This account of a traffic stop is from a police officer who has patrolled in metro Atlanta for more than 20 years. He asked that his name and department be withheld because he doesn’t have permission to speak publicly. The officer said he wrote the account because, while some cops have bad attitudes, some drivers do, too, and “we never know what we’re walking up to.” The officer supplied his badge number, and the AJC confirmed his identity with a superior.
Some years ago I was behind a vehicle that passed a slower car in front of him, but he passed on a double-yellow line. I immediately pulled him over in my unit, blue lights and sirens. As I approached his window he looked at me and said, “Why the ‘F’ you pulled me over!?” Mind you, the driver was black and in his 20s, and I’m black. I ignored the F-word comment to ask for his driver’s license and proof of insurance, then proceeded to tell him why I’d pulled him over. My intention had been to ask whether he knew what he did wrong and to give him a warning ticket. But the language and the attitude ensured that he was getting a citation. I went back to my unit and wrote him the citation.
When I approached his vehicle again, citation in hand, he said “F you” and rolled up the window. I asked for him to step out of his vehicle, because now he was being arrested for disorderly conduct. He swore again and did not move. I stepped back from his window to the rear of his vehicle to keep a good visual and to call for back up. He yelled out loud and clear, “You better call for backup!” Then he put his car in drive and, to my disbelief, started driving off. I radioed it in and got behind him. We were doing the speed limit and he was using his left and right turn signals, but he ignored my lights and sirens and my instructions, over the PA system, for him to pull over. I finally got several additional units to help and we got him stopped several miles away from the original stop.
As I approached his window again, he rolled it all the way down and asked, “What the F do you want?” I opened his door, pulled him out and handcuffed him without further incident. I was furious. All he’d had to do was to listen to what I had to say at first and that would have been the end of it. But now he was charged with several offenses and taken to jail, his vehicle impounded. He was found guilty months later and sentenced to more time because he exhibited that same attitude in court toward the judge! AND he brought his mother to court, I guess as a character witness or for sympathy, because she wasn’t in the car with him that day.
Your everyday attitude can go long way. I know some people will say that most officers have attitudes most of the time. All I can say to that is that you have not been pulled over by most officers, or you’re really doing something wrong in your life. But greet an attitude with kindness. If you’re legit or if you’re wrong, a pleasant attitude can possibly change that officer’s attitude. I smile all the time and am probably the nicest guy you will ever run into. I try to make people feel less nervous when I pull them over by smiling and being cheerful, because I still get nervous when I’m pulled over. LOL. I roll down my windows, which are tinted, turn off the car and put my hands in plain view to show the officer I’m not a threat.
