Dealing with cops, understanding your rights,.... by a cop.

Originally posted by 11PB11
Hey guys, this is what I do every time I get pulled over and I would advise you to do it too......

I record the conversation on my phone, and I place the phone above the steering wheel on the dash so it has no problem recording. Not that I get pulled over a lot, but i've had my dealings with good and bad cops, and you never know which kind youre getting. So do everyone a favor in keeping the bad cops in check by recording!

Be careful. That is illegal in the great state of Maryland. Its their word against yours, but had it not been for someone video taping the riot at UMD last year, someone would be in jail right now for allegedly assaulting a police officer, and receiving a vicious beating for supposidly doing that.

I have only been pulled over once in my whole life, and honestly have never had a "bad" experience.

Here is what happened when I got pulled over. I was driving through a small town in rural arkansas at night where the speed limit dropped from 55 to 40 pretty quickly.

About a mile after going through the town I saw blue lights behind me even though I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. He asked for all the basic information and I asked him why he pulled me over. He told me that I swerved across the line during the curve (which is bullsh*t, because he had already started following me before I ever got to the curve. )

He also asked me why I was speeding. I said I wasn't and he smirked.

So I asked him how fast his gun said I was going and he said that he didn't get me on his gun, but that it "looked like I was going fast".

He wrote me a warning, and the last thing that I said to him as he walked away was "seriously man, I wasn't speeding". He never said another word.

He basically pulled me over because he felt like it.

reply to post by seeashrink


This is one of the best threads I have come across. you sir sound like a very intelligent police officer and know the law. I was able to play cop in Iraq and I must say it isn't easy, And I had more freedom to commit violence than you. If an Iraqi didn't role down his window , I could bust it out and drag him to the ground, maybe break a few fingers if need be. I never "really" did that but it wasn't America that's for sure.The biggest problem I see is most officers are to afraid and tend to over react or under react, but then again I was a soldier and was subjected to so much violence that I became numb and not afraid, I suppose it would be better to have a normal afraid police officer than a numb PTSD ex-soldier. After all, the officers have families and civilian lives as well.You sir give me hope that there are still police officers that practice "serve and protect" and live by it, please do not change no matter what, trust me you will not be able to look yourself in the mirror.

P.S. do I have to tell an officer that I have a firearm in my vehicle when I am stopped?

I think you are right on. Had many run-ins with police in both professional arena and a couple of traffic stops. 8 out of 10 all good experiences by being polite and not confrontational.

reply to post by seeashrink


In my troubled youth...my friends always wanted me to drive becuase of my uncanny ability to "get off" when pulled over. I will give this advice here as an adendum to what the officer said...

First...whenever I was pulled over...if there is a parking lot nearby or a gas station, someplace off the road...slowly pull in there. It is safer for the cop than having to get out and stand beside your car on a very busy highway.

Second...when you pull over...Turn the car off. I used to put the keys on the dash so the officer would see them.

Put your hands on the steering wheel where he can see them as he approaches...don't start scrounging around for your drivers liscense and insurance yet.

And yes ...be honest..."Have you been drinking tonight?" "Yes, two beers over about an hour and a half...I'll take a road sobrieity test if you like"...if you smell like beer and try to BS you are getting off on the wrong foot.

If you have had a two beers...why are you driving? "Becuase I am sober and my friends here are drunk"

Why were you speeding?..."I wish I had a better answer, but honestly it was plain stupidity. I knew I was in the wrong the minute I saw your lights go on"

Any weapons in the car? "I have a small bat in the back seat."

Etc. Etc. ....Cops deal with a whole lot of A-Holes that lie to them day in and day out. Try to be a pleasant suprise and see what happens.

You would be shocked at the number of times I was let off as a teenager...by the end of my wild days, the local cops knew my name and we had a great relationship and let me go every chance they got. I might have been trouble, but I was honest and friendly with them and never gave them any problems once they showed up.

