Being pulled over by LEO

[et2]

Never have been, and don't plan to be. Very curious as to the actual procedure if it happened. Now I'm sure the officer would come to the side door ( by passenger up front on our DP).

So should I get up and open the door and step out to meet them, or allow the wife to unlock the door. If you allow them to step inside or you open the door to them have you given up your right to being searched as we invited them in? Or let's say they climb the step and sorta put a arm inside on the dash. Just wondering what the legal ramifications would be. Personally our dogs wouldn't take kindly to their entrance.

If anyone has had this happen what has it gone like? I as many others believe in protecting our rights. Just curious if making them stand outside raises flags on their end. I certainly wouldn't invite them to sit in my car if that were the case.

Just pass the info needed out the screen door opening?
Might be a silly post. Just has me wondering what most people would do

[et2]

This thread is about traffic stops in our MH's. Can we keep it to this topic.

Thanks

[down_home]

Sheriff puts his clothes on just like I do. I'll treat him or anyone else the same.
never had a problem playing cowboy and Indians with cap guns or daisy pop guns that are a loud as shotguns.
The level of paranoia and militarized training since 9/11 has some Cops ready to pop off rounds too quickly. Kids don't play with guns. They play with toy guns, including parks etc.
If they are in neighborhoods where crime is rampant he kids still don't play with guns.
Teen age drug runners do, maybe.
In a war zone, kids with Aks are going to shoot your butt.
We are not in a war zone except some places apparently.
We don't go there and our kids don't play there. If you do or you don't trust the Cops or your Govt there, get out of there.
I remember in town where we lived, the whole neighborhood playing cops and robbers, and an occasional police car coming by. they didn't sot us kids nor we them.
On the mountain, where I seemed to spend most of my childhood at Grand Ma's I walked to the store a mile away with a .22 tucked under my arm to buy more .22s. Sheriff nor anybody said anything to me. I was 6 maybe.
We have got to get our Country reconditioned and stop all the stuff going on.

[msmith1199]

Naio wrote:
I am calm and polite and respectful to cops. But I do not believe that being otherwise should be a crime punishable by death, nor that cops should be judge, jury, and executioner.

We have some amazing rights in this country. I have known people from other countries who cannot even imagine what it is like to have freedom of speech and the right to a jury trial.

And understanding that has made me a deeply patriotic American.

I am passionate about our country and our form of government. And that means I defend it against those who try to destroy it by taking away American's voting rights, their rights to free speech and assembly, their right to a trial, and their right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

I believe that criticizing people who break the law and harm our country, even if those people are cops, is a patriotic act.

This is the "toy" gun that "boy" pointed at the police and was pointing at people in that park:

[msmith1199]

Naio wrote:
Do I need to share that I was engaged to a cop who was shot in the line of duty?

I know it's an incredibly dangerous job, and I have great respect for those who have the courage to do it.

And I know it is a very scary job.

But, honestly, when I was a kid we played with toy guns all the time. And nobody ever shot us.

I was never engaged to a cop, but I was a cop and I have been shot in the line of duty. When I was a kid we also played with toy guns. And our guns looked exactly like toys and we usually looked exactly like kids playing with toys. I think my toy gun days ended when I was 10 or 11. One thing we did not have was toys that looked like real guns. And we did not go to parks at night with real looking toy guns and run around pointing those real looking toy guns at people in an effort to scare them because they looked like real guns. All of that is what this 12 year old in the park did. And although he may have been 12, he was a big kid and the officers thought is was 20 years old with a real gun.

[msmith1199]

Naio wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

Naio wrote:

bigdog2 wrote:
I have never felt 'threatened' when the blue lights flash behind me....I expect the officer to be courteous and professional. They always are. I feel much safer stopped on the highway with an officer present than not.

I have this privilege, too. I think it's because I am white and more or less middle class. Being female, helps, too.

