A prosecutor on Tik Tok said she taught her kids that you identify yourself; give license, registration, and insurance; then say you won’t answer any further questions such as where you’re going, if you’ve had anything to drink, etc. Then decline any search requests but follow any orders without argument.
But can talking sometimes help? Like I know you guys have discretion, so would not answering any questions leave a bad taste in your mouth?
And does what you’re being accused of matter in terms of how you’d respond? Like DUI vs speeding?
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I’m asking because I’ve been pulled over twice, and both times I talked, and they let me off.
I. I was at a gas station at like 11 pm, catching up on texts in my car after I filled up. Convenience store was closed, but pumps worked 24/7. Cop comes in front of me at an angle and another comes behind, blocking me in.
He asks what I’m up to, and I answer honestly. Asks if I have any weapons, so I disclose I have a pocket knife in the trunk and a stun gun in the glove compartment that probably doesn’t have any charge anymore. He eventually says it’s pretty weird to be at a gas station that’s closed, and I responded, “The convenience store is closed, but the pumps are open.”. He silently got back in his car, and the guy in front of me pulled away to let me out, but they followed me all the way home, like a 30 minute drive.
II. I saw a cop behind me, got anxious, and swerved really bad. He pulled me over and asked if I’d had anything to drink. I told him I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol in months (which was true). Then he asked if I was on any meds. And I wasn’t sure what to do because I was on lithium and something else, but my psychiatrist had said it was fine to drive on them, and I’d never had any issues. I panicked and disclosed, then he went back to his car, came back, and let me off with a warning.
Because I didn’t want to refuse to answer and have him assume it was the worst med possible, but I also didn’t want this guy who knew nothing about psychiatric medicine to look it up on his phone and see there was a vague possibility of drowsiness or something and arrest me for DUI (it’s further complicated by the fact most psych meds with drowsiness warnings only make you drowsy for the first few days as your body adjusts). Kind of a rock and a hard place.
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But one time there was a DUI checkpoint, where they stopped EVERYONE who went through there. They asked if I’d had anything to drink tonight. And that stumped me because I had had one beer that afternoon, but is there an objective definition of “tonight?”. Regardless, it was like 8 pm at that point, so no way the alcohol was still in my system. So I said no, but I was worried that could be seen as lying to an officer. I’m too autistic for questions like that.
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You’re well within your rights and I’ll respect that.
But if you do that; I’ll assume that since you want everything by-the-book, we’ll do it by-the-book and I won’t give you any sort of warning or break.
Talking hurts you if you’re under suspicion of a crime and say something that could be used against you in court, but helps if not: LEOs generally get irritated when you clam up, in part because it makes their jobs harder and in part because the people who best know to clam up are people with tons of criminal court experience, as either a defendant or an attorney. An attitude like “I don’t say shit to pigs” puts you in the former camp, while “I’m sorry, I’m not interested in discussing my day with you. Did you need anything else from me while I am detained?” puts you in the latter camp.
Telling them every bit of information when you’re not under suspicion of a crime and haven’t committed any will put you in their good graces and make a citation far less likely, despite what’s supposed to happen by the book.
I can’t speak for LEOs from other areas, but 100% of the LEOs (and family members) I’ve pulled over in my area immediately identified themselves as such to get out of any consequences for the traffic stop.
Without training, as in having been a lawyer, LEO, or other professionally well-versed role, I would stick to minimal interaction and stay closed about anything more.
That’s not to say be disrespectful. Always remain polite and respectful. LEOs are humans just like us (last time I checked, lol). But politely maintaining boundaries while complying with lawful orders goes a long way.
I just went through it recently on 3 different occasions. Local DUI team tried to get me leaving a restaurant because they saw someone in work boots hop into a Mercedes and head on faster than they liked. Literally complying with sobriety tests but not answering any additional questions or having an attitude and I was back on my way in less than 10 minutes and them dumbfounded about the interaction. Not bad guys, just clearly over-worked and confused because they assumed and were incorrect.
Another one I got pulled over for speeding to get out and away from a clusterf*** of drivers who couldn’t stay in their lane. Minimum answers and just a couple sentences explaining that I do whatever I need to, to get away from groups of drivers that cluster around me as I already have neck and back injuries from bad drivers causing crashes before I took this approach. The trooper wrote me the no insurance ticket knowing it would be dismissed and kept everything else off. Insurance lapsed and I had forgotten, just had to renew the next day. DA/Proc dismissed it as a fix-it ticket.
Third one was yesterday on the way home from work. Road rager hopped out of their vehicle trying to be tough military guy and realized too late he just jumped out into an open field of fire with no cover or weapon and stopped dead in his tracks when he realized. Some observer called the cops and I was pulled over a few miles down the freeway. After explaining that fool appears to have some fictional narrative in his head and almost got hurt in self defense I was back on the road 30 minutes later.
Respect and no games goes a long way in my experience. I can’t state enough that being respectful and polite gives a lot of leeway to maintain your rights. That is only if you’re legitimately a law abiding citizen. No idea how to use that to cover criminal activity, nor do I want to help anyone do that.
Last night I stopped a car with a few stopping charges, immediately smelled alcohol and saw other factors that indicate some impairment.
He did comply with SFSTs and I determined he likely wasn’t impaired and had just had some alcohol. He was about 1/4th the per se limit.
That said, his indicators (outside of driving behavior, which wasn’t bad) were enough to get a warrant for a blood draw under Implied Consent. If he had clammed up like every YouTube lawyer tells him, I’d have done just that.
Instead, he complied, and he went home with a warning for the violations.
Like the guy above said: You wanna be a robot, I’ll do the same and maybe even get some overtime court appearances later. You wanna be a human, I’ll be a human too. We’ll talk a bit and realize a mistake was had, words will be said and have a good day.
Be Polite and cordial. If it’s a simple question provide a direct answer. I would advise that you just answer the questions your comfortable with. Officers will always handle it different. When I do a stop, I identify myself and the reason for the stop. I don’t ask if they know why I stopped them.
The rest of the stop will be dictated based on the drivers demeanor and if there are any other immediate factors.
The secret to an easy traffic stop is to just be chill. If it’s dark I’ll turn on my dome lights, I’ll keep my hands on the wheel and tell them where/when I’m reaching for my paperwork. If they ask me where I’m coming from I just say “I’m coming from (north, south, east, west side of town)” or “I’m heading home”. You don’t have to give them your life story or anything, just don’t be an obnoxious prick about it
I’m a lawyer.
If I get pulled over for a traffic offense, I immediately apologize and am as friendly as possible.
Were I to be stopped, questioned, or detained for anything beyond that, I’d give them my ID, name, and address and then invoke my right to remain silent and to an attorney.
It’s that simple, folks. I don’t have time to go fight a speeding ticket in court and don’t want to. So, I’d rather hope for a warning by being polite, appreciative, and apologetic.