What Should You Do - And Not Do - During A Police Vehicle Stop?

4-18-2

It is normal to be nervous when you see those blue and red strobe lights in your rearview mirror.

You may be wondering: Why me? What did I do? Why is that cop "picking" on me? Well, guess what. The police officer is also very concerned.

So-called routine vehicle stops are one of the most dangerous functions a law enforcement officer conducts. It,s an unfortunate fact that police officers are killed, or seriously injured, every year while conducting traffic stops.

What steps can you take, as a law-abiding person, to help reduce the stress and danger involved with police vehicle stops?

Here are a few ideas suggested by law enforcement:

1. It is important to understand why a police officer may be stopping you in the first place. Law enforcement may not only stop your vehicle if they observe a traffic or equipment violation, but also because your vehicle may match one used in a crime, or they may want to warn you about a potentially dangerous situation, or the officer thinks you may need help, or you may have witnessed a crime.

2. When you see the blue and/or red overhead flashing lights (and/or hear a siren), remain calm, slow down and pull over in a safe location off the roadway. Quick security tip: Some states may use only red, or only blue, or a combination of both colors for police emergency lighting so be sure to check with the jurisdiction in which you are traveling for this important information.

3. Please do not exit your vehicle unless you are asked to do so. This is both for your safety and for the safety of the law enforcement officer. Anyone exiting their car during a vehicle stop will make an officer VERY nervous. Remember, the police do not know what condition you are in, who you are, or what may happen next. Don't exacerbate the situation.

4. Keep your hands in plain view by placing them on the steering wheel so the law enforcement officer can see them.

5. If you are stopped at night, please turn on your interior lights (i.e., dome light).

6. Be sure to inform the officer if you have any weapons in the vehicle and their location. Do not reach or point to the weapon's location.

7. Avoid any sudden movements, especially toward the floorboard, rear seat or passenger side of the vehicle.

8. Please comply with the law enforcement officer,s request to see your driver,s license, vehicle registration and insurance information. Quick security tip: If any of these documents are out of reach, please tell the officer where they are located before you get them.

9. It is best to answer all questions honestly, and to avoid becoming argumentative with the officer.

10. If the police officer does issue you a citation, and if you don't understand the reason, please cordially ask the officer for details of your violation. Quick security tip: Remember, if you disagree with the violation, you will have the chance to address the issue in court.

11. If the law enforcement officer asks you to sign the citation please do so. Quick security tip: signing a ticket is not an admission of your guilt, and in some states, your refusal to sign a citation could result in your arrest.

12. You have the right to politely refuse a request by a law enforcement officer to search your vehicle unless probable cause exists. Then the officer has the right to search your vehicle without your consent.

13. In general, a police officer will provide you with his or her name and the reason you are being stopped, upon request.

14. If an unmarked police car signals you to pull you over, especially at night, and you are not sure the person is a law enforcement officer, please put on your four-way (hazard) flashers and dome light, and slowly drive to the closest well-lit public area. If you still are not comfortable with the situation, you may ask the officer for a marked police vehicle to stand by during your stop.

If you have a complaint about your treatment during a traffic stop, contact the officer,s law enforcement agency within a reasonable amount of time and ask to speak with a supervisor.

On the other hand, if you have a compliment about the officer, please be sure to take a moment and write a letter of appreciation to the officer,s department.

A final thought: Please remember that when a law enforcement officer pulls you over, he does not know whether you are a law- abiding person or a wanted mass murderer. That is why he must take reasonable steps for the safety of all parties involved including himself. Therefore, it is always best to be cooperative and polite during a vehicle stop. If you are courteous to the officer, he will, in the great majority of cases, be professional and respectful to you.

Staying Safe with Bruce Mandelblit is a regular column for the readers of NewsMax.com and NewsMax.com magazine. Bruce welcomes your security, safety and crime prevention questions. He will answer questions of general interest in his column. Bruce,s email address is: CrimePrevention123@yahoo.com.

Bruce is a nationally known security specialist, as well as a highly decorated reserve Law Enforcement Officer. He also writes a column for the trade publication Security Magazine.

Bruce was recently commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel the commonwealth,s highest honor by Governor Paul E. Patton for his public service.

Bruce is also an active screenwriter. The synopsis of his latest completed script is available to bone fide agents and producers upon request.

