I was driving home from work, exhausted, wearing my usual hoodie and jeans, when I got pulled over for a busted taillight. Cop walks up, normal stuff, asks for license and registration. Here’s where the spiral begins.
First, I fumble the glovebox and a half-empty bag of trail mix explodes all over the passenger seat. Then I realize my wallet is not in my pocket. Cue me patting down every inch of my jacket and pants like I’m holding contraband. I finally find it… under my seat. I reach down, come up fast, and the cop visibly tenses up.
Then I nervously say, “It’s cool, I’m just getting my license” like I’m trying to convince myself I’m not a threat. My voice cracks. I’m sweating. I suddenly forget how to operate my own hands and hand him my Costco card instead of my license. He looks at it, then at me, and says, “Sir, this is… a membership card.”
I finally get him the right info. He goes back to his car. I sit there completely still like I’ve got a kilo of cocaine in the trunk, even though I have nothing illegal, not even a speeding ticket. My heart’s pounding. I don’t even know why. He comes back and says, “I’m just giving you a warning, but… you good, man?” I say, “Yeah! Great! Love the law!” like a damn narc.
He walks off shaking his head. I drive away with trail mix stuck to my ass.
TL;DR: Got pulled over for a minor issue and panicked so hard I made myself look like a drug mule with no drugs.
Comments
White privilege is the best isn’t it?
You didnt fuck up. You just got a touch of nerves. It happens
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Man, having the bit of anxiety and ADHD I do, I can see this being me. I’m the type that gets nervous with nothing to hide, because I know that they don’t know that. Police encounters are inherently frightening- they have the potential to negatively change people’s lives and at worst end them.
My guess is they see this regularly. Glad you’re OK at the end of it.
That’s hilarious, I can totally relate.
This is why I roleplayed getting all my info out to the cop a few times when I first started driving.
The few times i ended up pulled over It was flawless
There is no such thing as a normal traffic stop.
Lol my brother got pulled over and the cop wanted to look in his car then he realized he had his pistol in the car and when he gets excited he tends to talk louder than normal and yelled at the cops before they could find it on their own I GOT A GUN!!! They all freaked out and drawed down on him and he hit the ground belly first with his hands covering his head like a bomb was about to hit. LMBO The cops fell out laughing at him. Need I say he is kinda awkward like Tommy boy. Lol
🤣
Next time, tell the cop every move you will be making, and why. And take your time.
It’s sad that we all get so nervous even when we know we have done nothing wrong. It shouldn’t be that way. Being totally innocent but still freaking out because you know this person could completely destroy your life if they felt like it.
“Love the law!”
No offense, but a hoodie probably doesn’t help you with the traffic stop. Especially if you have it up.
You fucked up by getting out of a ticket?
This always happens when the damn trail mix explodes
>Love the law!
That is absolutely hilarious 🤣 any cop that didnt find that amusing is taking themselves way too seriously
My ex husband used to work super early in the morning. One day he’s driving down the empty highway at 4am in his old beater truck, drinking his coffee and he sees lights. Lots of lights. So he moves to the right but they don’t pass.
It dawns on him that they want him to pull over, so he does. Zero seconds later he’s on his face in the dirt surrounded by five cops with their guns drawn. Yes, he peed his pants. He agreed to them searching the truck and after half an hour they un cuffed him and said they were sorry. Apparently there had been a murder and he matched the description, truck and all.
Getting pulled over is no joke, especially if you’re even slightly brown.
you gave off such chaotic “definitely hiding something even though I’m not” energy I’m surprised he didn’t search your soul 💀
Some people have never had that second (or third) cop car pull up and it shows.
Lmao people with social anxiety get it!
If you’re not a criminal and have nothing to hide, there’s no reason to get nervous. At least, that’s what I try to tell myself in these situations.
C- Do you know why I pulled you over?
M- For the fun of it?
C- No
M- Cause I was speeding?
