Know Your Rights With The Police

[damnedifIknow]

Keep your license, registration and proof of insurance in an easily accessible place, like your sun visor. When pulled over by a police officer stay in the car and keep your hands on the steering wheel. Sit still, relax and wait for the officer to come to you. Any sudden movements or ducking down could get you shot.

Don’t forget during traffic stops the police are videotaping you, this is why you must NOT talk to the police officer. Police officers like to ask the first question and that’s usually “do you know why I stopped you today or do you know how fast you were going?” The police officer is trying to get you to do two things, admit that you committed a traffic violation and to get you to “voluntarily” start a conversation. Remember the police officer is not your friend and should not be trusted! The only thing you need to say is “I’m going to remain silent.”

The police officer might start asking you personal questions such as “where are you going, where have you been and who did you see, ect.” At that point it’s the perfect time to exercise your rights by asking the police office “am I free to go?” There’s NO legal requirement that American citizens provide information about their comings and goings to an American police officer.

Here’s a secret during a traffic stop a good time to ask “am I free to go” is after the police officer has given you a “warning or a ticket” and you have signed it. Once you have signed the ticket the traffic stop is legally over says the U.S. Supreme Court. There’s no law that requires you to stay and talk to the police officer or answer any questions. After you have signed the ticket and have your license you may roll up your window, start your car and leave. If you’re outside the car ask the police officer, “AM I FREE TO GO?” If he says yes then get in your car and leave."


More: http://www.policecrimes.com/2015/07/

[oberliner]

1. This is extremely bad advice

If you are tight lipped and only say "I'm going to remain silent" you are pretty much guaranteed to get a hostile reaction from a certain subset of cops, especially if they are predisposed to be unfriendly to you due to their own prejudices.

[ret5hd]

3. Good points...

"Don't be uppity!" my gramps used to say.

[oberliner]

4. Yes, I was taught the same

My default is always to be friendly to folks until they give me a reason not to be.

[damnedifIknow]

8. We have rights in this country

I consider exercising those rights a very American thing to do. Have we really come to the point of being afraid to do so? I truly hope not.

[oberliner]

11. Indeed we do

I just think it's bad advice to suggest that someone ought to simply repeat "I am going to be silent" to any question a police officer asks. I feel like there is a better chance of a positive outcome if you just politely answer reasonable questions in a straightforward manner.

[Comrade Grumpy]

30. They're not "reasonable questions;" they're a fishing expedition.

The only reasonable question is like "Do you have an explanation for why you committed that violation?"

Anything other than that and he cop is just looking for probable cause to search your car.

How germane is what you do or where you've been or where you're going to the question of whether you changed lanes without signaling?

You don't have to be aggressive. Hell, you can just say nothing.

Or you can say, "I have no intention of conversing with you" and, especially, "Am I free to go?"

[One_Life_To_Give]

46. He is also Profiling for Evasive Answers

If you want to be the exception to the 80%+ people the cop interacts with. You shouldn't be surprised that a potentially relaxed interaction suddenly becomes hostile. Cop is going to assume the reason for your evasive answers and unfriendly tone is that you a) Have something you are trying to hide. b) Wish to challenge his authority. c) Something worse.

It is possible to be polite without having to take an abrupt tone and still not give them any reason to search your vehicle.

[cwydro]

42. I agree.

The last time I got pulled over was for a tail light that was out.

A friend had pointed it out to me that same night actually.

I told him that; I was honest with him and I was polite. He was polite too. He gave me a warning.

Many years ago, I got pulled for speeding on a deserted road on Thanksgiving Day while going to get some stuff that we'd forgotten for dinner. I truly think he intended only to warn me, but I was pissed off and acted like a jerk.

He gave me a ticket.

It's better to be polite. You'll never win in a pissing contest with a cop.

[840high]

13. Same here.

[Positrons]

19. Don't be a tool unnecessarily is excellent advice...

[Igel]

27. No, it's more like "play the game," as linguists would say.

You construct a conversation. There are something very much like rules.

