How to keep the police on your side

reply to post by Voxel
Very good advice.

I too have gotten out of a few tickets because I am respectful and honest when pulled over.

Thank you for sharing.

Starred!

My brothers an officer and this really happened.

I was driving my BMW Z3 (5 speed manual of course) to work at 6:30 a.m. in the summer with the top down and some great music playing when I pulled up to a light.

Of course I pull up to a corvette (not a Z6). We look at each other, a couple of guys that want a morning rush.. nothing more... and hit it at the green. I pull ahead .. six cylinders screaming ... beating him out of the hole when he passes me with that Detroit 8 Cylinder and he pushes off to the left onto the freeway.

When he passed me.. I was up to 110 miles an hour .. I never saw the police officer on a side street to the right.

He pulls me over.. my hands on the wheel, the car off and the music playing. He looks at me in my suit and tie, the car and he says "nice song" (U2U me and I'll tell ya the song)

I tell him "I am sorry officer, I have a brother who is an officer in such and such city his name is so and so. The officer says to wait, he turns around and goes to his car for a few minutes and returns. Yep he says! There is an officer named so and so in whatcha macallit city. I know you know better... be careful... and have a nice day.. off I go to a board meeting and an incredible story that's never been equalled!

[edit on 22-12-2008 by ArcAngel]

Originally posted by juveous
Now respect will earn you respect but charm will earn you likability.

So true! I totally forgot to mention the likability factor.

I was pulled over once coming home from White Castle. I blew past a cop sitting at an intersection and I saw him turn to follow in the rear view. I didn't slow down because I was close to home...and hungry. A few minutes later and it was lit up like christmas in my rear view.

The cop was from another nearby township to my own. I continued driving down the road for about 15 more seconds before beginning to come to a stop so that I could be sure I was within my own town's lines. Where I live, this is important because when they are outside of their own jurisdiction they need to have a local officer on hand for searches, arrests, and that sort of thing.

So anyway I greeted him and he started off already sounding angry and short. His first question was, "Yeah, license and registration? Why were going so fast?"

As I started fetching my papers, I told him that, "Well..", I let out a short nervous chuckle, "..I just got some White Castle and wanted to just get home and eat!"

He grabbed my license and registration and laughs, "No #? We were all just talking about going there." He didn't look at my license or registration. He just looked longingly across the car at my bag of White Castle. Then he handed me back my identification and gave me a typical friendly "Keep it down." warning before leaving.

Jon

Originally posted by AgentBlack
reply to post by Revealation

 

it's so clear now. you live in new york. just cause you live in a morally corrupt state you think all cops are bad. the officers down here are good folks who do the job for little pay

Not NY cop

I'm sure this kid deserved this

A Few Good Folks

Voxel......Nothing wrong with your suggestions and this is the best course of action for most people. It just unfortunately doesn't work for me. I always get the special guy with the chip on his shoulder.

The job changes them.I had many friends who have become cops and they all changed.

I'm sorry but i have to disagree with the interrogation part. Right there you are giving up one of your rights, basically Self Incrimination. As far as I am concerned If you drive like a civil person and not an animal you wont be pulled over in the first place. Everything else is good advice

Easier version (no risk of getting a ticket this way):

Don't get pulled over. How? Don't break the law in the first place.

Forget the mind games, tricks and psychology.

Obey the law.

This amazingly obscure method has prevented me from even getting pulled over since I started driving 12 years ago.


[edit on 12/22/08 by Angry Danish]

I just called a close friend of mine who works graveyard for a large municipality in North Texas. I ran this all by him, he had this for input.

He says a lot of whats said as far as politeness is a good idea. He also commented on Concealed Carry Permits, and agreed with the user that it will alleviate a bit of suspicion on whoever he just stopped as the State already took the time to check the guy's record. He also like the domelight idea.

As far as getting out of a ticket he said it all depends. He is a patrol officer in a bad part of town. Lots of drugs, guns, etc. He said a patrol officer in his position usually stops cars for traffic violations just to see what they are doing in the area. If his suspicion meter doesn't spike he usually doesn't ticket the driver, regardless of how they act, unless they treat him with total disdain. He said the reason he lets them go is that if its just some normal joe going home through his area, letting him go gets him in service faster and allows him another chance to catch an actual bad guy. He said it doesn't matter how nice you are to him, if he detects any narcotics odor or sees any paraphenalia, or finds out you have a weapons offense on your record, hes pulling you out of the car, and getting in your business.

He mentioned that normal people usually don't see traffic stops like that anyway, because its usually on cars full of dope heads.

He said the motorcycle cops, and traffic cops, will usually write you a ticket no matter what.

