Originally Posted by
Milton Keynes
What guilt was assumed? A police officer is not required to write everyone they pull over a ticket, and it doesn't sound like he had any intention of writing him one. Just a warning that he was hard to see without a light on the rear of his bike. Basically just a safety stop with a routine warrant check.
Seriously, if I were riding at night and my taillight quit working, and a cop stopped me to let me know I was hard to see, I'd be grateful.
In Germany, you would not be allowed to ride your bike. A German colleague told me a story about friends who were caught by the police without working taillights. They were not ticketed, but the officer followed them as they walked their bikes home.