C- No, you were going 5 over but that’s not why I pulled you over.
M- Listen man I only had 3 beers and 50mg gummy, I’m basically sober.
C- I pulled you over because your license plate has a light out…
M- Ohh yeah I know
C- I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the car.
M- Dammit!
“Love the law”. Lol. You’re adorable. Dorky and suspicious but adorable
Considering cops randomly kill people all the time your reaction is understandable.
I’m a weirdo, apparently, and I prefer exercising really early before people get out and about on the trail. So, a few days ago, I started my walk at 3:30 am at a local trail. Where I typically park, I have two options when getting on the trail. I can go N, or I can go S. If I go S and go to the end and come back, it’s about 3 miles. If I go to the N, it’s about a mile and a half to the end and back to my car. When I want to do longer walks, I go to the N, keep walking past my car, and do the S part too.
Okay, so it’s 3:30 am. I’m walking. There’s a spot where the sidewalk creates a loop on the N end, so I walked that loop a few times and I walk to the end of the trail, and I am heading back towards my car planning to continue on to the S part of the trail. As I am heading back towards my car, I see a cop car come off the road down onto the trail, and he has his light bar lit up with bright white lights, and he starts driving down the trail in his cop car, which is weird.
I keep walking towards where my car is parked, which is near a playground and dog park, and there are cops with flashlights looking around. And three cop cars have surrounded my car, the front of their cars are facing mine and they have it lit up with their headlights. I’m like, wtf? I think maybe someone hit my car or broke into or something. And I’m not really sure what to do. It’s dark, there is lightning on the trail, but it’s not great.
I decided to go up to my car to make sure everything is okay. I’m in tight workout leggings with my keys and phone in my pocket, so there is a giant bulge on the side of my thigh. I’m walking with my arms away from my sides and palms open because I don’t want them to think I have a weapon. Two of the cops spots me and one says, “What are you doing out here?” I said, “exercising.” He said, “were you the one that just ran from us?” Me, who is also obese, “noooo.. I am out here about this time every morning walking this trail. I can show you my workout logs (which also have a map of where I walked).” He said, “is that your car over there?” Me, “yes, sir.” Then the younger, nicer cop starts talking to me. I explain that I thought something had happened to my car. He said no, they were looking for someone who was smoking weed on a bench and ran. He asked me to empty my pockets, see my ID, and took my phone number. I asked him if this was a situation where I needed to get in my car and leave or if it was safe for me to continue my walk. He said they didn’t think he was dangerous; he just ran when they tried to talk to him because he was smoking weed. I said, okay, cool, and continued on my walk.
So, yeah, I know what you mean about sweating bullets. I am a straight arrow. And I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, and I knew there wasn’t anything in my car, but I was still very nervous.
Cops see nervous people all the time, because people get nervous interacting with cops.
You did nothing wrong, just try to relax if it happens again. Take deep breaths.
Practice makes perfect, so start running more stop signs, red lights, and drive everywhere at least 10mph over the speed limit.
I once accidentally handed the guard at a military base gate my credit card instead of my id. He handed it back to me with a look that said “yeah you’re credit limit ain’t anywhere near what it would have to be for that to work”. 🤣
I have had countless interactions with city, county, and state police, and in almost fifty years I have had just three bad experiences with State cops, and one KCPD rookie who probably had a Napoleon complex. For the life of me I don’t know how so many other people have such poor interactions. I drove millions of miles in 47 States and those four times were the only ones that were even close to unprofessional. If there were that many bad cops the law of large numbers would have kicked in decades ago.
I’m guessing you’re white.
This reminds me of my dad. My dad got pulled over for speeding right after he and mom bought a minivan. He was nervous, trying to joke, saying oh it’s new, I’m getting used to driving it. The officer is kind of like yeah well you still were going too fast. And then Dad goes “no I love you guys look” pulls up his sweater like he’s going to flash the officer a tattoo or show off his bare chest – to show him a t-shirt from a K9 fundraiser. I’m pretty sure the officer went through all the emotions before he just kind of chuckled and walked away.
