There are probably a few police officers out there, so maybe they can answer this. When you pull a car over for a traffic stop, why do you prefer to approach the car instead of having the driver come out and lean against the trunk first? Then you could also have the passengers come out and do the same. Once you check the out you could have them return to their car. It seems to me it would be safer for everyone then you walking up to a car not knowing what the driver or passengers have. Also why don’t police officers carry bullet-proof shields more often or even all the time?
Several reasons come to mind. Not in order of importance, but…
- Departmental policy might require officers to approach the offender’s car.
- Most of the time officers will touch the car so their fingerprints are on it.
- Should the offender become upset while seated, the officer would have more of a tactical advantage.
- Should the driver somehow have an accident (slip,fall, struck by another vehicle, etc.) they might have more grounds for a lawsuit…(after all, that’s what it’s all about, right?)
- Bullet proof shields would require the officer to tie up one hand that could be needed for something else, like talking on the radio, holding a flashlight or clipboard, reaching for handcuffs, etc. Officers are trained to keep their gun hand free.
Probably among other things, it’s dangerous for people to be walking around on the side of the road. Keeping as many people as possible in a steel box with crumple zones is safer than having people wandering around the edge of a freeway. (Yes, the officer is walking around. That’s dangerous, and some number of police officers die every year as a result.)
Most of those answers make sense, although I would think if the police had reason to suspect the driver might be a possible suspect, having him get out still might be the safest thing. The officer takes a risk of being Greedo to Han Solo.
From my extensive police experience (watching TV shows), under these circumstances I think they stand well back, draw their guns in readiness, and shout “LIMMYSEERHANZ!” to tell the driver to stick his empty hands out the window.
Seeing the driver’s hands apparently then allows the police to then adopt one of several different procedures, depending how far south the state is and what color the hands are.
There are a fair number of police dash camera videos on Youtube showing a person getting out of a car, then pulling a weapon & opening fire on the officer.
I’d guess that it would be harder to fire on the officer from a seated position inside a car. Plus that gives the officer freedom of movement compared to the shooter, so this would be marginally safer.
Pretty much all law enforcement does it this way on traffic stops, so presumably they have experience that shows this is best.
An exception is when they are doing a traffic stop on an armed person (often after a chase). Then the police stay behind their car doors with guns drawn, order him to get out with hands in the air, pull up his shirt so they can see that he doesn’t have a gun concealed, then turn around and walk backwards toward them, then stop & lay down on the ground. Only then do the police approach & handcuff the person. But that would seem like a lot to go thru for your everyday traffic stop.
Well, it would slow things up if the driver exited the vehicle and then had to go back to find his registration and proof of insurance.
Having a bunch of people pile out of the car would make it harder to keep track of potential miscreants, compared to keeping them in the car and having them exit (if need be) one at a time.
I was just reading a book about a traffic stop two cops made on a California freeway. The driver came out and started strolling toward the officers, which immediately made them suspect he was trying to distract their attention from contraband (i.e. an open liquor container) in the car. As it turned out, he was a serial killer (Randy Kraft) whose latest victim was sprawled dead in the front passenger seat.
Is number 2 really true or is this some kind of urban legend? In about 50 years of driving I’ve only been pulled over a handful of times but I’m positive no cop touched my car during the proceedings.
I have seen (on the internet so it must be true) claims that a cop will touch the left taillight so that if a driver kills him and runs off, fellow officers will later know to check that taillight and send the driver to the big house. I’m skeptical.
In my extensive watching of Cops, I can say that when it’s a routine traffic stop, it makes a lot more sense to keep the driver and passenger in the cop. As was said, the officer has a tactical advantage. If the driver wants to run, they have to not only get out of the car (which the officer will hopefully see), but actually have to move towards them before moving away from them). Also, it’s a lot harder to draw a gun, hide contraband, or even physically assault an officer while you’re sitting in the confines of car. These are are some of the same reasons most drive throughs won’t let you walk through them. Sure, there’s the safety thing, but you also can’t jump/reach in and grab money from the open register when you’re sitting in your car (and 2 feet lower). Also, having that many less people, even with no flight risk, in the road is a lot safer. People r dum to begin with, get someone that just got pulled over standing out on the road and who knows what they’ll do.