Originally posted by maxinsurrey
reply to post by seeashrink

 

thank you for info, cannot tell if you are true or not

my main point is this...'officer' in england means 'officer' goes to sandhurst and has the queen's commision, the rest are 'privates' or NCOs = non commisioned officers, and the police in England are 'constables' the like of that I have had trouble with,, my ex-wife calls the police saying I have been violent (no description by her just violent) then me, a professional ...no record ends up banged up in cells for 12 hours and cannot do my job the next day or even call them to tell them why I cannot turn in!!!! A lot of you - not saying you- are mean!!!!! and worse, evil

Do you not think the police should respond? You give little detail and that is up to you but you suggest your ex wife has complained to the police that you have performed a violent act..... should the police ignore anyone who says that? You don't give any further info as to if you can show them you were not in the area at the time, have alibi's, if violence has ocurred (but you are saying you are the innocent party), but ask people to say it must be the police at fault?

The officer/constable thing is nothing more than geography and naming conventions, shouldn't really matter too much, I wouldn't particularly call an army officer 'officer' - why should I? I'm not in the army so unless he/she asks me to and I agree to then I'm not required to address him by rank.

No disrespect to OP, as far as I can tell you are a good LEO.

But, best advice I can give, as I have had one bad run-in w/ the law 10 years ago:

Don't go through small towns after 9:30 PM or so. Depends on the town. They will make up the excuse to pull you over, if you are from out-of-town you are fair game in their book. Since many small towns don't have much economy anymore: cops, lawyers, judges and prisons are the local cottage industry. They need to feed the machine, or they might be out of a job. Many judges become lawyers, and lawyers become judges. They feed off each other.

The local cops are not too busy in these little towns with normal crime w/ victims. They need a mission. The mission is catching you coming through town. They won't mess w/ locals too much, since there might be repercussions......

You might be physically abused or worse, unless you can get an attorney present quickly; If you are travelling, not too likely.

Just get a hotel instead of travelling these little tourist Meccas after dark. Especially in S. Texas, I'm sure there are other areas like this.

Originally posted by lastrebel

Originally posted by Exuberant1
The OP's post reads like an old cold war notice regarding what to do when traveling to a police state, how to behave around that particular state's enforcers, etc.

And then they wonder why they are looked at more like and occupation army than someone there to preserve the peace. I have had several cops tell me more or less the same thing and they were the "good" ones.........but still didnt quite seem to understand they were telling us to basically grovel and take whatever abuse the cop heaped on us. I have meet decent cops...........ran a stoplight that changed right as i got to it once and was pulled over.............ran my name...was a nice guy who rode too and we talked Harley's for 20 mins and he let me off with a warning

But when even the good cops say the best way to react is with complete subservience like medieval serf or something it makes you wonder just what there mindset is.

We are not a nation of serfs or slaves that need to bow and grovel under the eyes of our betters..........we are a nation of freemen with the right to do as we damn well please as long as we arent harming anyone else. We should be free to move about without being harressed just because we fit some profile or because some x schooll bully has had a bad day

Sorry, where did the OP say anything that matches your comments? Boiling things down he did say be honest, it helps, and treat the policeman with the same respect you would wish to receive..... given the scenarios described, if you have an issue with that then I would respectfully suggest it's you who has the issue, not the OP.

I've been pulled over a LOT. Not because of my driving, but for a long time I had a car that was, well, a mess. My inspection sticker had ran out, I had a taillight out, cracked windshield, etc. so it was pretty common place for me to get pulled over whenever an officer saw me in broad daylight.

I've found that respect is the best way to approach this situation. Turn off the car, have your information ready and be polite. "Yes, sir" "I'm sorry, sir" "You're absolutely correct, sir."

There are so many people who want to stand up to law enforcement to either be tough or brag to their peers or "exercise their rights". I could have had thousands of dollars worth of tickets, court dates, fines, etc. But I didn't, thankfully, because I respected the officer, gave him honest answers and treated him as they wish to be treated.

Did I kiss a little butt? Yup, I sure did. Am I particularly proud of that? No.

The bottom line is, treat people the way you want to be treated. You like being respected at your job right?

One thing I noticed about cops as I grew up in Chicago, is that you are guilty until proven innocent. The way they look at you, is like a tiger ready to pounce. I remember one time my friend was hanging out with this one guy and his father at a basketball court at a local park. My friend was telling the father that he sucked and that he would beat him. So the father called the cops.My friend who was heckling the father and song was sitting on his bike. The cop got out of the car, ran forward, and through him off the bike and onto the floor. The cop was drilling her knee into his back as she was yelling at him. ALL THIS just from a little innocent heckling during a basketball game.

