Can Police Tailgate You Legally in Washington State?

Most likely this has happened to you before if you have been driving long, but is it legal?

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Have You Been Tailgated by Police Before?

Almost everyone I know has at least one story where they have had a police officer follow them unsafely close for long stretches of road for seemingly no reason. Yes, sometimes a driver does something to catch the attention of a patrol officer but even then does it give police the right to follow so close that you can't even see the hood of their car? A lot of people that I have talked to that have experienced that say they were doing nothing to deserve the unwanted sudden aggression they got from police cars following them. Mostly I always thought that those kind of people had done something wrong until it happened to me the other day.

Patrol Officer Tailgaiting One Car Suddenly Moved Behind Me

I am not going to go into the details of which police department or where it happened, but last weekend I was driving down a long straight 4-lane road ( 2 lanes in each direction) in a group of 5 cars. The speed limit was 35 mph, I was driving in the right lane in front of the group, and we were all going under 37 mph and driving very normally. The 5th car in the group was a police officer who was following the car in front of him very closely in the left lane. Shortly after the first light, that car turned off and the officer suddenly aggressively moved up behind me in the right lane.

All the other cars in the pack had turned off ( I wonder why) and the officer could have easily pulled around me on the right at any time. I had already been watching him tailgate the last driver for around 2 miles before he moved on to me. He was so close to the back of my car while we were driving that I could not see the hood of his car at all, only the windshield and his lights. After seeing him pull behind me I just set my cruise control to 36 mph and let him follow me. I figured he would eventually back off but he didn't. He followed me within half of a car length for about 4 miles. During this time I am sure he ran my plate, knew exactly who I was, and that I was now just a few blocks from my home.

The Officer Then Pulled Beside Me

As I got within a half mile of my neighborhood, the officer finally pulled next to me aggressively and then paced my speed. I needed to merge into the left lane he was in to turn so I tried to slow down but the offer slowed down with me blocking me in the right lane. He slowed with me until I reached about 25 mph and then I managed to slide in behind him and make my left turn into my neighborhood, but barely. Heck, after that I half expected him to come around the block and drive by my house but he never did.

I Feel Like I Was Harassed

The longer he followed me unsafely for no reason, the more I felt like he was harassing me. I have been bullied before by people with road rage and it was a lot like this incident. I would expect if ANY OFFICER ever witnessed a civilian being tailgated and then harassed like I was on the road that the assailant would be pulled over and written up or arrested. After my incident, I went home and did some research about what police can and cannot do and one forum I went to had officers explaining reasons why it might happen and if it was legal.

Police Officer Says "Patrol Officers That Tailgate Are..."

One officer giving advice in the forum said that if "he" was driving close behind you it was probably because they were on their "way to a call (and) need to get there quickly, but running code (lights and sirens) is not within policy or would not be tactically sound." They say to just move to the right lane and let them pass. The officer goes on to say that in all other cases "if they continue to tailgate after you have moved over, they are dicks." He explains that they are trying to intimidate you into making a driving violation so they can pull you over. In Washington State "Law Enforcement officers are responsible for conducting traffic stops when they have reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or a criminal violation" which obviously did not happen in my case. It does not say anywhere that they can unsafely follow behind even if they are going to pull you over for any reason. An officer does not need to be that close to read your license plates.

What Does Washington State Law Say?

Washington State Law RCW 46.61.145 -Following Too Closely says "(1) The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway. Most places I could find refer to a 3 or 4 second count between you and the car in front of you depending on your speed. The officer was easily less than a half second behind me and we were both lucky that nothing jumped out in front of me. If I had been doing anything wrong at all he had 4 miles to pull me over and knew exactly where I lived. The police officer giving advice in the forum says that if that happens to you that you should "contact their dispatch or supervisor to report it when lawfully possible." I feel it is fine for an officer to follow me at a safe distance, especially if they think I did something. However, the way I was treated by that patrol officer should not just be frowned upon but I feel should be illegal just like it is for any civilian with road rage.