If you break them, you're indicating ill will and hostility. Thing is, the other person may not even be fully aware of this and but will react in kind. Once he's reacting in kind, you perceive the hostility, may think you intend none so where did *that* come from, and react with greater hostility.

Wonderful. You've now taken what amounts to a neutral business transaction and moved it into a situation in which both people are working on the assumption that the other person is not just potentially hostile, but actually hostile. What could possibly go wrong? As soon as you assume hostility, the rules of the conversation game change.

Not helping matters are slightly different cultural assumptions about what, exactly the rules of the game are and how to play them--with some of the rules not allowed for both parties, a fact one side takes advantage of.

Take Bland and Encinia. I've seen that kind of interaction. I've been *in* that kind of interaction. One side is resisting; that's part of the game, resistance which, if challenged, is entirely non-resistance. You pretend to play by the rules but don't. And you have to know exactly how the rules are being violated to deal with it all consciously.

If you want to see a good example of hostile conversation, look at any deposition or cross-examination in court. The conversation's very hostile. It's assumed the witness is not held to tell the truth, what's relevant, or abide by the usual rules. No chance is given for "repair," for fixing misunderstandings. If something can be misconstrued, it will be.

Most traffic stops aren't like that. Usually listening to the cop's intonation tells you when the conversation's shifted. Same with listening to a motorist's or a student's intonation.

Take a classic example of ill-will in conversation. You go to a fast food place with a coworker. You're short $2. "Do you have $2?" The guy answers no. Five minutes later he pays for his $8 meal with a $20 bill. "I thought you didn't have $2?" "I didn't. I had a single $20."

Did he lie? The immediate reaction is to think he lied. He didn't, and proudly accuses you of slandering him.But he ignored the purpose of your question. Bam: He's tricked you and tried to make a fool out of you. A lot of people think that's funny--and then, the intellectual midgets they aren't, can't figure out why you don't trust them. He had relevant information and decided to not share it. It corrodes social trust. Conversation is built cooperatively.

Another dodge is to answer a question with a question or a request. "What are you doing?" "What am I supposed to be doing? That's your job, telling me what I'm supposed to be doing." That can work if the guy's not doing what you said, or if he's doing something he knows is inappropriate. Again, a lot of people think it's funny. Then they're shocked when you think they're hostile. They're passively uncooperative in a context where cooperation is expected. That makes for frustration; it gums up the works--often the goal--and makes them feel superior while they try to humiliate you. It's power and manipulation through conversation. Again, it corrodes social trust. (And then, in the classroom, some researchers wonder why people from different groups get treated differently. Unaware of how conversation works, they're oblivious to crucial data--but what they don't know doesn't exist. That's arrogant. It's not, however, uppity.)

[COLGATE4]

6. You're right. Usually the only good reason not to answer

the questions - "Do you know why I stopped you?, Do you know how fast you were going?" is if you may be DUI or some other subset of driving while impaired. If that is indeed the case you will be well advised to limit your conversation with the officer to the strictly necessary, trying not to speak directly to him/her (so they can't see your eyes or smell your breath). If you aren't concerned about this possibility taking a confrontational attitude with "I don't have to talk to you" surely isn't going to make your traffic situation a whole lot better.

Best advice - stay cool, stay calm, don't get confrontational (even if you feel you have been provoked). Produce your license, registration and proof of Insurance. Do as instructed by the officer. Don't make sudden moves or start reaching for things without asking for permission to do so. Pay attention to what the Officer is saying to you - I know of clients who have blown getting a mere warning into getting a ticket for mouthing off while the cop was explaining to them why they were only getting a warning!

If you have complaints about how the procedure was handled, take them up with the appropriate Police Agency AFTER the traffic stop has been completed.

