First off, Ill also try to answer any questions to the best of my ability. Its worth noting Im a Federal cop, not a city cop, so things differ slightly, but not much.
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Originally Posted by Rochard
I have a huge amount of respect for law enforcement. Any job where the pay is horrible and you can shot at just by pulling someone over..... That's a job I couldn't do. So thanks to all of the officers that their job daily.
I have a bunch of questions:
1) Some time ago I was a passenger in a car when we got pulled over. The person driving was an 19 year old woman. (She was smoking hot really.) She got pulled over for failing to stop at a stop sign. Much my amazement, she pulled over into the center of an empty parking lot, didn't roll down her windows, didn't put her car in park, and didn't even turn the engine off. I was always taught to pull the car over into a position where it's unlikely you'll be able to take off, to turn you car off AND put your cars on the dashboard. If you find someone who does all of these things, do you cut them some slack?
2) In the same incident mentioned above, we were following another car who also failed to run a stop sign. He was a twenty-five year old male. He was driving alone and the police officer asked him if he had any weapons. He replied that he did, all unloaded, all in the trunk. Within minutes there was a dozen police cars. They went through every gun - dozens of them, including sub machine guns - that were all legal and licenensed. Why did the cops come in bulk? It was like a gun show.
3) How many tickets vs warnings do cops write in one day.
Thanks guys!
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1) It doesnt matter how you pull over or what you do with your vehicle. (it does to an extent, more on that in a minute)Police officers are trained to treat every traffic stop with the utmost caution. We are trained to always be ready for the worst possible scenario, so when I approach a vehicle I always prepare for them to run, have a gun, a knife, or even explosives. Dont take this the wrong way. I dont treat everyone like they are the worst criminal in the world. I simply expect the worst, because you never know when something is going to happen. The moment you let your guard down is the moment something does. I treat every traffic stop this way.
Now as for how you should pull over when yielding to or being stopped by a Law enforcement Agency. You should make every effort to pull over to the right side of the road as much out of traffic as possible. When it is too difficult to pull to the right, then find an embankment, empty turn lane, or median and pull in there. Remember, if you have to pull over in a lane and block traffic in that lane because there is nowhere else to go(a rare occassion) then make sure that your vehicle is visible in both directions for at least 1000 feet(IE-dont block an open lane of traffic right around a sharp bend in the road). If at all possible try to find somewhere to pull into(such as a parking lot). In the end, you should be thinking about the safety of the other motorists on the road, the officer pulling you over, and yourself.
Personally, I dont cut anyone slack based on how they pull over. I may give them a ticket or I may give them a warning. Its based on what the person did to be stopped, the attitude they have and how cooperative they are. Every officer is different.
2) In this case it really depends on what state this incident occured. On a military or federal installation no private weapons are allowed unless you are on official business and have a license to carry a concealed weapon. If this guy came on base he would have been arrested regardless of whether all the weapons were legal and licensed. Since this happened in the city the officer might have suspected he was an illegal arms dealer or it could have just been protocol when someone is in possession of three or more firearms(or whatever it may be). I cant say for sure.
3)As I said in answer #1 this can vary, because I give out tickets/warnings based on why the person was stopped, the attitude they have and their level of cooperation.
Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more.