However, when it’s a chase or when the driver is known/assumed to be dangerous, they’re asked to exit the vehicle and directly to walk backwards with their hands up, towards the officer, until someone can get cuffs on them. Again, from watching Cops, this seems to be much more difficult with more than one occupant, even with two officers.
And, yes, I’ve actually seen officers touch tail lights. Don’t get me wrong, for all I know they were doing it because they’ve seen it done, But it does make sense to me. Look at it this way. I pull you over, you shoot me, flee the scene and swap your plates with the same make/model car. At the very least, it’s going to take the cops a lot longer to catch up with you, if they even do and when they do, you can say ‘my plates were stolen this morning’. Might not work, but it might buy you some time. OTOH, if the cops go all CSI and find the dead officer’s thumb print in the tail light, what started out as “I just have a few questions” will probably end with you in handcuffs, your car impounded and you being charged with murder. It does make for a smoking gun, so to speak.
Having said all that, every traffic stop has the very real potential to go bad. Any driver that an officer pulls over, even for something minor, could be the one that knows he’s going to end up in jail and has nothing to lose. Pretend you’re the officer. Do you want him standing next to you or two feet lower talking to you through a car window? Scratch that, escalate it. If you had to fight someone, would you rather do it standing on the side of the highway or with the other guy in his car?
So, as a citizen, if i am driving and a police car behind me flashes lights and maybe a siren and signals for me to pull over, I am by law required to stay sitting in the vehicle? Or can I get out of the car?
I don’t know if you legal right to get out of the car, but I think it’s a really bad idea. I was clueless about this when I first visited the US many years ago. I grew up in the UK, where neither the police nor citizens are routinely armed, and you really don’t have to be quite so paranoid. I was pulled over somewhere in Arizona for speeding, and got out of my rental car, smiling, thinking it was the amicable and helpful thing to do. The cop got very squirrelly, had his hand on the butt of his gun, in some kind of ready stance, told me to get back in immediately, and only relaxed when he eventually realized I was a clueless tourist. He told me afterwards that a cop had been murdered a couple of days before in a traffic stop, and that this was a particularly good time to get myself shot!
In fact, I was told that in the UK, it is a good idea to get out if you are pulled up. The reasoning was that it allows the cop to stand up and look you in the eye, rather than having to stoop down and talk through the window.
I am not sure that this would apply these days as the cop might well see you getting out as possibly threatening; especially if you are a big guy. OTOH it seems quite common for the bad guys to wait for the cop to reach the door, and then try to make a quick getaway while they get back to their own car.
Actually, I think the cops want you in the car so they can search with their eyes & nose as much as possible (the same reason they want you to roll your window down at DUI checkpoints). The idea it’s harder to shoot a cop from a seated position is ridiculous unless the person is using a long gun. Getting out would actually give the officer more evidence you are not armed than to have you sit in the car because he could see your entire body.
As a CHP holder this is the formula that has worked for me:
Flashing lights from a Patrol Car show up in my rear view mirror.
I signal my tun and pull off to the side of the road, then shift to hazard lights
While I am doing that, I turn my dome light on and roll down my window
I then sit patiently with my open hands on the wheel in clear view
When the officer approaches, I politely say “Good evening officer. I have a concealed handgun permit. My firearm is just behind my right hip. My wallet with my driver’s license and permit are in my left front pocket. My registration and proof of insurance are locked in the console compartment. How would you like to proceed?”
In the four times I have been stopped since getting my permit, I have yet to have any problems. Also, all four stops have resulted in verbal warnings rather than tickets.
But is it the law to stay in your car frozen like that? Or is it just fear of getting shot by a police officer who may be nervous?
I would hardly describe sitting still with my hands clearly visible as “frozen.”
