Not to mention that police cruisers travel at a much more sedate speed after the arrest(s) than going into the situation, as well as the wide berth folks give police cars on the road, no matter the speed of the cruiser or whether their light bars are on or off.
I’ve heard cops refer to suddenly decelerating to throw a prisoner (or arestee) against the wire mesh that separates the front from the back as a ‘screen test’.
OK, they might have been fictional cops, but I can’t believe no cop ever said it, IRL.
In all the seatbelt laws I am aware of it is not a violation to be unrestrained in the backseat unless you are a child. Bounce around back there all you want.
yes, somtimes. I saw on cops recently them do it to this chick.
Nope. Just the oposite. Mile for mile the occurrences of squads crashing in any use is actually small. Those transporting prisoners is even smaller.
Not belting a suspect in can be due to officer safety. Though I’d rather all occupants be belted, no way am I sticking my head/body into the back seat to belt him while he’s kicking and thrashing. Screw it.
There ya go, spoiling the plans of all those guys who wanted to get arrested and sue… Spoil sport…
http://www.iihs.org/laws/safetybeltuse.aspx
Different laws for different states. Some states require belts in the back seat for adults, while others do not.
Not where you are. Or where I work. So your original question is not relevant, in either case.
I was arrested in PA. I was not belted in the back seat of the car, though I was cuffed. After processing I was released, and the officer very kindly drove me to a nearby motel. In that case I sat in the front, and was cuffed again. The officer put a seatbelt on me.
My wife was with me, and she was also cuffed, even though she had not been arrested or charged with any offence. The officer said it was “procedure”.
You can not sue for mentality. You have to sue for damages in a court friendly to the cops.
I remember years ago hearing, or maybe reading, about how the cops in one jurisdiction had this trick they played on disliked backseat passengers. One of the cops would face the suspect and mumble something to him through the metal grill separating the front and back. When the guy leaned forward to hear the driver would slam on the brakes mashing his face into the grill. The cops called it a “screen test”.
Actually, yes, I will promise this. That’s because I don’t write seatbelt violation tickets.
I’ve never seen it happen myself, but I’ve heard of it. Here, they call it a “brake test”.
In Washington state (where I am), everyone has to be belted, regardless of age or location in the car. If a passenger is under 16, the driver gets the ticket. If they are over 16, the passenger gets the ticket.
However, traffic laws don’t apply to law enforcement officers while on duty. So I’m still not required by the law to use the seatbelts. I am required to do so by department policy, safety and common sense.
Back in the early 80’s they called it “waffle face”. If the subject bled they called it “waffle face with extra syrup”.
By “they” I mean officers on a different department than where I was working.
Neither I nor anybody I knew or worked with would violate anyones rights like that.
And, no, I am not kidding when I say that!
I’m glad to hear that. I had respect for the PA officer who arrested me - he was as cordial as he could be to a guy he’d just arrested. If he’d intentionally attempted to injure me, I think my respect for LEOs would be somewhat diminished.
What did you get arrested for?
I will offer this for your consideration. I was once transported in a police car with two others, however it was in the front seat. It was before the use of air bags, I was cuffed behind my back and belted in snugly in the passenger seat. I was told by the officer “If you jerk around I’ll stop this car”. He did not threaten me and as he spoke he shook his head slightly. Although he was wearing sunglasses I could see his jaws were tight.
I’d rather not go into that. It was a misdemeanour that carried no jail time.
I too was arrested by a very polite officer (and later transported by the same nice guy from the nice, clean jail I was in to the central county jail- not a nice place at all…). It probably helped that I was polite, quiet and cooperative. It was after 2:00 am, and if I’d been a mouthy bitch I guarantee it would have gone down differently.
DUI, if you’re curious.