LEO's pulling people over..

[1861]

While I agree that a driver should make sure they pull over in a safe place, there's IMHO a greater responsibility on the officer, as he/she is the authority controlling the stop.

When I see flashing lights in my rearview, that doesn't say to me, "pull over at your convenience", that says, "pull over ASAP!". Given that people tend to get nervous when being stopped, they want to comply as quickly as possible so they don't start off the exchange with the LEO on the wrong foot. No one wants a LEO to approach their window and say, "WHY DIDN'T YOU PULL OVER?!?!"

The police should recognize this, stay close to the driver they wish to pull over, scan the road for a relatively safe place, and THEN turn on their lights. As soon as a LEO feels the need to pull someone over, that LEO is in control of the encounter, even before the cars come to a stop. I've been stopped by LEOs that do this, to the point where one officer even started off the conversation by saying, "sorry I followed you for so long, I wanted to make sure we had a safe place to stop". I don't like being pulled over, but I can respect a LEO that takes the time to make sure we're both as safe as possible.

We were taught this 35 years ago in traffic enforcement school . You would think all LEO would know it by now .

[Bmarshall91]

http://www.startribune.com/local/eas...Unciaec8O7EyUr

\
Check this out before you decide where to stop.

MAAAAAAAAYBE the fact that the first thing the guy does is jump out of the van and SCREAM "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" That right there would put me on the offensive. I would have tried the PIT manouver as well. Then when I got out of the car, I'd have gun drawn, ready for anything; just like the female officer. He did not act in any way visable that he was intending to pull over. if indeed he were intending to pull off to the side of the road, he SHOULD have put his four ways on, and pulled over ON 64... or at least on the shoulder of the off ramp. At least acknowledge the officer behind you. Another problem with this stop is the driver pulled into the fast lane first. if a police officer is behind you with his lights on, you PULL TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. Not the left. wave out the window, put your four ways on, slow down to 25mph until you find a safe spot.... but given the time of day, and what day it actually was... i don't see anything wrong with what the officer did either.....

when you get pulled over, even if the police officer hits you, you DO NOT agrivate the situation by jumping out of the car and screaming at that officer! He's lucky he didn't get charged with something more like endangering the childrens lives by not pulling over in time... or something like that.

[ChrisF4i]

I've noticed while watching the show "Speeders" that the California Highway Patrol gets on their PA system and tells the driver to exit the freeway or move up past the bridge when they pull someone over.

[Jaralaccs]

Pulled over on a short on-ramp to the NJ turnpike, I obviously waited until I got to the top and pulled over in front of the toll booth building. Apparently that was a mistake..

"Why were you running"

me totally confused: "wh" (before I could say what)

"How come you didnt stop"

me: because didn't see you until halfway up and I wasn't going to"
(stop in the middle of the on ramp)

Cut me off again cop "license and registration"

After a back and forth of old registration card, but new one wasn't in the car. Although the little square sticker was clearly on the tag, their "system" is down at the moment and it can't be verified. I still don't even know why I was pulled over.
Either did he. I got a seatbelt ticket in addition to the registration, even though I was wearing my seatbelt, my windows are tinted and it was at night & cold so they were up. Maybe NJ statie's have xray vision???

I hate NJ and NJ hates me

[billamj]

MAAAAAAAAYBE the fact that the first thing the guy does is jump out of the van and SCREAM "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" That right there would put me on the offensive. I would have tried the PIT manouver as well. Then when I got out of the car, I'd have gun drawn, ready for anything; just like the female officer. He did not act in any way visable that he was intending to pull over. if indeed he were intending to pull off to the side of the road, he SHOULD have put his four ways on, and pulled over ON 64... or at least on the shoulder of the off ramp. At least acknowledge the officer behind you. Another problem with this stop is the driver pulled into the fast lane first. if a police officer is behind you with his lights on, you PULL TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. Not the left. wave out the window, put your four ways on, slow down to 25mph until you find a safe spot.... but given the time of day, and what day it actually was... i don't see anything wrong with what the officer did either.....

when you get pulled over, even if the police officer hits you, you DO NOT agrivate the situation by jumping out of the car and screaming at that officer! He's lucky he didn't get charged with something more like endangering the childrens lives by not pulling over in time... or something like that.

Hmmm, he slowed down to below 35, was running his 4 ways, and made a point of using his turn signal to mark his turnoff point BEFORE she pulls the pit move ON AN ICE SLICKED SURFACE when he had his very minor children in the car. He did virtually everything YOU suggest yet he was in the wrong????? Haven't we all been hearing about fake cops making stops and haven't we all been told, on both TV and radio, that we should NOT pull over until we felt we were in a safe place to do so while doing just what he did? Sorry, but I'm just not with you on this one. This "officer" over-stepped the bounds.

