Photo: McDonald's
In April last year, Jason Stiber from Norwalk, Connecticut, was pulled over and ticketed for distracted driving, on the claims that he’d been caught using a cellphone while driving.
He would spent the next year and a considerable amount of money to fight that $300 ticket, more as a matter of principle. A judge recently ruled in his favor, admitting that the state couldn’t hold its burden of proof and that Stiber was, in fact, eating McDonald’s when he was ticketed.
That’s what the man had been saying all along, too. He initially went to court and represented himself, and lost. Then, he hired attorney John Thygerson and went back to court, and came out victorious this time. He provided the court with a receipt from McDonald’s and phone records that proved that he had not been on the phone when he got pulled over.
Officer Shawn Wong Won claimed that he saw Stiber moving his mouth while holding something that looked like a phone, with an illuminated screen, close to his face. Stiber argued that he was chewing (hence the movement of his lips) and that he was actually holding a hash brown from McD’s.
Stiber and his attorney also showed the court that the officer was on his 15th hour of a double shift, which would explain why his eyesight wasn’t working properly. The judge agreed.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Stiber explains why he picked such an apparently silly fight with the police over a simple ticket for distracted driving: these tickets go on your record and make your insurance premiums go up. Most of the times, people don’t even realize it.
“That’s why I did it, because I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through this. Other people don’t have the means to defend themselves in the same way,” he says. “I definitely haven’t eaten as many (hash browns) as I have previously, but I still go to McDonald’s for other things. It’s been a long ordeal.”
His attorney also spared a thought for the officer who caused all this: “It just is proof that police officers – there’s nothing nefarious here – but that police officers are human and make mistakes. That’s all.”
That’s what the man had been saying all along, too. He initially went to court and represented himself, and lost. Then, he hired attorney John Thygerson and went back to court, and came out victorious this time. He provided the court with a receipt from McDonald’s and phone records that proved that he had not been on the phone when he got pulled over.
Officer Shawn Wong Won claimed that he saw Stiber moving his mouth while holding something that looked like a phone, with an illuminated screen, close to his face. Stiber argued that he was chewing (hence the movement of his lips) and that he was actually holding a hash brown from McD’s.
Stiber and his attorney also showed the court that the officer was on his 15th hour of a double shift, which would explain why his eyesight wasn’t working properly. The judge agreed.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Stiber explains why he picked such an apparently silly fight with the police over a simple ticket for distracted driving: these tickets go on your record and make your insurance premiums go up. Most of the times, people don’t even realize it.
“That’s why I did it, because I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through this. Other people don’t have the means to defend themselves in the same way,” he says. “I definitely haven’t eaten as many (hash browns) as I have previously, but I still go to McDonald’s for other things. It’s been a long ordeal.”
His attorney also spared a thought for the officer who caused all this: “It just is proof that police officers – there’s nothing nefarious here – but that police officers are human and make mistakes. That’s all.”
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