Deputy "Accidentally" Misread License Plates - March 22, 2023
- 6 months ago
On March 22nd, 2023, a sheriff's deputy in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana ran a plate on a motorcycle. He read it correctly the first time, but when he repeated it, he switched two of the numbers. It naturally returned to something different than the Harley it was on (I know that person, he rides a Harley not a Yamaha), giving the deputy PC to stop it on suspicion of "switched plates." Note that he did not correct the dispatcher when she read back the numbers, and that he did not re-read the plate at any time after stopping the bike.
Shortly after that stop, he did the same thing with another vehicle. He read the plate correctly at first, but when he repeated it, he changed one of the numbers. Just like the first stop, the dispatcher read back the numbers and he did not correct her. He stopped the vehicle on suspicion of "switched plates." After he made the stop, the dispatcher asked him to verify the plate number (she must've listened to the radio recording again), and he read it correctly that time. After determining the car and the driver were both clear, he let them go.
A few hours later, he ran a handicap license plate on a pickup truck that was parked at a local business. The dispatcher, who was talking to a caller on the 911 emergency line and didn't catch his traffic, asked him to repeat the plate. He apparently didn't have eyes on the vehicle anymore so when he repeated the plate from memory, he got two numbers wrong, and it returned to a different vehicle. That prompted Zeb and his partner to post up and wait for it to get back on the road. They stopped it for the valid but petty reason of (allegedly) expired inspection sticker, and did not call in that they were stopping it. After determining that the driver was clean and had no warrants local or in any of the surrounding parishes, they let him go.
I can understand getting the third plate wrong if he was reciting it from memory - although that whole thing was dubious anyway for multiple reasons. I'm having a hard time believing the first two were legitimate mistakes, given that the dispatcher repeated both wrong numbers and he didn't correct her. This deputy does have a long and documented history of "misreading" license plates. So I guess now the question is, was this just plain incompetence, or was it intentional?
It's also worth noting that "accidentally" misreading the plate, was the tactic used by a Frisco, Texas police officer in July 2023 in that traffic stop gone very bad and very viral.
Shortly after that stop, he did the same thing with another vehicle. He read the plate correctly at first, but when he repeated it, he changed one of the numbers. Just like the first stop, the dispatcher read back the numbers and he did not correct her. He stopped the vehicle on suspicion of "switched plates." After he made the stop, the dispatcher asked him to verify the plate number (she must've listened to the radio recording again), and he read it correctly that time. After determining the car and the driver were both clear, he let them go.
A few hours later, he ran a handicap license plate on a pickup truck that was parked at a local business. The dispatcher, who was talking to a caller on the 911 emergency line and didn't catch his traffic, asked him to repeat the plate. He apparently didn't have eyes on the vehicle anymore so when he repeated the plate from memory, he got two numbers wrong, and it returned to a different vehicle. That prompted Zeb and his partner to post up and wait for it to get back on the road. They stopped it for the valid but petty reason of (allegedly) expired inspection sticker, and did not call in that they were stopping it. After determining that the driver was clean and had no warrants local or in any of the surrounding parishes, they let him go.
I can understand getting the third plate wrong if he was reciting it from memory - although that whole thing was dubious anyway for multiple reasons. I'm having a hard time believing the first two were legitimate mistakes, given that the dispatcher repeated both wrong numbers and he didn't correct her. This deputy does have a long and documented history of "misreading" license plates. So I guess now the question is, was this just plain incompetence, or was it intentional?
It's also worth noting that "accidentally" misreading the plate, was the tactic used by a Frisco, Texas police officer in July 2023 in that traffic stop gone very bad and very viral.