7greeneyes
MedicalNLovingIt!
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2008
- Messages
- 8,071
- Reaction score
- 789
url: hMPp://www.quora.com/When-the-Police-Arrest-You-or-Pull-You-Over/If-you-are-pulled-over-by-a-police-officer-what-is-the-minimum-required-level-of-compliance#
Justin Freeman, Former Patrol OfficerFormer Patrol Officer
Walking through a typical traffic stop chronologically:
Justin Freeman, Former Patrol OfficerFormer Patrol Officer
Walking through a typical traffic stop chronologically:
- If a law enforcement officer activates his emergency equipment while behind you in a vehicle, you must pull over to the side of the road.
- In most jurisdictions, you must identify yourself when requested by a law enforcement officer. As a driver, you are usually required to carry a physical, valid driver's license upon your person. As a passenger, you may or may not be asked to identify yourself, and you may or may not be compelled to do so. If your jurisdiction requires you identify, you obviously must do so if asked. Also, some jurisdictions have a codified requirement that witnesses to a crime must identify themselves; if your driver committed a traffic offense, that technically makes you a witness to it. Thus, it's more likely than not that you must identify as a passenger, but I can't make a blanket statement to that effect.
- As a driver, you must be able to provide physical proof of financial responsibility (insurance) for the vehicle.
- You must follow all lawful directions of the police officer. If he or she instructs you to exit the vehicle, you must do so. You can raise the windows and lock the doors if you wish, but if you cannot refuse the exit request; attempting to do so will likely result in your being forcibly removed from the vehicle and arrested for obstruction. This would likely be enough to justify a search of the vehicle's interior, as well, depending on the circumstances.
- A police officer may ask you questions during the stop. Some of these will likely be guilt seeking questions, such as, "Do you know why I pulled you over? Do you know how fast you were going back there? What do you think prompted my stopping you this evening?" You are not compelled by law to answer these questions. As you are not in custody, I am not compelled to provide a Miranda warning before asking such questions.
- A traffic stop is technically a 'detention.' You are neither free to leave nor under arrest. There is some direction on the Internet which instructs passengers to inquire as to whether they are free to leave; if not, the site explains that this means they are under arrest. This isn't true. I cannot allow passengers to exit a vehicle during a traffic stop for officer safety reasons. Not having searched the vehicle, there is no way for me to know that you aren't exiting with a concealed pistol.
- Regarding searches: If an officer requests permission to search your vehicle, this likely means he or she does not have probable cause to do so. If they had seen contraband in plain view, observed you making furtive movements, or something else that developed probable cause, they would not be asking for permission. You are not compelled to consent to a search that a police officer does not have probable cause to conduct.
- Citations were not required to be signed by drivers in my jurisdiction, so I cannot speak as to whether you are compelled to do so. I'm not sure why this is required anywhere - it's not as though you nullify the ticket by refusing to sign your acknowledgment of it. If you're requested to sign, it's very likely that you're only acknowledging receipt, not admitting guilt. If there's a question in your mind about this, you can ask the officer - they're not going to mislead you or trick you into signing an admission of guilt. The camera they have trained on the traffic stop works both ways.
- If you are asked to perform Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, you may decline; you may also decline to provide a sample to a portable breath tester (see also If I get pulled over and a police officer asks me to take a roadside sobriety test, do I have to take the test? What should I do?). Bear in mind, though, that an officer will only ask for these if a suspicion already exists in his mind regarding your sobriety. Should you refuse, this will a) be added to his or her considerations in developing probable cause for arrest, and b) force him or her to make an arrest decision based on more minute factors like speech patterns, eye conditions (watery, bloodshot, dilated, slow to react to light, etc.), and coordination.