Very cool! I always appreciate threads like these. Really cool of you to come out and get into detail about these situations, it's always good to know information and to get an officers point of view.

I have to say I've definitely gotten my fair share of speeding tickets, but I'm always polite, it really does go a long way, most times I haven't gotten a break but you never know, one cop let me go with a warning, I even had a radar detector and he knew about it (Legal in my state) but still.

It really does go a long way to be kind to officers.

Anyway, this one time over the summer at night about 3am, this cop was sitting on the opposite corner of an intersection, I drove by at speed limit, then a few good 100 yards after I sped up, 1 light from my turn, I notice this dark car behind me, no lights, no headlights, then BLAM he pops his lights on. THAT was a very dirty tactic, I was so pissed that he did that, driving with no lights what so ever speeding to catch up to me illegally on a main highway.




But I was still kind and polite. Oh well.

Thesickness. Hey, that's a great drawing (charcoal?) of Bruce you have on the sidebar. Where did you find that ? My son is a big fan of his, and so we got him the DVD set for Christmas last year.

reply to post by seeashrink


greetings, i appreciate your candor in attempting to acheive a civil rational discussion.. my experience with LE was usually good until around 5 years ago. nothing hapened to me personally but being a member of a border tactical unit while in the coast guard (was a marine before that) i witnessed a HUGE mindset change from the good old boy Andy Griffith type into the Denzel Washington in Training Day mentality.
I was going to be a cop after nthe usmc but after ride alongs, i realized 75% of those wearing the badge dishonor it in so many ways. then i realized how corrupt the system has become, witnessed cops only go after the little guys and leave the real crooks alone out of fear of retaliation be it by HAMC members, AB members, G.D, members etc.. then i realized the whole BULLY mentality that has overcome most police nationwide.. then came knowledge of Civil Asset Forfeiture.. wow what a crock, i mean nothing personal against you, i really think you are one of "the good guys" which is proven by your opening a dialogue..

then i go back to what my chief warrant officer while a member of a recon platoon in the usmc "cops pin on their courage andstrap on their balls" rings more true every day.. most cops are only brave against those in fear, never brave in a real sense of bravery.. when was the last time the police engaged in an even handed altercation.. rarely... definiton of a coward in any book.. take for example 10 cops approaching 10 Aryan Brothers equally armed without backup, the cops would get their butts kicked.. of course this would never happen, the wussies would call swat or backup.. sounds like a coward to me.. or how about 10 cops busting a party at a house of 10 marines celebrating a members promotion.. I bet they would be a little more polite than usual huh? or else they would get the crap kicked out of them.. while stationed in socal it was always fun watching the off duty LAPD (etc, etc) bully people.. then they ran into us, a grouped of hardened marines, usually they wussed out, other times they got the crap kicked out of them by us, too embarrassed to report us. i rmeber one drunk cop hitting on my friends girl, bringing his buddies into it.. he pulled a gun on me, which i took from him and pointed it at him, put him on his knees and he turned into the biggest crybaby ever "im sorry man, really i didn't know who you guys were" typical coward.. at 6'3" 240 lbs, a former toughman contest winner, marine trained sniper i can without a doubt guarantee that cops are today BULLIES AND COWARDS.. hurry, call for backup......

reply to post by network dude



Yes, I'm a woman but don't confuse me with my avatar. My point is good manners and honesty will get you much further then arguing and rude behavior. I don't know how good manners got confused with boot-licking or groveling; last I heard they were just good manners and polite behavior. A cop is like anyone else; approach them with courtesy and you will more then likely get it back.

I had an officer pull me over in Madison Wisconsin, it was 3 am and my buddy and I were driving the wrong way in downtown, with out of state Indiana plates. The officer asked me if I was drinking, I told him the truth, I was legal, and he was the most POLITE cop Ive ever seen.. He said "Sir you are driving down a one way the wrong way" do you know where you are going?? and then politely gave me directions and said "HAVE A NICE EVENING" without even running my license. It is about how they SAY it not the words. In INDIANA cops seem to be generally good with the occasional a hole. And 10 cop cars will show up blaring spotlights and K9s b/c u have a tail light out! But one thing they think, is that they have the RIGHT to do anything they want. Wisconsin is a more Liberal state who respects your god given rights. I have lost my license a couple times b/c i couldnt afford insurance.. I am 35 years old and a great driver who has NEVER had an accident. I beleive it should be a responsibility of the person DRIVING to carry insurance to cover themselves in case of an accident. I don't think I should have to worry about losing my right to drive and my only means of getting to work and making a living, just b/c other idiots FREQUENTLY get into crashes, talking on their phone, or painting their nails while driving. I'm sorry that I have to PAY for other peoples ignorance every time I get an insurance bill for 150.00 plus dollars every month. In Wisconsin, car insurance is not required by law as it should not be.