This column is for general information purposes only. Please contact your local law enforcement agency for information specific to you and your jurisdiction. ___

Comment

Michael Martin Auckland, New Zealand 4-18-2

Do you know what that sounds like to me? It sounds exactly like the sort of advice police officers used to give us 30 years ago on how to deal with an armed robber. Don't make him nervous, no sudden moves, just co-operate and nobody will get hurt, etc.

Well, now that the United States incarcerates more people per capita than any nation on earth (including the former Soviet Union, Red China and South Africa), the armed robbers, rapists, Sons of Sam and Unabombers are mostly either dead or doing 20-to-life behind bars. They aren't terrorizing the streets the way they used to when I was growing up. For the first time in living memory, it is now safer to walk in New York City's Central Park than in London's Piccadilly Circus.

Now, it's the police that ordinary Americans have to be afraid of.

Back in 1986, I worked in Maracaibo and Caracas in Venezuela for several months, and I saw how law was enforced there. There were soldiers with automatic weapons at various checkpoints, demanding ID at random. The authorities there were not public servants at all, but a hostile army of military occupation. Now, law enforcement in the U. S. more and more resembles Latin America, as we saw at Waco, Ruby Ridge and with Elian Gonzalez.

The article's closing paragraph says it all:

A final thought: Please remember that when a law enforcement officer pulls you over, he does not know whether you are a law-abiding person or a wanted mass murderer.

Thanks a heap, guys! That attitude is what I always suspected. Now, I know.

One may ask, What's the alternative? Well, let me tell you.

Three years ago, I physically left the United States and moved to New Zealand. (Metaphysically, the America I grew up in and loved left me about the time of the first Bush administration, and went whoring after the strange gods of corporate fascism, nihilism and neo-paganism). The contrast could not be more marked.

Here in New Zealand, police officers do not normally carry sidearms at all. There are SWAT teams (Armed Offenders Squadrons) to handle armed and dangerous criminals. Out in the countryside, police carry pistols in a locked gun safe in the trunks of their cars, since an AOS can be hours away. However, traffic police in major cities do not carry sidearms. Their standard "Sam Brown Belt" is equipped with a baton, pepper spray and handcuffs. That is all they usually need to handle day-to-day situations. Body armor is carried in the trunks of patrol cars, but is normally not needed. For all those restrictions, being a cop in Auckland is much safer than it is in most U.S. cities. Only 25 police officers have died in the line of duty in all of New Zealand's history, and the police, in turn, have shot and killed only 21 people since 1941.

Furthermore, when I talk to constables on the beat here, they are courteous and professional, but also stable, relaxed and not terribly excitable. I don't get the impression of dealing with a live grenade with the pin missing, like I did with U.S. cops.

The fact is, most countries in the developed world simply do not tolerate It; from their police the kind of self-righteous mayhem that U.S. cops feel entitled to exercise on their citizens as a routine part of their jobs. Here in Auckland, I respect the authority of the police, but I do not fear them. I know they are on my side, and I don't have to be wary of being shot 40 times for the dastardly crime of reaching for my cell phone.

If U.S. cops want to be respected by the people again, then they need to return to being respectable. If they want to be storm troopers, they can join the Green Berets, the SEALS or the Rangers.

I'm not saying that all U.S. cops should be disarmed like they are here in New Zealand, although I think taking pistols away from traffic cops wouldn't be such a bad idea. The main thing is that constables here have it drilled into them that they do not have any special rights as police officers, only duties. Once in a while, you hear about the occasional cop going bad, but what you don't see here is institutionalized corruption such as the L.A.P.D. Ramparts scandal.

As long as U.S. cops think they are starring in a Clint Eastwood movie, and continue to act like hostile armies of military occupation instead of peace officers, I intend to stay on this side of the Big Pond. When and if the people of America decide to "return to their first love," become a part of the civilized world again, and to demand that their police concentrate on righting wrongs, instead of wronging the right, I will reconsider.

I hope American law enforcement personnel read your Website and this message. It would delight me no end if more police officers would start reflecting on the morality of their jobs, and upon just what it means to serve and protect.

What Should You Do - And
Not Do - During A Police Vehicle Stop?
By Bruce Mandelblit
NewsMax.com