He also told me about something called "Step Grants" where the state pays overtime money for additional traffic enforcement. He said if the officer is running radar for a step grant the person getting pulled over probably will get a ticket regardless, because they have to report the numbers to the state and results effect the amount of money the agency will get the next time.

I wanted to point out that I title this thread "How to keep the police on your side" because I really do believe that a majority of the police are on the side of the public. I have this probably naive impression that most of them, at least where I live, are doing what they do because they want to help people.

I have been the passenger when friends have been pulled over and I have seen what they have done wrong. There is usually one distinct moment where they said something or did something that turned the cop from being "on their side" to against them.

My post was just ways to minimize the chance of having a cop turn against you. You are still going to have racist cops, bad day cops, and general asshole cops but they are the minority.

Jon

All very good ideas, I have been stopped a few times for minor things, ie: no front license plate, license plate light out. Never for speeding though, the best advice is just simply....DON'T SPEED.



Exiting your vehicle is a BAD and extremely dangerous move on your part. Here recently in my area 2 highway patrols have been shot at upon pulling a vehicle over. One highway patrol was still buckled in his seatbelt when they found him....do not exit your vehicle unless told to.


Be courteous and kind, all of my traffic stops have ended with me just shootin the breeze with the officer.

Also, if you think because you cross a county line or city limit sign the officer cannot do anything your wrong. The patriot act has put a stop to that, a city cop can follow you as far as he wants until backup arrives to nail you if he feels the need.

To Everyone who *THINKS* that police are on our side...

First of all, if your on this site, then you are aware of the countless number of articles about recent police brutality. The police, have been trained since 911 to treat everything like its a homeland security breach. Police, are the people who can take away our human rights. Not the judge, not the jury, the police find you first. Yes they may be our brothers, sisters, mothers or fathers- police are people, but they also dont give a # about our rights.

Case in point:

This happened to me in 2002. This is byfar the worst police story, for someone who is so literally innocent. The police took it, to an entirely new level.

I have an expensive sports car. Im coming home from a girlfriends house up in DC, and I get lost in a particular bad part of town trying to find the interstate, and I pass by a cop who is just sitting there. Im like whatever- and I find my way back to the interstate and Im on the road.

So, I was driving home from DC to my home about 25 miles away, when all of assudden I begin noticing that there are cops in the medians, who are pulling out of the medians and onto the interstate as I pass. I begin to get paranoid. I wasnt speeding, and I wasnt doing anything illegal, so I laughed to myself and said, surely they must be heading towards a crime somewhere. 10 miles later, they are still behind me, and I pass ANOTHER police vehicle in the median lane of the interstate who pulls out to follow me. At this point I really begin freaking out. I already had a huge fear of the police, but what happened to me next, was really the icing on the cake.

All of assudden, before I knew It, the police cars passed me, and turned on their lights, barracading me in against them- and the police behind me. They slowed down to a stop, stopping all traffic on the interstate, the freaking interstate. Then, to my amazement and horror I heard the sound of a police chopper coming down and landing on the freaking interstate. The cops surround my vehicle and tell me to get out of the car with my hands up- I got out of the car totally freaking out- and had 15 cops with their guns on me. They tell me to lie down on the interstate, and I do, and totally ruin my outfit.

I am totally freaking out. OK I am totally freaking out, I have no idea what the hell is going on, and Im thinking (did I kill someone in my sleep)? NO- apparantly when they asked why I was driving a stolen vehicle- they forgot to check to see if I was indeed the owner of the car. I said, over and over and over again that I was the owner- had my license, registration to prove it. They had me in the police car, in handcuffs waiting for 30 minutes discussing their # up, and they did that so they wouldn’t look completely #ing stupid for blockading an interstate for no #ing reason. They let me go after an hour- and I was completely hysterical. I had a full blown panic attack.

4 Months earlier, someone stole my vanity plates, so I reported it to the police. Not knowing how the "system" worked at the age of 22, I went to the DMV to get new plates and they asked me if I wanted a reprint of my vanity plates. I said- hell yea (because I had really badass personlized plates)- and they reissued me my old (stolen) plates. I figured, that would be in the system, somewhere. Apparantly not.

I contacted a lawyer the next day, claiming emotional distress, but he said I had no case against the police or the DMV, So I never pressed charges.

That is just one, of many examples of police brutality and absurd reactive displays of absolute power. Other personal examples of mine include policemen offering a dropped ticket if I "service them". I have never gotten off a ticket. I have never gotten a warning. I have however, gotten much disrespect from the "law".

Question who you Obey.
~Xynephadyn


[edit on 22-12-2008 by xynephadyn

[edit on 22-12-2008 by xynephadyn]

Don't listen to the nuts who think that police officers are out to get everyone. Fortunately, this is simply not the case. They have enough work to do without randomly selecting people to harrass (generally speaking - obviously there are some bad police officers - just as there are bad people).