[Major Nikon]

7. If they are that hostile you are pretty much guaranteed to get a hostile reaction anyway

I got pulled over by a cop and was asked the question, "do you know why I stopped you today" and I literally did not know why he pulled me over as I had my cruise control set to the speed limit and wasn't breaking any traffic laws. When I refused to admit to something I had not done he got extremely belligerent with me. I would have been much better off just handing him my license and proof of insurance which is all I do now. I politely tell them I wish to remain silent and the conversation stops.

[oberliner]

12. Good point

But do you think that hostile cop would have been less belligerent with you if you had responded "I am going to be silent" when you were asked that question? Seems like that would not have gone well either.

[Major Nikon]

18. I think it would have gone better

As I found out, even obeying the law and answering their questions truthfully, doesn't guarantee they won't get belligerent. Asshole cops become belligerent when they don't get the answer they expect to receive because they think they have some magical ability that tells them when people are lying. Politely telling them you are going to remain silent diffuses that situation. It takes at least two people to argue. If you tell them you are going to remain silent and don't say anything else, there's nothing to argue with. You can also pretty much guarantee whatever you do say will be twisted when they write it down and once you sign the citation it's your words. Been there, done that too.

I don't know of anyone who has told an officer they are going to remain silent and then gotten hauled off for some kind of bullshit trumped up charge. I know plenty of people who didn't remain silent and talked their way into jail because they didn't know how to shut the fuck up. A friend of mine is a lawyer and gave me some good advice. He said when a cop asks you a question, just shut the fuck up, and regardless of what happens next just shut the fuck up some more. It's the best thing you can do for yourself. Nothing you say is going to help you other than "I wish to remain silent."

[Comrade Grumpy]

31. You have the right to remain silent. More people should exercise it.

[MrScorpio]

22. Fuck the police. nt

[Downwinder]

2. Where are the "rights?"

[geek tragedy]

5. if it's just you and the cop on the side of the road, you have no rights since he has a gun

that's the survival argument, quite distinct from the legal argument

[TexasProgresive]

9. I never knew I wasn't supposed to get out of the car.

I don't get stopped often and usually I am out of the car which is locked with license and proof of insurance viable in my hand before the cop can exit the vehicle. They have never told me not to. I always thought it was safest as there is no way I could be going for a weapon, and I am standing there with empty hands except for my papers.

This comes from growing up in Houston, TX. My thinking is that if they are going to shoot me it will be outside the car and with my hands empty. Then they can lay the "throw down" gun beside my body.

[gwheezie]

10. If a cop asks me a question I ask them to repeat it

Could you repeat that officer? I don't want to jump to conclusions about what's beening asked.

[oberliner]

14. Has that ever led to a hostile response?

Curious to know how that went over.

[gwheezie]

21. I'm an old white woman

I'm polite when I ask and smile but it helps to be an old white woman. I tend to talk too much when nervous so actually in any situation where I'm anxious I ask people to repeat what they said. It gives me a few seconds to compose myself and be able to process the request I'm given.

[polly7]

15. I was stopped up here the other day, it was the weirdest damn thing.

I've never once in all my years of driving not had a perfectly peaceful conversation with a PO, this time i was baffled ... I had just turned the corner and wasn't even starting to speed up yet when he stopped me. I'd signaled, had my seat belt on ... everything was fine. So after giving him my license and registration I asked why he had stopped me. He got pissy and right in my face "Because you are operating a motor vehicle!". I said uh ......... ok. He took my stuff back into his car to call it in and was still belligerent telling me he has a perfect right to stop anyone anywhere, lecturing me like a teacher with an bad student. I said "ok....... whatever, is it all good, can I go now?!" I was mad. My brother is very high up with the RCMP in Ottawa so I called him - we call each other once a week anyway, and asked WTF was that all about? I guess the little angry guy was right, he can stop me because I'm driving. I never knew that. Doesn't seem right at all.

edit: I learned a few days later from my mom the town I was in had just gotten all new RCMP members (4). Maybe he was just starting out - Carnduff usually gets the new ones, he was very young. Most are respected and really liked here in our small towns - some just get quick reputations as assholes and don't seem to want to stay long.

