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We live in Boston, MA, and this is the statement I have given my lawyer.

My brother Niko, in his Ford Mustang, and I, in my own vehicle (2007 Crossfire) with my little brother, were driving back from our church basketball league game. It was around 4:35pm on a Sunday and cloudy. I was coming over the hill and saw a police cruiser and police motorcycle parked on the side of the bridge, well out of any radar’s field of view in any direction, that I was coming over, so I put my blinker on, checked my mirror, shoulder-checked, and changed lanes, to give the officers room. I was under the impression that the speed limit was 35 mph, knowing that the opposite side of traffic on the same stretch of Jamaica Plain Way was 35 mph, and seeing a sign further back which stated 35mph as the limit, which is the speed I was travelling. At the most, I could have been going five miles above the speed limit, but that is not likely.
Coming over the top of the hill and continuing down, I saw two State Troopers speaking with a driver of another vehicle parked on the side of the road. One was wearing a bright yellow coat, while the other was in his dark blue uniform. Neither officers had anything in their hands. Both the cruiser and motorcycle were parked on the side of the bridge, where I previously saw them.
The officer in the yellow jacket calmly turned around and proceeded into the closest lane, which my brother was travelling in. He then waved him over to the side of the road, walking into his lane. At the same time, I observed the second uniformed officer strolling through the first lane, and into the lane in which I was travelling. I had to apply my brakes a little harder than usual to avoid striking the officer, since he had strolled into my lane of travel. He waved me over, with me being quite confused and scared, this being the first time I have been pulled over, and having no idea what merited the stop.
One officer approached my brother (the one with the yellow jacket) and stood at his fender on the driver side, while the “blue” officer approached him and asked him for license and registration. After questioning my brother, the officer walks up to me, I roll down my window, and put both hands on my steering wheel, and he asks me for my license and registration. I politely tell him that my license is not on my body, and give him my temporary license, my registration, my full name, and my social security. At some point, I had mentioned that my wallet was in my jeans, along with my license, behind the divider in the trunk area. I just left a basketball game and was wearing my yellow shorts and a simple brown T-shirt, with a black jacket on the outside. The officer asks me how fast I was going, and I responded “The speed limit, but no more than five miles over.” The officer informs me that the limit is not 35, but 25. The officer then proceeds to inquire about the origins of the car, and asks me “Whose car is this?” I tell the officer that it is my car. He then states “that’s not what it says here.” By this point, I was becoming increasingly scared and was very intimidated, but I told the officer “The car is in my father’s name for the cheaper insurance, and the car was a gift to me for high school.” When I had told the officer this, his already stern and gruff attitude had changed to hostile, and he became very belligerent as he further inquired about my vehicle. He asked me in a severe tone if my “daddy” bought me “this nice car,” that “daddy” was probably paying for the insurance, too. He then stated that the car I was driving was too nice for a “kid” my age. During this outburst, I was coming to feel very frightened while I was pulled over, realizing that whatever situation I was in, it had taken a turn for the worse.
While the officer had been questioning my brother (he was pulled over behind me), I had observed more of the same aggressive gestures and body language that was directed towards me. I then saw the “yellow” officer retrieve a radar gun or laser radar gun from his cruiser, and the other officer wave another dark colored car to the side of the road with a malfunctioning taillight, who he spoke to, went to this cruiser to verify information, and promptly let him go. My brother and I were waiting for some time while the officers were pulling other motorists over, letting some of them go ticket-free. Finally, the officer returns to me, reads my citations, and hands me my ticket. I said “Thank you, Officer,” started my car, put on my blinker, checked my mirror, shoulder checked, and merged with traffic.
To reiterate some points, I was going what I thought was the speed limit (which I had wrongfully believed was 35mph), but I was not, in any way, endangering the public, the officers present, myself, or my little brother in the passenger seat. If I was not, the most it could have possibly been was five miles above the limit. The surrounding traffic was doing well in excess of the 25 mph limit, as we
Now, the problem I have is that I was not travelling at 61 mph, nor was I street racing. I was passing my brother at about 40 to 42 mph. Yes, I have admitted to speeding, but I did not do so in such a manner as to endanger the general public, myself, my brothers, or the officers.
So why should I plead guilty to a street racing charge? He never mentioned street racing to me, nor was it stated on my citation. He did, however, write down the provision for street racing on the ticket, but again not informing me.

Technorati Tags: basketball league, blinker, brakes, crossfire, dark blue, fender, ford mustang, jamaica, lawyer, league game, little brother, niko, police cruiser, police motorcycle, radar, speed limit, state troopers, top of the hill, uniformed officer, yellow jacket

Tags: basketball league, blinker, brakes, crossfire, dark blue, fender, ford mustang, jamaica, lawyer, league game, little brother, niko, police cruiser, police motorcycle, radar, speed limit, state troopers, top of the hill, uniformed officer, yellow jacket
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