One would imagine that, after being pulled over for a traffic stop, you’d get a ticket or a warning and then go on with your day. What no one imagines is a cop asking for your information to then use it to stalk you and hit on you online. Sadly, that’s what happened to a woman in Virginia after a sheriff’s deputy pulled her over for a traffic stop. The woman claims the deputy sheriff stopped her due to an expired State Inspection sticker. However, what followed were some creepy interactions with this law enforcement officer.
The shocking story comes from the r/legaladvice Subreddit. In it the OP, who’s acting on behalf of the victim, shared the complete story. According to them, their friend (the woman) was stopped by a sheriff’s deputy in a rural area of Virginia. The deputy sheriff approached her and asked for her license, but not her registration or insurance. She claims the officer went to his vehicle, returned with her license, and told her to leave with only a warning. However, here is where things took a turn.
One day later, the woman received a message on her social media from the deputy sheriff who stopped her. According to the OP and the woman, this officer has a newborn child. Despite that, he was complimenting the woman’s physique.
Naturally, the victim asked her friend to post this on Reddit to look for advice on what to do in this situation. So far, no one has been able to help the affected person. According to some Redditors, the actions of this deputy sheriff are not illegal, at least in the state of Virginia. In other places, it is a different story. However, it appears to be highly unethical, and there’s currently no way to sue the officer.
Another sad thing about the situation is that the woman is afraid of bringing this to the internal affairs division. According to her, the area where she lives, which is also where the deputy sheriff works, is small, so she’s afraid of the community aspect, claiming police officers could harass her family if she brings this situation to the public.
At the moment, it seems that the situation is dire for this woman, and the law is not on her side in this situation, according to some Redditors.
“The actions, if true, are bad. But the law is what the law is. Petition your local delegate if you would like to see it changed.” – TheRealDouglas via Reddit.
It would seem that, even if the deputy sheriff’s actions were terrible, he did nothing illegal. Most LEOs have the authority to look up your information. However, there isn’t a law in Virginia that punishes cops from using said information outside of work. Hopefully, this will change in the future, because this is an alarming situation and another case of law enforcement officers abusing their power.
