We got ARRESTED for skating!
Ok, well...
Myself, Dion and Nat were on our second run of Willy Hill this afternoon when a cop met us down the bottom. And as it turned out, he wasn't a very nice one. After telling us how stupid we are, he asked our ages and seemed delighted to find out we are all adults. He then called up another cop and proceeded to ask him how many things he could charge us with and if he could arrest us. After getting off the phone, he told us we were all under arrest and he was charging us with 'due care' (something about being reckless apparently).
Then the three of us hopped into the police car and went to the local police station. When we got there we were each individually interviewed and had our DNA, fingerprints and photos taken. Then they seized our boards, helmets, gloves, shoes, leathers, and my GoPro camera. Then after applying for bail, we were left with just our skins on sitting in separate cells until we were allowed out.
Apparently we now have a criminal record. And have to attend court late January next year.
Not sure when we get our skate gear back...but it wont be before we've been to court.
Does anyone know if this is even possible? Or are we just extremely unlucky? We've been caught on that hill before but only received a $57 fine. This has just taken it to a whole new level.
I'm a bit devastated about them taking all our stuff :( really wanted to skate this weekend haha.
Myself, Dion and Nat were on our second run of Willy Hill this afternoon when a cop met us down the bottom. And as it turned out, he wasn't a very nice one. After telling us how stupid we are, he asked our ages and seemed delighted to find out we are all adults. He then called up another cop and proceeded to ask him how many things he could charge us with and if he could arrest us. After getting off the phone, he told us we were all under arrest and he was charging us with 'due care' (something about being reckless apparently).
Then the three of us hopped into the police car and went to the local police station. When we got there we were each individually interviewed and had our DNA, fingerprints and photos taken. Then they seized our boards, helmets, gloves, shoes, leathers, and my GoPro camera. Then after applying for bail, we were left with just our skins on sitting in separate cells until we were allowed out.
Apparently we now have a criminal record. And have to attend court late January next year.
Not sure when we get our skate gear back...but it wont be before we've been to court.
Does anyone know if this is even possible? Or are we just extremely unlucky? We've been caught on that hill before but only received a $57 fine. This has just taken it to a whole new level.
I'm a bit devastated about them taking all our stuff :( really wanted to skate this weekend haha.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by sean meaney on -
Ben Shane said:
seems like its too late for that approach, this just seems like they are persueing a vendetta against guys who are riding.
remember not to make too big a deal out of it. Cops have lots of cop friends, and u dun want them out to get you. =S
I would fight this till you get a result that works in your favour boys, i doubt anything will stick in court and hopefully it turns into a positive for skaters or even just a media shit storm for the cops
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Permalink Reply by DAILY GRIND on
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ollie
heres the definition of "due care"
It is an offence to drive without due care or attention or without reasonable consideration for others [Road Traffic Act 1961 s 45].
Negligence
A person who has been in any way negligent in the driving of a motor vehicle may be charged with this offence and it is often used in addition to another offence, where an admission has been made, or it appears the driver was careless. This is often the case where a driver has had a collision that is solely their fault (most notably running into a stationary object, such as a street sign or a parked car). If a driver pleads guilty to the other offence with which they have been charged it is likely that the police will agree to withdrawing the due care (also referred to as ‘careless driving’) offence.
NEGLIGENT IN THE DRIVING OF A MOTOR VEHICLE????? WHAT THE!
here is the actual link to legal services commission website, also includes the penalty. a great big bloody fine.
http://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch10s08s05s09.php
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Oliver Dowie on -
Thanks so much everyone. You're all gurus! I'll get onto all the paper work and stuff today. Also, I have a contact who is a police officer at the station we were at. He contacted me about 6 weeks ago after we got a fine for skating and he wants to help us get a race happening down willy hill which is awesome. He loves what we do. Do you think I should give him a call and see what he thinks about it all?
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by haggy on -
Definitely sounds like the coppers have a directive to nail skaters following the tunnel experiment...
Oliver - call your cop contact and see what he says. Definitely sounds like you guys need to get a decent lawyer tho. First thing they'd do is get your gear back.
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Permalink Reply by Jordan Madeley on
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That's pretty over the top. I've just read this whole thread and it sounds like this guy has a bone to pick with you guys.
Like several people said, you can not have a criminal record with a snap of the police officers fingers. You must be first convicted. A police record is just one so they can keep tabs on what you've been up to.
