Traffic stops are the easiest and some of the most effective ways to deter crime and lessen traffic accidents. Thanks to this fact, throughout my law enforcement career traffic stops have been encouraged by the police departments that I have worked at. This has led me to several interactions with various people.
During one shift I was working, I was pretty tired. It was the middle of the night and the shift was quiet. I hoped that a traffic stop could help keep me awake. I parked in the gore on a main road and just waited. There were barely any cars out on the road. After waiting roughly 15 to 20 minutes, I saw an opportunity, and three things came to mind:
It was a small car.
One of the headlights was out.
I knew I was going to stop it.
I put my car in drive and took off after the only other vehicle on the road. I got behind it, put on my blue lights and the car immediately pulled over. I jump out the car, walk over and say: “Hey man, your headlights are out. Can I see your license?” This man looks me in the eye and says: “I don’t have a license, but my headlight isn’t out. I just checked it.” So at this point I’m very confused. I responded back: “Do you not have a license on you, or you don’t have one at all?” He said he never had one and once again reiterated the fact that his headlight wasn’t out. I called for backup and checked his information. He was suspended. When my backup arrived I told him that we could look at the headlight if he wanted. The man smiled from ear to ear and hopped out of the car. (What he didn’t realize is that I say that to most people I arrest on traffic stops. It’s a lot easier to arrest someone when they are outside the car than when they are sitting down.) When the man got out of the car he just kept going. Before long, I was looking at his build. He looked about 6’3 and 230lbs of pure muscle. I just thought to myself, “This fight is going to be a pain.” The male, my backup officer and I walked to the front of the car to look at the headlight. When we got there he pointed at the headlight and said with a laugh, “See it’s working.” He turned back and smiled at me while gesturing to the light. I responded “Well it was out when you drove by me. Turn around and place your hands behind your back.” The man sighed and followed orders. He complied with everything I said, which made for an easy arrest. It turned out his car had been having electrical problems and his lights would randomly stop working.
The man was clearly upset with his vehicle, but he was nothing but respectful toward me. We actually had a good conversation on the way to the jail. Things took a slight turn, however, when we got to the jail. Once I pulled up, the jailers took off his hand cuffs and began to talk to the male. I started working on paperwork a few feet away. I turned around and just heard screaming. There was a miscommunication and the male thought that the jail was trying to get him to sign paperwork admitting he was wrong. A 6’3” male was being yelled at by a jail officer that wasn’t even 5 feet. She then began to approach him while yelling. I just heard the male I arrested calmly say “No, I won’t.” The male then bucked up and I jumped out my chair and ran between them. I turn to my left and I see a bunch of jail staff running my way. I immediately just start saying “Whoa whoa whoa” and I get the jail officer and male I arrested separated. Then in the calmest voice I had I said “Buddy, this doesn’t show guilt… but even if it did, you already admitted to everything, so… what’s the problem?” He looked at me and once again smiled from ear to ear. He then said two words: “You right,” and happily walked off to his cell. I never quite understood what all the fuss was about, but at the end of the day I got a traffic stop, and he complied, so I never gave it much thought.
Originally posted on my blog (https://ourstoriesfrombehindthebadge.wordpress.com/)