I'll second the kudos for standing up here;Thank you for presenting the patrol officers side.

If you don't mind Sir; could you comment on the "rash" of taserings for seemingly minimal reasons ( i. .e old ladies or floundering with a license etc)? That we've seen become fairly common in the past few years. I can perfectly understand the taser is effective to control a struggling or dangerous individual or situation. But it appears ( and GRANTED we never have the entire story) It is being applied in situations one wouldn't ordinarily elevate to the level of a baton. It increases fear and resentment within the public.

reply to post by seeashrink


Thanks for that. It all makes sense to me. I've had my run-ins before and in my younger years was less co-operative with cops.

Another trick I used once was to take out a notebook as the cop was questionoing me about a phantom traffic offense (I beat the rap in court) and made notes of waht HE was saying and doing. When I went to court I took out the notebook and cited my observations and it made me look good and him.....not so much.

Unfortunately, a coulpe 'o months later, he nabbed me for speeding and gave me no quarter doing so!!

It's karma Kramer!!

Jason

Can I ask a question that has nothing to do with being in a car?

The other day I was shopping at walgreens and a police officer approached me and told me he wanted to see my ID, I told him what for, he said to just do what he tells me and show my I.D., I told him not until you tell me why, he then said I fit the description of a shop lifter, at that point I knew there was nothing I can do so i showed him my ID,
after about a min of staring at it, he then handed it back and said "next time a police officer tells you to do something, you do it" then he walked away.

when I finished my shopping (5 mins later) I was standing in line, he and another officer walked past me with a person in handcuffs a person who looked absolutely nothing like me.

My question is, did he have any right to do that inside of a store, they clearly already had the suspected shop lifter since they walked out with in 5 mins of my encounter with him, I use to work for retail, it takes a while to arrest a shop lifter.

I also live in a town literally a min outside of Chicago, if that helps lol.

Thanks

Thanks for the post, a few years ago my wife had a poblem with a cop. She has a job where she has to leave early in the morning. On a couple of occasions a police car got behind her on the interstate in the left lane and tailgated her and flashed his lights and sped around her. The first time she thought he was on a call and sped around her. The second instance he did this a couple of weeks later this time he shook his fist at her when he went around her. A couple weeks later he pulled her over for being in the left lane, on a thee lane road. She was doing the speed limit and broken no laws, he said the fast lane was for official use only and she shouldn't be in it. This is also the lane you have to get in to connect to the other interstate. He thew a fit and my son 4 at the time was scared to death. He asked his mom if the policeman was going to shoot them because he had his hand on his holster the whole time. For a long time he believed that the police were the bad guys.He didn't give her a ticket because she did nothing wrong he just had a problem.

She called me from work and told me what happened the same cop that tailgated her had finally pulled her over and shouted at her. She gave me his name and his description. So I called the main police station, this is a city of about 300,000. Asked where I could file a complaint and they gave me the number of his precinct. I talked to his commanding officer, told him who I was and why I was calling and I would be recording the conversation; which I did with a portable tape recorder. I told him about the three incidents and something had to be done. I let him know I was serious and it had to stop now and to call me back to let me know what action he was taking.

The Captain called later that afternoon and said the problem was the officer had problems with over sleeping and was late to work on occasions. My wife was the unfortunate party to be in his way so he took his frustrations out on her. He assured me he had took care of the situation and my wife would never be bothered or see him again. He apologized and thanked me for bring this matter to his attention. I could tell he really got upset when I told him he scared my 4 year old half to death.

She never saw him again. They either changed his shift, transferred him or fired him. So what the OP said it pays to go through channels and hope the one in charge is a good guy like the Captain was.

Good points but sorry, I have tried the whole telling the cop no routine, it did not work out well for me, nor did the judge give a damn.


Deebo