Emporia, Virginia Speed Traps

usually sit west of the town proper

Constant. all day and all night. Will ticket for 5-9 miles over posted limit. It’s all the police here seem to do.

State patrol cars in median strip between 4-lane highway and in side roads intersecting Hwy 58. I recently traveled Hwy 58 and saw 5 state patrol cars with pulled-over vehicles within 10 mi East of Emporia, VA.

US HWY 58 is basically the only route for active-duty military to travel from their hometowns to their duty stations in Hampton Roads (the largest concentration of military bases is the U.S.). It pours in the traffic from both interstate highways 85 and 95. Speed limit is 55 for most of the highway, which is rediculous in and of itself. The state patrol preys on unwary victims along this entire highway. I recieved my only ticket here for 67 in a 55. As soon as I told the trooper that I was military, he stopped asking questions and immediately made me leave my vehicle and sit in the passenger seat of his vehicle where he lectured me while writing my citation. Emporia PD is even worse. They are everywhere when the speed limit changes from 55 to 45 (again, rediculous). They are rude, intimidating, and harassing. I more than once have had to drive to Emporia to bail my sailors out of jail for events that began as minor traffic offenses, where the officers state that my sailors escalated the situation by making un-needed comments. They litterally fund the town by the money that they make off of our military personnel. My only savior driving from my hometown of Charlotte, NC to my base in Norfolk, using this route, is that I had Virginia plates. It seems that every officer that you meet on this highway swears that he was once in the military himself, but has no bones with citing every military member that they see. I am now a civilian police officer in Colorado, and I am disgusted by the fact that my fellow brothers of the officers act in this manner.

I was issued a ticket for 80 in a 65 by an Emporia police officer on the afternoon of March 22, 2004. The officer was most interested in citing me and moving on to his next victim, which benefitted me when he wrote down the license plate of my vehicle inaccurately. I decided that I wasn’t gonna roll over, and a month and a half later drove back to Emporia to appear in court. In court, the officer stated that he had been stopped in the crossover when he observed me (He wasn’t- as indicated by the notation "moving radar" on the ticket). Based on this, and the incorrect identification of the vehicle, the Judge dismissed the case. However, more disturbing to me was the fact that the officer was willing to commit perjury in an attempt to secure a conviction. I’m beginning to wonder if there are grounds for a class-action extortion case against the Emporia Police department (and possible the courts if they are complicit in this). This overzealous prosecution and enforcement is REAL. If at all possible, go and fight these tickets. If you win, they have to bear the court costs. Just paying up only encourages these uniformed bandits.