I am not in fear of being shot by a police officer. I am just aware of the fact that approaching a strange car at night is one of the very dangerous things law enforcement must do.
Exhibiting non threatening behavior starts the interaction off on a path to peaceful resolution. I have no outstanding wants or warrants, and a traffic ticket for rolling through a four way stop is not worth arguing over. Worst case scenario here is that the officer and I discuss the nature of my infraction,he gives me a traffic ticket and then we both drive away with no one getting hurt. The next morning, I mail a check to the court to pay my fine and then go about my business.
Looking around online, I can’t seem to find any type of law that says you must stay in the car vs get out. However, if the officer directs you to do one or the other and you don’t, then you’d be looking at some type of charge, but that’s different.
Having said that, keeping your hands where the officer can see them from the moment the flashing lights are turned on can make the stop go that much smoother, it makes it easier for the officer to know that you weren’t hiding or grabbing something.
Also, keep in mind that longhair was (and admitted) he was (legally) carrying a weapon. Every jurisdiction/officer handles that differently so, in his case, it was probably smart to make sure to keep his hands far away from it.
Hands at 10 and 2 o’clock on the steering wheel, chest in slight movement to accommodate the necessary breathing. Frozen is an adjective that might describe this posture. Or not, depends upon your point of view.
I take it you were born with whitish skin colour.
I totally agree. It has morphed into an incredibly dangerous job. Especially with an incredible amount of guns in people’s hands.
This is absolutely true. There is a word in Mandarin Chinese which comes to mind: kowtowing. But that’s life in the 21st century.
Anyone know about the rate of actual violence during routine traffic stops?
I think the truth is that vast majority of police officers will never fire their weapon in anger, even in the US. Treating every random speeding ticket the same way you might treat an armed murder suspect is just excessive and unnecessary.
Why? And it’s not like they’re approaching the car with their gun drawn and calling for backup. They’re just being cautious. They keep their eyes on you and that’s usually about it. IME, they don’t even ask you to keep your hands on the wheel (they might want to see what your hiding and where you put it, it could give them probably cause). At most, they might walk up with one hand on the butt of their gun.
Ignoring, for a second, what’s been going on for the last year or two, the actual rate of violence during a traffic stop is irrelevant when it comes down to the individual officer. You said yourself that most will never discharge their weapon, but they all still want to go home at night and that means they still need to be ready for anything. Dropping their guard and assuming that this person, that was just going 35 in a 25, is just going to be a quicky ticket is an easy way to get yourself into trouble.
Unless you have some way of knowing which person is going to get violent or shoot at the officer based on how they were driving, what the offense was or what their car looks like, the officer does actually have to treat each stop like it could turn out that way. At least until they get a better feel for it.
Hell, back when I was about 16 or 17, just a scrawny little 110 pound kid, I was at work late at night and walked out to a sheriff that thought I was breaking into the place. Even after talking to him for a few minutes he absolutely would not take his hand off his pistol. I offered to show him my business card (he said I could have stolen them, forgot to tell him my name was on it and I had some in my pocket), I told him to call dispatch for the city we were in since they all knew my name and my car, but he didn’t. Still had his holster unsnapped and his hand on his gun. I’m still surprised he didn’t have me in handcuffs he seemed so nervous. (I wonder if he was new, dude was huge too). It wasn’t until he saw my ID and realized he knew my uncle from working at the Department of Corrections that he calmed down, took his hand off his gun and let me go.
I hope he was just new and had the jitters or something, otherwise it’s probably cops like that are the issue. I gave him multiple ways to clear my name. I’m not sure what would have happened if he didn’t just happen to know my uncle.
But, even with all that, I deal with the cops a lot at work, especially since I tend to work, alone, late at night, so they do stop by to check on me…or not ‘on me’, but to see why there’s a car in the lot if it’s not a regular 3rd shifter and they don’t recognize it. That’s the only one that looked like he was ready to put me on the ground or draw his gun. 20 years later, still makes me wonder what little thing I could have done ‘wrong’ to make that all go sour.