Why did the cops take an agressive attitude towards my husband?

Question

My husband got a speeding ticket last night (50 in a 35). What he came home steaming about was the way the police officers approached him. He said he saw in the rear view mirror that they both got out of the car and unsnapped their guns, they shouted at him to "keep your hands on the wheel". Then when they came up on both sides of the car one shouted at him "do you have any warrants or are you on parole?" After he told them no, they asked him "do you have any objections to us searching your vehicle" He again said no, he had no objections but they decided not to search the car after all.

Since this is the first ticket he's gotten in eight years, he is trying to figure out why they were so agressive towards him. Is this the way officers approach people now? Or was it possibly something about my husband that caused them to suspect him as more than a traffic violator? He does drive a red sports car so maybe that has something to do with it?

Answer 1

This is the probelm with the public. They take it personally when they are stopped. They don't realize that conditions and criteria in which police are trained to respond to situations and conditions to keep them safe. I will list some.

1. The police officers do not know your husband. Your husband could be the best guy in the world, but the police do not have ESP. Jeffery Damer looked like your average citizen.

2. If the traffic stop was in the dark. The police officers will order your husband to keep his hands on the wheel. Criminals keep guns on their lap, in the console, in the door. If he keeps his hands visible, it keeps the officers at ease.

3. The police unsnapped their guns. Remember, the officer didn't unsnap his gun because he doens't like your husband, he doesn't know your husband. But, an officer has been trained to expect ANY situation and is trained to be faster than a possible armed suspect. For all we know, the same officer could have arrested an armed suspect an hour before stopping your husband.

4. It is standard for an officer to question a driver about parole and warrants, they will check anyway without your husbands knowledge. Remember, most criminals will not tell the officer he has warrants, but some do come clean and admit it because they are tired of running.

5. When the officer asked about checking the car for illegal contraband. He is checking to see what your husband's attitude is about the situation. If your husband says "go ahead" then the officer will either think, you husband has nothing to hide, or he will go ahead and look.

If your husband said "no" then the officer will believe that your husband has something to hide and will call out the dog. It could be that your husband just doesn't want his privacy violated, but you better believe the dog is coming anyway.

6. A sports car will generally not have anything to do with the stop, it will be the area that the car is driving through. The police might be having probelms in that area with crimes. Such as burgularies, robberies, drugs, to even simple problems such as speeding.

Just remember, it is nothing personal against your husband. Police officers are killed in armed confrontations everyday. Police officers have families and want to go home at the end of the shift. These officers that stopped your husband will not remember him an hour after, because it isn't personal.

This website will show you why officers are so cautious when they stop a vehicle. www.odmp.org

Answer 2

They obviously felt that he was more than a traffic violator and took the necessary precautions to keep themselves safe. Did your husband start reaching for vehicle documents in the glove box right away? Was he fumbling to get his seat belt on? Did he fumble around in the car before he stopped? Did he take too long to stop? All of these things may set off an officer's perception that there is "something wrong here". You learn to trust your "spidey senses" and you ALWAYS assume the worst. If they are reaching under the seat, it is for a gun (not the cell phone they just dropped) and the time you took to unsnap before you got there may save your life.

When approaching a suspicious vehicle, especially at night I will put my hand on my gun as I approach the vehicle, I might unsnap if something is happening (like someone is reaching between the seats or under the seats) and I might yell quite loudly and sternly to "put your hands on the wheel". Policing is dangerous business and our first concern is staying safe and not that we may hurt someones feelings.

You don't know what it is like until you've taken that long, unprotected walk from your cruiser toward a vehicle at 4:00am. If we ruffle a few feathers because we want to go home to our families after shift, so be it.

Answer 3

Wow Kate, your answer was really helpful and insightful. Must be all that research you did in how the police treat the public.

Anyways...to answer the question. There are all sorts of levels of force police use to do their job. Just showing up with a uniform and badge is a show of force. Every time we escalate to a higher level of force we should be able to articulate or explain why we needed to. Some of it depends on the environment. If you husband was driving through a high crime area on his way to get home, that might have been enough to justify their level of concern. Not that he did something wrong but he was at a place and a time maybe where people usually doing something wrong. Or it could be like someone else said...the cops were looking for someone else and his car fit.

Unfortunately, we don't always get a whole lot of info when we respond to a call. Maybe he just got caught up in a bad situation. It would have been nice though for the cops to explain things after the fact if that was the case.

Answer 4

At least your husband came home, even if iritated. A lot of wives' husbands never come home to them again because their husbands were police officers killed while making a "routine" traffic stop. They did not want to offend the driver they just pulled over, and were caught off gaurd and killed. They forgot their training and let their guard down. Police officers are trained to act very similar to the way these officers did as a part of "Officer Survival training".

When a police officer stops a car, they do not know if the driver is just a normal person, maybe running late for work; or if they just killed their family and are trying to get away in a hurry. Put yourself in their shoes, what would you do?

