#1 - After you pull over, place your car in park, and turn it off, put your hands (both!) on the steering wheel and do not move them until the officer asks for your license.
What to do if you’re stopped by the police
61–70 of 194 posts
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#62These tips does not work in Hong Kong. Police can do whatever they want without any accountability. One officer even drove into a crowd of people, was put on paid leave and back at work a month after. Horrible!
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Act like a normal, sensible person. Don't try to provoke them, and don't give them any reason to escalate the encounter. The problem is asserting your rights and not acting like a docile thankful citizen can get treated as escalation in and of itself.
Citation needed. There are 700,000 cops in the US, some conducting 20+ traffic stops a day. How many people are being arrested because they asserted their rights? Especially in the age of smart phones and body cameras, it's pretty small. Of course it happens, no system is perfect, though we should strive to be, your rights aren't a formality. Don't flex them, exercise them. They're like muscles. Flexing is just showi…
It's not purely about being arrested but it does happen that people get arrested just for filming.
And I'd be way more receptive to the 'a few bad apples' argument if the whole thing didn't react to any charges or investigations into those bad apples as an attack on the whole followed by at best a retirement right before they get disciplined and fired (where they usually just go work for a different department or security).
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/11/29/man-arrested-for-...
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
“ One other thing which goes along with being polite and courteous, never lie outright to an officer. Use weasel words like, "not that I can think of" or, "I'm not sure why you would think that." That might sound suspicious at first glance, but they'll assume in the moment that just about any direct statement is a lie, anyways.” This is really bad advice. You need to re-watch the video you alluded to in your first pa…
It's a fair point, but I'm kind of getting tired of responding to it. I think that such an absolutist stance can be more harmful than helpful in some situations, and that view is backed by my anecdotal but not-insignificant experience. Some officers do not care about your rights or the law, and if you demand a lawyer when they ask how much cash is in the vehicle after they pull you over for doing 37 in a 35 zone, the…
> if you demand a lawyer when they ask how much cash is in the vehicle after they pull you over for doing 37 in a 35 zone
Why would they do that? Is that about being a drug dealer?
I've probably been pulled over for speeding and/or crazy driving at least 30 times, and I've never been asked that.
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
> One other thing which goes along with being polite and courteous, never lie outright to an officer. Use weasel words like, "not that I can think of" or, "I'm not sure why you would think that." That might sound suspicious at first glance, but they'll assume in the moment that just about any direct statement is a lie, anyways. If you're thinking about clever hacks to use when you're talking to the police you're doin…
It's just that a certain type of officer is usually eager to catch you in a lie; it gives them leverage, and it often flusters people into saying things that they didn't mean to. You also don't want, "...and they lied to me about it" to show up in future discussions. Ideally you would simply never speak with a police officer. But this is a stressful and unwanted situation that we're talking about, and most people (my…
Fair point. I personally think I would assert my rights as soon as I was asked a question like that, if I hadn't already. My point was basically if it occurs to you that you maybe should use some intenet advice in this encounter with a police officer that's a red flag that you should stop talking. If you get flustered and forget neither of our advice will help.
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#66Title should be if you get stopped in the US by the police. The US until today is not the world. In my country have been stopped by police a lot. Most of the time they are civilized. Some cases they can come over as dicks but as long as you don't escalate the situation and stay friendly nothing will happen.
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#67> "I'm going to remain silent. I'd like to see a lawyer." On TV shows, the guy would then call his lawyer, who is under a retainer or something. The lawyer has all the context on exactly what's going on, and tells him exactly what to do, and he gets off free. But as someone who doesn't have a lawyer, what exactly happens if and when the cop agrees to this? Are they obligated to provide me with a lawyer? Or do I need…
Unless you have a background in law and understand your exact rights, ask for a lawyer. Some people think this makes you look guilty. It doesn't. It makes you smart. If you don't have one, wait. Usually, you're allowed a call. Have someone in mind whom you trust to get you legal counsel.
If you, um, have something to hide, you probably want to explicitly state you're invoking your fifth amendment rights.
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lying in court is always* illegal. Lying in general, e.g "I didn't steal anything", "I only had 2 beers", "These aren't my pants", is not inherently illegal. All of these are lies I've been told. As a cop, if you get caught lying, i.e. intentionally false testimony in court, your career is effectively over. Any defense attorney can bring that one time you got caught lying up in court, discounting your entire testimon…
“As a cop, if you get caught lying, i.e. intentionally false testimony in court, your career is effectively over.” I wish that was the case, but as a LEO yourself you have to be aware that that’s absolutely untrue. Oh neat, there’s a whole Wikipedia article about it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_perjury I want to assume good faith and positive intent, but I have to be honest that it really strains credulity…
As a note, the thought process behind the ‘if you lie you die’ theory is contingent upon one thing. The cop has be caught lying. This is primarily because the cop has now made it practically impossible to testify in court on any charge he may have investigated.
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
“As a cop, if you get caught lying, i.e. intentionally false testimony in court, your career is effectively over.” I wish that was the case, but as a LEO yourself you have to be aware that that’s absolutely untrue. Oh neat, there’s a whole Wikipedia article about it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_perjury I want to assume good faith and positive intent, but I have to be honest that it really strains credulity…
From your link: "A common trope amongst police officers in the United States is the aphorism: "If you lie, you die." This is indicative of the essential need for trustworthiness in the job—police officers are society's observers, enforcers and professional witnesses—and a warning that any deliberate falsehood can undermine the officer's continued usefulness, resulting in termination. Such terminations have been judic…
I practiced in Virginia for about 6 years. I handled approx 150 DUIs there. It is in the officers best interest to exaggerate their findings while investigating a crime. So ok. Yeah. Most officers don’t “lie.” But they certainly don’t act objectively either.
You know the onerous discovery policies in Virginia. Prosecutors don’t have to give you much. Even the Constitutionally mandated stuff is impossible to check because the only people who could, defense attorneys, have no way of knowing what exists.
Last, and I think this was op’s point: a lie only becomes a lie if it can be exposed as a lie. Most statements are very difficult to outright prove as a lie. This goes for defendants claiming they have someone else’s pants and for officers who are VERY sure she had bloodshot eyes “which in (their) training and experience are consistent with intoxication by marijuana.”
Re: What to do if you’re stopped by the police
#70So it's true that you're liable in the US to having your brains blown out if you try to reach for anything?
Knowing that cops carry, would you really want to risk it?