[nepawolf]

http://www.startribune.com/local/eas...Unciaec8O7EyUr

\
Check this out before you decide where to stop.

I got to be honest on this one. He did nothing wrong, and she just rammed him because she was becoming impatient at that point. She endangered the kids and him by ramming him on ice when he was obviously pulling over and stopping. She just was not happy with how slow he was doing it. That's all there is to it. She was impatient and pissed off, and she rammed him to stop him right away. IT, done. Cut and dried. If your kids were in your car when a cop rammed you because something you were doing was completely legal but irritated them, I'd imagine you'd react in the same way. She was not acting like a cop at that point, and is lucky she didn't get fired on. There was no reason for him to think that she was a cop, once she rammed him for pulling over. Then she draws her gun. She needs to be at least suspended, otherwise she'll never acknowledge (especially to herself) that she did anything wrong. When she made him slide like that, it could have gone alot worse. Would they have said she had done nothing wrong if she accidentally fired on him when she drew? When you draw your gun fast for a situation that you feel that your life depends on it, people don't always follow proper trigger discipline. We all know what is real easy to happen at that point. Would you blame him for it if he ended up dead because she pulled her gun? I'm not saying she shouldn't have had her hand on it, but to draw and point is quite serious. You don't point your weapon at anything you don't plan on killing. End of statement. I'd be willing to bet that those kids are going to permanently remember her pointing a gun at their daddy. The guy who was being careful for everyone's sake. Hell of a way to be repaid for looking out for your safety.


For the record, I normally support LEO's. I can't support someone who endangered these lives because they didn't want to wait another 30 seconds for them to slow down on an icy shoulder.

[LittleRedToyota]

Hmmm, he slowed down to below 35, was running his 4 ways, and made a point of using his turn signal to mark his turnoff point BEFORE she pulls the pit move ON AN ICE SLICKED SURFACE when he had his very minor children in the car. He did virtually everything YOU suggest yet he was in the wrong????? Haven't we all been hearing about fake cops making stops and haven't we all been told, on both TV and radio, that we should NOT pull over until we felt we were in a safe place to do so while doing just what he did? Sorry, but I'm just not with you on this one. This "officer" over-stepped the bounds.

yeah. i can certainly understand the gun drawn thing after the guy jumps out of his car yelling and screaming.

but i think the use of PIT in this situation is going to turn out to be a serious violation of departmental policy at the least.

[Dredly]

MAAAAAAAAYBE the fact that the first thing the guy does is jump out of the van and SCREAM "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" That right there would put me on the offensive. I would have tried the PIT manouver as well. Then when I got out of the car, I'd have gun drawn, ready for anything; just like the female officer. He did not act in any way visable that he was intending to pull over. if indeed he were intending to pull off to the side of the road, he SHOULD have put his four ways on, and pulled over ON 64... or at least on the shoulder of the off ramp. At least acknowledge the officer behind you. Another problem with this stop is the driver pulled into the fast lane first. if a police officer is behind you with his lights on, you PULL TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. Not the left. wave out the window, put your four ways on, slow down to 25mph until you find a safe spot.... but given the time of day, and what day it actually was... i don't see anything wrong with what the officer did either.....

when you get pulled over, even if the police officer hits you, you DO NOT agrivate the situation by jumping out of the car and screaming at that officer! He's lucky he didn't get charged with something more like endangering the childrens lives by not pulling over in time... or something like that.

I disagree with this - I think him jumping out of the vehicle was 100% appropriate in this case and I would have done the exact same thing to be honest... He already knows the officer is unstable and very willing to put his family at risk jumping out will keep her from trying to act big and bad and possibly threaten the family more.


If this was NOT an LEO the result would be felony charges being filed against the aggressor (her) for endangering minors, vehicular assault and numerous other charges.

We have yet another example of a person abusing their authority and being protected from the law because they have a badge on their chest...

[Bmarshall91]

Hmmm, he slowed down to below 35, was running his 4 ways, and made a point of using his turn signal to mark his turnoff point BEFORE she pulls the pit move ON AN ICE SLICKED SURFACE when he had his very minor children in the car. He did virtually everything YOU suggest yet he was in the wrong????? Haven't we all been hearing about fake cops making stops and haven't we all been told, on both TV and radio, that we should NOT pull over until we felt we were in a safe place to do so while doing just what he did? Sorry, but I'm just not with you on this one. This "officer" over-stepped the bounds.

the first bold responce... no he did not have his four ways on.


the second... it was midnight on new years eve there was no way for the officer to know who was in the car.

[1861]

You can rest assured if she was in the right and the driver was wrong , they would not have dropped the charges .