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GTI vs old Buick, then GTI vs cop

Moonray

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Phoenix (USA)
Weird day Sunday...

Drove up to Wal-Mart and Khol's, was on a 1-way frontage road, but missed my turn (not my town). I kept going a bit and finally decided to turn right. Near the turn was a boat-like Buick, parked, facing the wrong way (towards me). As I neared the turn, he slowly started to move towards the street I was turning on. I turned anyway, drove on, watching him weaving behind me, driving on the wrong side of the road. No one was around. I turned left. He followed, pulled beside me, and his passenger window went down (female in passenger seat). He's yelling something, so I stupidly roll down my window (maybe there's an emergency?). He's crazy angry, is demanding I pull over so we can settle this "man to man." WTF? He's young, fat, wearing Coke-bottle glasses, and out of his mind. The female stares straight ahead, mortified. He shouts, "We're in the middle of nowhere motherfucker, you've got nowhere to go!" He continues screaming as I drive off. I get some ways ahead while watching the Buick in my mirror flailing madly around turns. I'm sorta having fun. I make a few random turns, then find myself in front of Wal-Mart's entrance where hoards of plebs are SLOWLY crossing the street. It's a high visibility area, but I'm stuck, not moving. He then arrives coming the opposite direction. He spots me, steers toward me, and stops in front of me, half blocking my lane. He's still crazed, screaming out his window at me. I have enough room to squeeze by, so I shake my head, take off, make my way to the highway, flip back around, done.

I've been a dick to other drivers before, yeah, but not that day. He was nuts.

Just hours later on I-10 at 10:30 PM (Tucson to Phoenix), I'm in the left lane going ~82 MPH (cops are typically OK with this). No one in sight but the car I'm slowly passing. Then I see a huge utility truck of some sort, super wide mirrors, special lights, hauling ass in the left lane, gaining on me quick, going 95-100 MPH. I immediately note to myself, "not a cop." I quickly pull into the middle lane (now down near the 75 MPH speed limit) well before he arrives. He arrives, slows, and matches my speed while staying in what you'd call my "blind spot." I don't like this (I read police reports for a living, so my head is full of bad scenarios, plus I'd been chased by crazy freakboy hours earlier). I want him ahead of me, so I take my foot off the gas. And wait. He stays in my blind spot. He's now slowed from ~95 to ~65 for no apparent reason. Wisely or not, I brake firmly to test his reaction. He somehow brakes hard enough so I stay in front of him. I signal and pull into the far right lane. He quickly follows me over. Crap. Having now confirmed I've been targeted, I decide to outrun him and open it up. He gives chase. I'm pulling away nicely when I see his emergency lights go on. F'in cop! Seriously? Driving nearly 100mph in an unmarked utility truck at 10:30PM? For what reason? What did I do? I give him some attitude and explain my actions. He (uniformed) goes back to his uber-truck. He reappears, we chat more, I ask if I did anything wrong. He says I "slammed on" my brakes. I reply, "Yeah, I was testing you, and you failed." I asked him if there was something I did that drew his attention to my car; he says no, he's just running down the highway checking people's registrations because it's a drug corridor (I-10). Soon after he apologized if he spooked me, I apologized for being my dick self, and he sent me on my way.

Today I said to a drug prosecutor I know: "If cops can catch drug traffickers by running random plates, we might as well give up now."
 

2015WhiteGTI

Go Kart Champion
WOW! What a turn of events. People be crazy for sure.
 

Hoon

Autocross Champion
Location
Rhode Island
I would have emotionlessly told chubbs he was the bigger man, I do not want to fight him, and if he attacks me I will dump a magazine into his chest.

I'm not going to endanger the public playing cat and mouse with cars in a crowded shopping center... especially not in AZ.
 

JerseyDrew77

Autocross Champion
Location
Virginia & NC
Car(s)
2016 TR GTI S 6MT
If that was me, I would have gotten out of my car and draw down on him and tell him to shut the fuck up before I call the cops. If he doesn't listen, I would call the cops, let them know I am the guy with the gun, and hold him there at gunpoint till they arrive.
 

Moonray

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Phoenix (USA)
Escalation doesn't make sense to me - too many unknowns (they could both be armed) and no real upside. Here in AZ, you assume everyone is packing.
 

MeltedSolid

Autocross Newbie
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Car(s)
'15 Golf, e36 328i
I had a very similar experience with some cops not too long ago in Arizona (two together), where they were seemingly needlessly following me very closely while it was dark (All I could tell was there were two unidentified pickup trucks following me in the middle of nowhere). After freaking out and trying to get some distance they pulled me over like it was a routine speeding offence. It still pisses me off.

And also, I completely agree with Moonray. Mentioning that you're willing to fight or that you have a gun would be a terrible idea, especially when it's clear the other people weren't thinking rationally. I think you made the right decision.
 

Moonray

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Phoenix (USA)
they were seemingly needlessly following me very closely while it was dark (All I could tell was there were two unidentified pickup trucks following me in the middle of nowhere). After freaking out and trying to get some distance they pulled me over like it was a routine speeding offence.

Two trucks is definitely creepy.

I had something similar happen to me ~4 years ago (I-10 coming into Phoenix @ 10:00 PM). Big SUV comes up behind my Mazda3 in the HOV lane. I'm going ~85 MPH in a 65. I'm trying to move over, but heavy traffic. The guy is on my ass, so I'm speeding up. I finally begin to pull over, and LIGHTS. Crap... I had gotten up to about 100. When the officer told me he had paced me at 100 in a 65, I told him he was "pushing me." He replied, "Yeah, I guess I was." He gave me a ticket for 85 (non-reckless limit). I took on-line traffic school and paid no legal consequence.
 

RichardCranium

Ready to race!
Location
Arizona
Escalation doesn't make sense to me - too many unknowns (they could both be armed) and no real upside. Here in AZ, you assume everyone is packing.

Nah, I live here and drawing down on someone is an absolute last resort and you don't do it for shits and giggles just to make someone shut up. You're gonna have a fun time explaining to the cops why you pulled a gun on someone in front of a crowded Wal-Mart because some guy was screaming at you from his car. Or worse, he pulls out a gun too and you guys battle it out around a dozen innocent bystanders, plus the seemingly innocent female in his car. You NEVER use a firearm for leverage.

You did exactly what you should have done. Good job!

The cops in trucks are probably some sort of DPS team that specializes in hunting down drug smugglers using larger vehicles, trucks and such. You just drew the attention of one with your behavior.
 
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