Pulled over for antennas

[lnx64]

Well, I'm not really sure how to go about this one. The cop must have been a complete idiot is all I can think. The ticket is already thrown away after I called the courthouse, but let's begin.

Today I was pulled over by a cop, who spotted the 3 antennas on the back of my car. He started off by saying "what is your business with all these antennas?". I informed him I am an amateur radio operator (as my license plate clearly says, but I didn't say that), and these are my radio antennas, one VHF and two different UHF's. I pointed to the radio in my center console. He saw that it was on scan mode and saw the screen flashing all sorts of different things. (I scan the repeaters). He said "No I think that's a scanner, and that's illegal in the state of florida for a motorist to be using". I explained it is not a scanner, and I am licensed to have and use this equipment. He wouldn't accept my radio license card, and instead wrote me a ticket.

I called the courthouse, (ironically, where I got my damn license!!), and explained I am a ham radio operator, here's my call sign. They looked it up on the FCC site, and almost imediately once they verified it was me, they through out the ticket, and apologized. End of story there.

But my god, I have never been pulled over for my antennas on my car before. Maybe it was because I drive an old police Caprice? Did he think maybe I was trying to impersonate a cop or something? Surely the ham radio tag would have been a clear sign that it's not the case, but I am just so dumbfounded right now.