcohol and or drugs.

Being followed by cops is a long-standing Miles City tradition. It doesn't happen in bigger towns in Montana, and is one of the many, many, many reasons I don't live there anymore, nor ever have any intention to move back.

Really? or maybe now that your older and don't drive home drunk so much you don't notice it as much. Or maybe you have a bad taste in your mouth from some unfortunate event that took place with you, so now every single Miles City cop is a dirty car following, out to get drunk driver jack booted crime fighter. Shame on them, shame on them for trying to enforce Montana's DUI laws.

To those defending driving while intoxicated, and yes a few of you have in this thread. Guess what times have changed the majority of people no longer want it taking place on their streets, which is why Montana has amped up it's DUI laws. It's just unfortunate that a lot of people don't think it's a problem until it affects them. Just know it affects everyone in one way or another. Rant over.

[This message has been edited by Brandon Loomis (12/31/2012)]

I'm just glad to hear drunk driving is no longer a problem in Miles City. When I was a boy, when drunk driving was "tolerated" and much more prevalent, our parked cars were hit-and-run sideswiped all the time. It was the reason I moved away from Miles City -- all those drunk drivers sideswiping my parked cars and getting away with it.

I smell bacon!

I still can't believe Blair took away ALL our beer, didn't even leave us one apiece! What a pig.
J/K. Thanks for being pretty decent to us, usually. Most of us are still alive.

It's 'follow' not 'fallow.'

The cops aren't plowing you. And if they are...then this is a different conversation.

Or they are "fallowing you, because you are maybe plowed" LOL...

Maybe the reason for no drunk driving fatalities in the city limits is because, the local cops have followed the right people. When I was a lot younger I used to complain about the cops following me and giving me a ticket. I was being persecuted. Now I am a little older and I have finally realized, I did a lot of stupid driving when I was a kid and young adult.

We had a drunk driver come 1/2 foot from the side of our trailer! He was drunk and not even on a road. He came from the back of our trailer and turned right and Thank God stopped or could have killed my parents! Had he turned to the left he could have killed our neighbors! Trailers are not that far apart. He was driving in our back yard.
Thanks to all Law Enforcement for all you do here!

When I was growing up in MC the cops would follow me all the time. Their cars just were never fast enough to catch me.