LMAO I worked in a pharmacy and we have to ask for ID for controlled drugs and for sudafed. You wouldn’t believe how often I had to hand someone back their Costco card. And it was specifically, ONLY the Costco cards.
I mean… when they get all flustered and anxious they just start shooting.
American cops as a group fucked up by killing so many fucking people for absolutely no reason that normal folks have to be scared of them. This isn’t on you at all.
I got pulled over one time for a registration issue. In my glove box I have an iPhone box that has some small tools and a few pens just in case I need them. When I was a teenager/in my 20s I used to keep weed and papers in an iPhone box and I know plenty of people who still do.
I had also just bought an iPad that day that was sitting on my passenger seat. When the cop asked for my registration I opened my glove box to get it. At the same time, he asked “just bought an iPad huh, which one is that?” My dumb ass pulled the iPhone box out and handed it to him (my hands and voice were shaking as I was doing so) and said “no, this is just where I keep my tools.”
He looked at me like I was the dumbest mfer he ever met and went “I was referring to the one on your seat but ok… there is nothing I should know about in your car right?” There was absolutely nothing in there and at that time I hadn’t smoked in years but for some reason I stammered while telling him so (I live in an illegal state). I consented to a search because I knew there was nothing in there. The dude calls for a K9 to sniff my car and they tear it apart looking for something. Found nothing and still wrote me for having an expired registration.
Idk why I was so nervous but it caused me way more trouble than I needed that day.
Im not a fan of unnecessary searches but damn, you probably should have been searched
This is honestly 100% how I would probably end up acting. Like I feel guilty when I go into a store and leave without buying anything because I feel like I look suspicious lol. I dread the day when I inevitably get pulled over for something small and fumble it hard
There’s so many ways that could have gone wrong.. you’re lucky.
Don’t be stupid next time. Move slowly… Tell him what you’re going to do before you do it, or better yet ask if it is okay to get whatever it is you need out of the glove compartment.
Relax… At least outwardly. If your projecting calm, rational statements, it will hopefully keep him calm.
An officer tensing up like that is one decision away from shooting you. Breathe, talk, then do slowly and in plain view.
Give the officer a chance to decide if it is okay for you to go rummaging around in your car.
Always start an interaction like this by rolling down all your windows, place your keys on the dash (even proximity keys because it sends a visual message) and absolutely don’t go diving/ digging for anything with asking. As much as I don’t like cops in general, they are absolutely human and best to give them a chance to tell you what they are comfortable with or not comfortable with.
Love the law 😂
Look on the bright side. You have given that nice man and his friends years of entertainment retelling this story.
It’s like a train wreck in slow motion. Good job.
Driving home last night from my bus driver job,my foot might have been slightly heavy as I’ve had my foot to the floor all day to make a bus go 50mph. Overtake a car at 75mph on a 70mph road. The dark sky fills with blue flashing lights, I’m at my junction so I pull off and safely park on the quieter road, thinking “fuck, will points get me in trouble at work?” Cop speeds past into my village
There have been WAY too many times where I pulled out my Costco card instead of my ID
Don’t feel too bad. When I was pulled over as a teenager, I was so flustered that I took out my wallet and handed the trooper $3. I got to sit in the passenger seat of his squad.
Damn first thing I woulda don’t was taze you right in the neck then immediately mase you directly into each eye. Damn sketchy as hell. You were not lying. And first off. Isn’t it hot as hell everywhere. Why you wearing a hoodie like a junkie on a come down.
On the bright side you are going to be a precinct punch line for at least a week
OP was definitely not a POC. I’m mixed and depending on how I’m dressed and my hair is styled I look either very Caucasian or very Hispanic.
Thank you for that laugh – I get stopped by airport customs every.dam.time.I.fly and have a very similar reaction and to add to the misery, I generally burst into tears. awhhhh