With your last fine, were you told specifically to keep away from the hill or not to ride it again? If that is the case then it should be a fine for "disobeying a police direction", something along those lines. The skateboards on the road loop hole is ridiculous. Look at the Skate Australia DVD when they ask the cop if they can get fined for it, he doesn't have an idea. No one has any real idea about it exactly. "Driving without due care and attention" is one charge which should not stick. We aren't exactly classed as a vehicle. It depends which state. Some states say we are a "wheeled recreational vehicle" or a definite "vehicle". If you were obeying all road rules eg. not crossing double lines, following street signage and giving way to traffic, then there is no real reason that they can charge you with "driving without due care and attention"
As with your stuff getting confiscated, there was a case not long back in the Gold Coast with kids on street boards riding on the footpath. The cops took them and it just so happened a few of the kids parents were lawyers. So they contested this and won. They had no right to confiscate the gear for that. The only reason they have confiscated your gear though is because they may think that you will bomb the hill again. A police officers role is not to go around and revenue raise, but there ultimate role is, and i quote "to protect and preserve life". You get the odd one or two who are on a rampage to fine as many people and arrest as many people as they can. And this guy is probably one of them. Write a nice letter requesting your stuff back and see how that goes, but you may have to way till your court date as a worse case scenario.
Make sure you bring up the fact that you were detained in the court case. That is sure to win some people. Unless you're on a gun rampage or running from the cops, then they can't necessarily detain you for something like the charge they have laid. How many people do you see at a "fender bender" getting arrested by the police? They usually give you a summons (if that's how you spell it), to appear in court where a fine will be given to you.
I hope there is some help in this thread and I definitely think there is some valuable advice from all. Make sure you do it all the right way, "by the book" because there is no other way of doing it. I'm sure it'll all straighten out. Contact that cop you have a link with and definitely talk to him about what is happening. Also, get him on a board and bombing the hill hahahaha.
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Robert-Da-Bomb on -
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/speeding-skateboarders-arreste...
A - were not skateboarders.. were longboarders
B - boards designed for stability at high speeds - a bike thats designed to go fast is a moterbike? its still a board..
C - Speed suits :) you guys are heros, they forgot to mention shoes, cameras and gloves.
D - Atleast it shows safety procautions
E - Was it only the driver that was fined? It says that your being arrested for driving the car not for longboarding then why did they confiscate your gear for when it has nothing to do with the crime? or are they assuming your longboards are vehicle ?
This is messed up. Why would they release a news article? this shows that they are trying to create bad publicity for the sport, this also enforces that the police are after longboarders,
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by sean meaney on -
let the shit storm begin
Robert Le said:
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by sean meaney on -
if they start classing skateboards as bikes then they have to prove that we are riding dangerously to do anything about us, hopefully we get classed as bikes because that means we have a legitimate right to be on the road
JudgeK said:This is a shit storm. Since when was a skateboard a vehicle? Has the laws changed? Very interesting indeed.
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Robert-Da-Bomb on -
sean meaney said:
But who determines what is dangerous and what isnt?if they start classing skateboards as bikes then they have to prove that we are riding dangerously to do anything about us, hopefully we get classed as bikes because that means we have a legitimate right to be on the road
JudgeK said:This is a shit storm. Since when was a skateboard a vehicle? Has the laws changed? Very interesting indeed.
I that if there were a law for riding on the road it would be safety gear and a specific areas where we can longboard.
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by sean meaney on -
dangerous would be the same as what applys for cars and bikes, speeding crossing lines, dangerously overtaking, lane splitting, etc etc
Robert Le said:
sean meaney said:
But who determines what is dangerous and what isnt?if they start classing skateboards as bikes then they have to prove that we are riding dangerously to do anything about us, hopefully we get classed as bikes because that means we have a legitimate right to be on the road
JudgeK said:This is a shit storm. Since when was a skateboard a vehicle? Has the laws changed? Very interesting indeed.
I that if there were a law for riding on the road it would be safety gear and a specific areas where we can longboard.
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Permalink Reply by Bozac on
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I think if the public knew that skaters can actually stop safely then this shit wouldn't be such a hot topic. Everytime someone sees a longboarder the first question is how do they stop? Present that to the court that you were in no way out of control down the hill and the whole due care thing should be easier to quash (unless you were on the wrong side of the road). This seems to be the most trumped up thing I have heard of, and I am keen to see the outcome of all this. I can't see how they can confiscate your 'vehicles' yet alone your shoes....
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Phil Bartlett on -
Speed suits? They just didn't want to say leathers, cause it would make it sound like you were wearing safety gear, speed suits make it sound like you were being hooligans. Lol. Cocks.
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