Trust me, the OP is right when it comes to being honest and respectful. I can't count the number of people I didn't ticket/arrest just because they didn't give me a hard time. This, of course, applied only to minor offenses. That being said, there were a lot of people that I arrested who actually thanked me by time we got to intake. It is all on the way you treat people.

I can honestly say that I never went out of my way to give someone a hard time for no reason. We always had a saying, "If you want to be an butthole, I can be a bigger one."

xynephadyn, you should be thanking the police for doing their job. What if your vehicle would have been stolen, as you reported? They would have recovered it, and brought the thief to justice.

Perhaps it is just a result of your young age - I do not know. In any case, they were just doing their job.

I could write you a book about my incredible encounters with bad cops. Including my own brother. I want to add another tactic to be immune from false charges by cops. Get on Lucifers' good side; become blessed by
Satan and you will have no problems with cops making up tickets or charges. You just have to deal with the other results...
I started doing some other things too, like becoming a member of PrePaid Legal. Most cops know what it is, because they often are members themselves. And they know that if they write you a ticket, you will have a lawyer in court. A good lawyer. Hassle. I also keep a baby seat in the back, tho I have no kids. I keep a Marine bumper sticker, a AAA, and a Firemans sticker on the car. I keep the car clean and stay under 5 mph over the limit. I stop, and don't ricky race to go. And I still get crapped on. San Diego, what can I say; the most corrupt in the nation, from what I have seen and heard. Take it to court, and learn that the judges are in the same 'club' as the cops. I don't talk to anyone, well maybe gangbangers, with disrespect or disdain, and it does not matter. I am not on Lucifers' good side.

reply to post by JBurns


WTF EVER! 15 police cars? Blocking an interstate? A Helicopter? Pulled guns on me? By merely a suspicion of a stolen vehicle?

What are you smoking?

reply to post by xynephadyn


The question should be what are you smoking. Wares the proof to back your story up. Until theirs proof you just appear as another kid trying to prove a point with a lie.

If you need to slow down, shift the car into neutral.

You will gradually lose speed without triggering your brake lights.

Edit: And smoking a doob while you are driving or riding in a car is stupid. Yes, I have done it, and yes, it was stupid every single time.

Always cracks me up hearing about somebody getting pulled over with a pound or two in the trunk, all because they were burning one on the way to make the delivery. Worthy of a Darwin award IMO.

[edit on 22-12-2008 by Symbiote]

This also worked for my two teenaged drivers: there are any number of worthy police-related charities, whether survivor benefits or local museums or sports support, and they provide window decals -- as many as you request. I placed the decals in the rear window left side -- where an approaching officer will see it. They generally recognize the crests and decals for local charities. It's one additional gesture to relax them -- aside from being a good charity in any case. Both my sons were stopped more than once, and through a combination of advice given above, and quite possibly the decals, they only got warnings.

'Big Jim' in Galveston

I am very curious to find out two things:
A) What city do you live in?
B) What's your ethnicity?

What you mentioned is pretty common knowledge, what you fail to realize is you were just lucky.

www.smartmoney.com...

If a cop doesn't like you from the get-go, perhaps due to your ethnicity or the way you dress, he WILL screw you over. Another important factor to consider is, you guessed it - the economy. If a (I'm trying really hard from not using a certain derogatory term against police officers) feels his job is in jeopardy, HE WILL go in a ticket-spree trying to steal money from the real 'working class.' The system demands them to - it needs to for its survival.

Personally, I am disgusted and I disrespect every 'police officer' on or off-duty... they are the enforcers of this system you all claim to detest. If history is an indicator of present times, perhaps the Nuremberg trials should teach us "just doing my job" is NOT an excuse.

Originally posted by codex code
Thank you for this great information voxel! great guidelines on how to conduct yourself when your being stopped or questioned by authority… for some reason, when I'm driving, whenever I see a cop my heart starts to race and I become very nerves even though I didn't do anything wrong

. I've never been stopped by a police officer before, am law abiding citizen not a conceited person, so if it should happen I don't know how I would react!

Thank you again

I get this way too! I have an uncle that works on the force, and I think I always think of him when I see a cop, and what would he think.

What the OP said is right though. I would feel better telling the truth, making it just a routine stop for the officer, rather than making up a convoluted story and getting caught in a lie, which ends up making things look even more suspicious, even if I have nothing to hide. You have to realize that they are probably thinking 'O God, will this be the end?'

And to those who think that cops are all corrupt: HA! If they were all corrupt, they would get paid off, and my uncle could actually afford to give his kids a decent xmas! Now, I wont say that there are cops on the take, because I know there are. But I would say MOST cops are decent guys and gals, trying to keep people safe and make a living!