About 9:30am this morning I was driving north on Santa Fe approaching Alameda. There was a sedan in front of me and a pickup truck in front of that. Light turns yellow and the pickup stops with the sedan behind it. Driver of the sedan reaches his arm out the window and heaves a half filled fast food drink cup over the top of the pickup and it lands on its hood. Hmm? Pickup driver's door opens. This didn't look good. I put my car in park and started to open my door while reaching for my cellphone which I quickly realized I didn't have with me. (Big drawback for big phones which won't fit in your pocket). I see the door on the big truck beside me start to open and a guy stepping out of his car in my rear view mirror. I then see the pickup driver has a semi-automatic pistol in his hand. Now I really wished I had my cellphone. He walks back to the sedan, tucks the pistol in his belt, opens the door, grabs the driver, hauls him out and wrestles him to the ground. He gets him over near his pickup where he reaches inside, grabs a pair of handcuffs and puts them on the sedan driver, throwing him to the curb. He then goes back, grabs the passenger from the sedan and does the same thing. No sign of a badge during the whole event. Everyone else had gotten back into their vehicles and moved on. The pickup driver, who was dressed in a suit jacket reached for his cellphone and made a call. I decided to leave. Cop? Bounty Hunter? Charles Bronson?

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I hope you called the cops -- it could have been a kidnapping in process or a hired thug/bounty hunter exceeding his authority massively.

I hope you (or someone) got the pickup driver's license number? By semi-auto pistol, do you actually mean a submachine gun (most pistols are semi-auto)? If it was actually an SMG, that screams more "thug" than "cop."

I suppose he could have been Secret Service or something, but a Secret Service man would likely be better trained than to draw attention to himself in such a fashion.

This smells like foul play -- and if it were reported immediately, the pickup driver would stand a chance of being caught since he wouldn't have time to swap a stolen plate.

Good reason to have a weapon on you isn't it? I don't mean to be critical, but you just witnessed how easily it would be to be kidnapped.

Could be an off duty cop making an arrest, could be 2 people cut up in trash bags on America's most wanted.

Happy motoring!

I'll vote for off duty cop.

Either way, douche bags who throw stuff at vehicles that stop for yellow lights deserve that sort of treatment.

__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

No.

It does seem like a good reason not to throw $hit at other people's cars...

__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

Everything you described, sounds like a LE Officer - perhaps a Detective for the Sheriff's Office or for the District Attorney, U.S. Marshal, etc. (these guys if detectives, wear coats and ties.....) except for him putting the pistol in his waistband on the way over to the sedan......it doesn't sound like LE that would but a pistol in their waistband. The gun the alleged LE Officer put in his waistband, doesn't have a body-mounted holster? Odd.......

That one is throwing me.......why he would risk not having his handgun in-hand as he approached the perp(s) in the sedan. OTOH, if the aggressor believed that he had sprung a surprise on the soda cup tossing driver, that had no idea he was tossing his drink at a LE Officer of some type - the Officer (if it was an Officer) felt he had the situation assessed as being 'waistband worthy' and not drawn down on the car with his firearm as he approached the perps in the vehicle.

Cuffing them on the ground, was likely the right way to detain the occupants that had decisively and maliciously tossed it on another car in traffic - and likely going to light-up any LE Officer in plainclothes and plain-wrapper-vehicle. I say hoorah for the citizens today - if in fact the person doing the cuffing was actually LE.....

When someone piles out of a vehicle with a gun and handcuffs we 'assume' that he must have the authority to do what they are doing, right? But officer, he looked like a cop....... You know what they say about making an ASSumption.........there have been more than a few cases of people impersonating cops so they could inflict major harm on others. One case I am aware of involved a guy using Starsky and Hutch lights to pull over women on the side of the road then rape them. He had the complete police uniform and wore an official looking badge and gun. Sickos.

After about the sixth time, the state decided to pull all plain wrapper police cars and have them painted so that they were easy to identify as a police car. They told EVERYONE to only stop if the car was easily identifiable as a police car and to not be afraid to ask the cop for credentials, i.e. badge number and name then call the REAL police to check him out. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few states that have plain wrapper cop cars in use.

Probably an off duty cop or detective.

If he had screwed on a can and wasted them I'd vote for hitman!

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Not sure I'd agree -- if he was a hitman or crim, he'd be more likely to get away with it if he pretended to be a cop and did the deed at his convenience. Shooting someone down on the street tends to lead to embarrassing questions.

Either way, kerry should be on the phone with the police filing a report. Hopefully someone did. Worst case, they'll know what happened and not act on it. Best case, he may save someone's life.

If "semi-auto pistol" means submachine gun, that's even more reason for suspicion since most LEOs wouldn't be carrying something like that loose in their car.

I'd bet a Detective of one sort or another.
Who knows what jurisdiction agreements local, state and fed have.

No, since most everyone on this thread believes he was LE, no need to file a report.....move along now......

You have to be pretty strong Kerry. I doubt I could lob a soft drink over the car ahead of me and it land on the hood of the truck ahead of it.

Great points, HM....

What kerry didn't report that he did was to jot down license plate numbers, and call it in. Seriously.....NO ONE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING DOWN! During OR after, according to the OP's knowledge and post......

Reflecting on the OP's post for a few hours, I find it interesting that kerry never mentioned; "wishing he was armed in this situation." I was actually hoping kerry reported reaching for his handgun, then for his cell phone. But, no mention of self-protection was ever mentioned. -Just the desire to call the police on a cell phone - twice, IIRC.......

I instead, would find it comforting to have a firearm at-the-ready, in-hand, locked and loaded and ready to go in a similar situation as an innocent bystander. But that's just me.

I never wished I was armed. I did wish I had not forgotten my cellphone. I didn't record the license plates.
I think I should have pulled into a parking lot around the corner and continued to observe. Then I might have remembered to write down the license plates. I should have called 911 once I got to a phone.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

To the alleged LE Officer, it was just another day at the office dealing with scum. I wouldn't waste my time calling it in 24 hours later. Real LE has better things to do if the guy WAS LE. -He obviously took care of it.

Besides, from what was witnessed by kerry, the scumbags deserved a little rousting up after their assault of the guy's vehicle. -In fact, I find it humorous to do and get cuffed and pushed to the ground - they deserved it, regardless who the muscle-guy was.


My next door neighbor years ago was a security guard for rock 'n roll events, etc. The guy sported cuffs off the back of his blue jeans under his sweatshirt at all times. He was another rough and tumble looking type of guy - fighting and security was his avocation. Some guys live for confrontation.....maybe that's all this was.

Let it go, and get armed would be my *advise.