[Journeyman]

26. I was pulled over just outside a small town in Utah. . .

California plates, I was headed home from a vacation. The officer was quite on edge and barked his instructions in a very no-nonsense, almost confrontational mode. I was cool, but despite my pleasant attitude he seemed very stressed. He gave me a ticket for speeding (about 8 miles over the speed limit on an interstate). I was a little miffed, but he let me go and all it cost me was some money I was able to mail to the court before I left the State.

I learned later there'd been a violent, armed robbery of a restaurant in that little town the night before, that the perpetrators pistol whipped the clerks then shot two policemen as they made their escape. They were believed to be still in the area, and my buddy and I somewhat matched their general description.

So yeah, the officer was rude and could have been a nicer person, but I'll cut him quite a bit of slack for the existing situation. This is partly why I could never offer such blanket directives as "don't talk to him at all" or "never take any guff from 'em." Because ultimately, they're humans, subject to the same fears and frailties as the rest of us, and need to be met on as individual of a basis as possible. I do that with everyone I interact with: Try to assess the tenor of the moment before I meet it either obstinately or with too cavalier an attitude.

[polly7]

28. I live 17 minutes from that town .... much of my family lives there.

There has been no major crime (besides traffic stops), no serious accidents (with EMS, we've worked with the members on most calls for years) - nothing much happening there lately at all. I did try to understand why he was so confrontational, so I asked family members who live there if there had been something terrible happen lately.

My BIL spent five years just starting out in that town - twenty years later people still ask me about him, remember him well and laugh at all the stories they share. RCMP members here are part of the community, different than larger places. Everyone knows everyone - the town is very friendly and accepting. It does makes me wonder if they are being trained to be more assertive now right from the start of any traffic stop.

P.S. ... I asked him very nicely why I was stopped, as I was honestly confused. I even smiled! We all have bad days, some .. really horrible days on the job.

[Major Nikon]

35. Just writing off their assholery as being human is really not a good excuse

I don't expect them to be cordial. I don't even expect them to be all that polite. I do expect them to be professional. If they can't fulfill that obligation, a complaint should be filed. In the mean time I agree there's nothing to be gained by getting confrontational with the police, but neither do I think there's anything to be gained by answering any of their questions if they are investigating you for anything.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. I recommend information from Flex Your Rights as a good starting place...

http://www.flexyourrights.org/


10 Rules for Dealing With Police

[oberliner]

23. Thanks for posting this

It is a very informative video.

[damnedifIknow]

32. I agree

A very good video.

[cwydro]

44. Good video.

You should post this as an OP because the advice is spot on.

[Hoppy]

17. My cousin actually got off without a ticket with his response.

"Do you know why I stopped you?"

"Aw shit, did my neighbor put another Obama sticker on my bumper?"

Cop laughed and gave him a warning.

[kydo]

20. LOL

no really that was funny!

[beevul]

24. i've dealt with this a bit before.

The police officer might start asking you personal questions such as “where are you going, where have you been and who did you see, ect.” At that point it’s the perfect time to exercise your rights by asking the police office “am I free to go?” There’s NO legal requirement that American citizens provide information about their comings and goings to an American police officer.

I've been given the "where are you coming from/where are you headed" thing before, it goes something like this:

"Sir where are you coming from/where are you headed?"

Me: "Excuse me?"

"Sir where are you coming from/where are you headed?"

Me: No offense bud, but that's not your business."

"ok".

Politely assert your rights and protect your privacy and usually you wont have a problem.

Once when I was younger, I told an officer that asked me where I was going "pack sand up your ass, thats none of your damn business". The look on his face was priceless, and I had a car full of witnesses, and another car pulled over a ways ahead with friends in it, so he wasn't going to do anything. In that particular case, the guy was just intent on hassling a younger kid driving a pretty chevelle, and had nothing on me.

