Thanks for all the responses. I didnt realize the post had switched forums...
Anyway, a few things, I wasnt whining about anything. I broke the law, I knew what I was doing before I was busted, and I never tried to tell the officer I wasnt guilty. I did tell him I didnt think the situation warranted a ticket, and tried to explain my reasoning and perspective. But of course he simply gave me the "just doing my job" lines, which is true, tho I dont agree with it. So I took the ticket and continued to working, running as many lights as I could on the way.
Anthony King posted (#35) the basic response I was going to make to all the people replying about the immorality of running a red light.
The real issue is I'm not in a car, I'm on a bike. It's silly to force bikes to follow car laws. There are some situations that require different reactions and responses.
To all the red light nay sayers, I ride a bike for the specific reason of being able to blow stop signs and red lights, as well as zipping in between rush hour traffic. If I want to sit and wait for lights to change colors to tell me what I'm allowed to do, I'd drive a car. I'm not saying everyone on a bike should have this mentality, people should ride in whatever manner is comfortable and enjoyable for them. But dont think you're taking some higher moral ground by sitting at a red light. And please dont attack people who like a bike (and not a car), on the grounds of a "negative image about bikers" because the problem is the law is not representative of the needs of a certain population (in this case bikes).
As far as the ticket, I posted because I've never received a ticket on a bike before. I was curious of what kind of ramifications there are. I'll be contesting the ticket.
And to the question of where this was, SoCal baby. specifically San Diego. Theres one cop, by the name of officer Thompson, known by all the local bikers, thats out to give as many bike tickets as possible. No other officers care, they realize being on a bike puts you in a different situation than in a car, so if you're running a light with no cross traffic, no ones the worse. And beyond that, they have more important things to be doing than busting a biker. How many cars made some kind of illegal manuver in the amount of time it took the cop to write up my ticket? And I wonder how many shootings and robberies were occurring on the other side of downtown. But this cop likes to hang around where the messengers are, just so he can teach them a lesson about following the traffic laws. Doesnt seem like the best allocation of tax funds.