By Dr. Ray Kessler, who is, incidentally, a retired Prof. of Criminal Justice, former defense attorney and prosecutor is your host. I am also a part-time instructor in Criminal Justice at Richland College, an outstanding, 2-year institution in Dallas, TX.
https://richlandcollege.edu/
Note that I do NOT select which ads run on the blog.
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
How dangerous are routine traffic stops?
While this research is far from definitive, it does provide something to go on. Thanks to Prof. Joseph Olson for the link.
A response to a complaint generally involves some awareness of whatever threat level is likely. Traffic stops? "Ya never know."
Most are not a problem, but there is always an uncertainty factor--and any one might turn deadly in a heartbeat. Going back some forty years, cops I have known have all had stories of "sudden bad things".
Rule # 1: If you have two hands, keep both on the wheel in plain sight. Rule # 2: Inform the officer if there's a weapon, legal or not, inside the vehicle. Rule # 3: if having to reach for requested documents from a compartment, explain to the officer what you're going to do before proceeding. And rule # 4: Don't ever forget the saying, "an armed society is a polite society". Avoid verbal and physical confrontations with the cop.
A response to a complaint generally involves some awareness of whatever threat level is likely. Traffic stops? "Ya never know."
ReplyDeleteMost are not a problem, but there is always an uncertainty factor--and any one might turn deadly in a heartbeat. Going back some forty years, cops I have known have all had stories of "sudden bad things".
Art
Rule # 1: If you have two hands, keep both on the wheel in plain sight. Rule # 2: Inform the officer if there's a weapon, legal or not, inside the vehicle. Rule # 3: if having to reach for requested documents from a compartment, explain to the officer what you're going to do before proceeding. And rule # 4: Don't ever forget the saying, "an armed society is a polite society". Avoid verbal and physical confrontations with the cop.
ReplyDelete