I would not recommend such in this day and age.

[MurrayDelph]

34. When I was in aerospace

I was taught that the proper response to all personal questions was

"What's your need to know?"

[truebluegreen]

25. Don't talk to the police.

They are not your friends.

[Igel]

29. Being officious and defensive isn't a great thing.

Cops are people. They have crappy days and good days, crappy encounters and pleasant ones. Often if you show contrition, they're in no mood to show up in court when you contest the ticket so they give you a warning.

If you're pissy and defensive, they wonder why. Too often we dehumanize them, treat them like they're not human or they're the enemy, and then wonder why they act the way we'd act if we were treated like we're not human or we're the enemy.

And if you think that's how you are treated, then you know that it doesn't bring out good will and that old kumbaya-let's-hug feeling.

Works the same in court. It's the basis of plea bargains. And fighting the judge--or the cop--is not a way to get him on your side, to encourage leniency, etc.

[polly7]

36. Cops are no different than doctors, the receptionist at your local spa, the bartender

down the street. Professionalism includes the responsibility to treat each individual encounter - professionally, no matter what kind of day they're having. I would hate to have my doctor get pissy with me at my appt. and possibly dismiss something or not take me seriously because he was in a bad mood from ... whatever.

What makes them different than anyone else?

People who are stopped for no reason or who don't understand something have the right to ask without getting their head bitten off - or much worse.

[Spacemom]

39. cops don't get to have a "bad day"

When your job description includes carrying a gun, I expect you to be professional and in control at all times. If you're not up to the task, don't be a cop.

When cops have a "bad day", people die. As we see all too often.

[polly7]

41. So true.

They have an additional responsibility, with the ability to irrevocably harm/change/end a person's life either with deadly weapons or through the court system. So many times, for absolutely nothing. Every one of these deaths we hear about is so horrible and sad.

[BillZBubb]

37. What a pant load.

Cops know when they pull you over you aren't going to be happy about it. So, they know right then they can push your buttons if they want to. And with people of color, they do so on a regular basis.

They ARE the enemy when they pull you over. They should be professional and know that comes with the job. They should be trained to deal with angry people and to never escalate a situation. Those who can't do that shouldn't have a badge.

[X_Digger]

33. The last time I was stopped, I refused a search.

The officer was pissed, but went back to his car. A few minutes later he came back and tried the "if you have nothing to hide.." schtick.

I said, "Officer, can you articulate probable cause for a search?" He mumbled something something something, and I asked, "Am I free to go?" He gulped, tipped his hat, and said, "be more careful next time.."

Know your rights. Don't be a dick, but be calm and courteous.

[pinboy3niner]

40. Unfortunately, none of that applies...

...if you're black.

[HeiressofBickworth]

43. Quite some time ago, a highway patroll officer tried to extort me

I was west-bound on the freeway in Nebraska. Out-of-state plates. Two women traveling together. Flashing light in rear-view mirror. I pulled over. Officer came to my window, all bristling with righteousness. Asked me if I knew I was speeding. I was, I knew it, and I said he was probably right. He lectured me about dead bodies on the freeway due to excessive speed, blah blah blah. He then started talking about how expensive a ticket for speeding was, the inconvenience of having to appear in court when I'm from out of state. He never started writing me a ticket. So help me, I don't know why I said it, but I said I would be willing to go to the nearest courthouse or police station and pay the fine. More lecture about the dangers of driving above the speed limit. And then he asked if I had a CB unit in the car (before cellphones). I said no, I didn't. He asked if I would be out of the state by the end of the day. I said I had planned to. He said to go ahead and leave. I was miles down the road before my friend and I figured out that he thought I would pay HIM the fine. Ne never made a record of the stop so there would have been no record of a payment. Such a scum bag.

[Facility Inspector]

45. Depends if I want to go on with my day

or go to jail, spend some money, and see a judge to prove I am right.

Sometimes it's easier to pick your battles.