Next time you are out driving, especially at night, look at the other cars on the road. Try to see the driver, see if you can tell who they are. For that matter, try to determine what gender and race they are. If you can tell who a person is, or what they are capable of just by looking at them or the car they drive, then you are a better person than I.

Answer 5

I can speak from experience..I am a full time police officer in a small town in Mississippi. When I do a traffic stop be it night or day, I will unsnap my holster. However, I try to be professional unless someone gets an attitude. The questions concerning warrants, parole, and consent to search are normal questions that are asked on traffic stops. The reason for that is to see if the person acts funny or gets nervous. From reading your question, it sounds like the officers may have been looking for someone or just having a bad day.

Answer 6

This is a normal safety procedure. What they did, and said was totally correct. The problem with this situation, was the tone of voice. Some people can not change this. Try saying the same thing the Officers said to you, to your wife. See if you could change your tone from intimidating to friendly. If the Officers sounded like Jerry Lewis, or Pee Wee Herman, you'd still be laughing about it, and most likely would not have taken them seriously. You do have an excellent point, and this should be addressed. Maybe you could forward a letter to the Police Academy, or the Mayors office. Either way, put yourself in their position. How would you sound?.

Answer 7

it sounds like you've married a guy who isn't yet on a similar factor of adulthood that you're. those behaviors are frequently more advantageous sturdy to regulate in men because of pride, and protection themes some men conflict interior them selves. the courting between both of you as you defined it style of feels chilly and also looks like there is little or no communique. in case you will get the communique you're searching for for on your man or woman couple's counseling can extremely help. you'll listen it time and time back, that the most to a courting is communique. i strongly have self assurance in this. i actually have self assurance that earlier you've an intimate courting with someone you and that man or woman ought to equipped a good and lasting friendship and in case you sense you haven't finished that yet you ought to tell him. tell him each and every thing, tell him the way you sense interior. all you are able to do is be open and truthful and if he would not understand comprehend that there is not any longer some thing incorrect with you or what you've finished, from time to time it takes some human beings a touch longer to come back round, and note the gentle, and note how a touch compromise is going far.

Answer 8

There could have been many reasons including a rash of officer being assaulted with routine traffic stops. Apparently these officers were on a heighten alert for some reason.

Occasionally people are stop and get the forcible treatment. I recall a stop after a bank robbery where we pulled over a vehicle matching the description at gun point. Only to find that there three commuters on their way to work.

It happens.

Answer 9

Generally speaking the police are not so aggresive with out any probable cause or reasonable suspition. or they "have their guy" but lacking probable cause or reasonable suspition. But il take your husbands situation as you presented it here. let pic pick on your rant:
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"After he told them no, they asked him "do you have any objections to us searching your vehicle" He again said no, he had no objections but they decided not to search the car after all."

if the police had "probable cause" or "reasonable suspition", they would just searched his car without even asking. a call over the police rado that mentions a similar vehilce etc etc is enough for an officer to articulate pc/rs in a court. (remember when the maryland sniper was thought to be in a white van, police were pulling over white vans right and left) the police would not need pc/rs since your husband gave em permison to search his car, anything they found can be admitted into evidence against him shoud this made it to court. if he said "no you have no permission," they woul have need to articulate pc/rs . but since he agreed to the search, the police do not need articulate pc/rs. if your husband did not give permission and the police lacked pc/rs the court can be motioned to have that evidence and the theories that arise from such evidence thrown out.(shoult it come to trial) that is part of the 4th amdenment. asking the court to throw out such evidence and arising theories is the enforcement of the 4th amendment via the exclusionary rule and fruit of the poisoned tree. There are exceptions to the er/fotpt.(that is beyond this scope) the significant exception is "do you have any warrants or are you on parole?" they parolles are exemped from the exclusionary rule and of course a warrent throws this all out.
yes, i know what some are thinking all the legal bull. i have to get to work and i just want the hasseling to be done with, i have nothing to hide. one of these days you are going to give permission and waive your rights, and they will bite and actually search your car and sine they got you to waive you rights on a search they will just continue.
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"Is this the way officers approach people now?"
yes, they like to get the first question. you should get the first question off "why am i being detained?" and its a question that you should not answer till you have a understanding of why you are being detained. other first off cop questions are "do you know why you are being pulled over?" "you have have any guns or contraband we should know about"? "is there anything we should know about?" generally speaking you should get the first question and is should be asking why are they detaining you?

Answer 10

Maybe, like most drivers today, he was completely oblivious to the flashing lights behind him. Perhaps he drove along, in his own little world, for a few blocks until they had to hit the siren. By that time, they thought he was either trying to run from them, grab a gun or hide his drugs. Traffic stops are the most dangerous part of police work - there may have been many things your husband was doing that are danger signs...things he was not even doing intentionally.