All the stuff in the news this past year sure has clued me in that it IS a privilege, though, and one that many polite, law-abiding, mild-mannered Americans do not have.

No. It is because you are a law abiding citizen. Has nothing to do with being white, female or any other color. IF you treat the LEO with respect, Do what he / she says. They will have no reason to treat you any other way.
The stuff you have seen on the news happened because the person was rude, disrespectful, and fought the officers. Bottom line. LEO is NOT going Blue light you, walk up to the vehicle and shoot you for no reason.
Never take the news today for truth. They have their agenda, and they twist the news to reflect their opinion to get you to believe the way they do. Want proof. Ask Brian Williams how many times he was really shot down. and if he says any more than none. It's a lie.

Did you see that video of the kid (I think he was 12 years old) who was playing by himself in the park with a toy gun? Officers pulled up and shot him instantly. No time for him to give them any lip even if he wanted to (and he looked like a shy and geeky kid). It was all on the security camera.

There us much more to the story than what you told here, but I don't think this is the place for this.

[Naio]

I am calm and polite and respectful to cops. But I do not believe that being otherwise should be a crime punishable by death, nor that cops should be judge, jury, and executioner.

We have some amazing rights in this country. I have known people from other countries who cannot even imagine what it is like to have freedom of speech and the right to a jury trial.

And understanding that has made me a deeply patriotic American.

I am passionate about our country and our form of government. And that means I defend it against those who try to destroy it by taking away American's voting rights, their rights to free speech and assembly, their right to a trial, and their right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

I believe that criticizing people who break the law and harm our country, even if those people are cops, is a patriotic act.

[rgatijnet1]

Naio wrote:
Do I need to share that I was engaged to a cop who was shot in the line of duty?

I know it's an incredibly dangerous job, and I have great respect for those who have the courage to do it.

And I know it is a very scary job.

But, honestly, when I was a kid we played with toy guns all the time. And nobody ever shot us.

When I was a kid, the local police taught firearm safety classes to elementary school age children and we got to shoot single action .22 rifles. Never hurt any of us and we all learned about gun safety when we were young enough for it to make a difference. 🙂

[Terryallan]

Naio wrote:
Do I need to share that I was engaged to a cop who was shot in the line of duty?

I know it's an incredibly dangerous job, and I have great respect for those who have the courage to do it.

And I know it is a very scary job.

But, honestly, when I was a kid we played with toy guns all the time. And nobody ever shot us.

Ever point one at a cop on a call?

[Naio]

Do I need to share that I was engaged to a cop who was shot in the line of duty?

I know it's an incredibly dangerous job, and I have great respect for those who have the courage to do it.

And I know it is a very scary job.

But, honestly, when I was a kid we played with toy guns all the time. And nobody ever shot us.

[tbred]

Oldme wrote:
As a retired LEO and Instructor I agree 100% with all gmert has posted.

Others have posted various things.
I will remind you that your attitude will show and that will be responded to either positively or in a negative way. The traffic stop will be handled per the Officer in charge.

Make it easy on yourself and do not arouse undue suspicion by your words or actions. The general public would be surprised as how their actions play a part in the overall picture. The world is getting more hostile and all Officers now are more cautious than ever.

Amen!

[Oldme]

As a retired LEO and Instructor I agree 100% with all gmert has posted.

Others have posted various things.
I will remind you that your attitude will show and that will be responded to either positively or in a negative way. The traffic stop will be handled per the Officer in charge.

Make it easy on yourself and do not arouse undue suspicion by your words or actions. The general public would be surprised as how their actions play a part in the overall picture. The world is getting more hostile and all Officers now are more cautious than ever.

[dougrainer]

In Texas, you MUST volunteer that you have a CHL when first talking to an officer. EVEN if you are not carrying. Failure to do so, can result in a Ticket and/or arrest. You also state WHERE your weapon is when you inform him. FAILURE to comply with anything the Officer asks/tells you do may result in being arrested. The fact that the officer may be wrong does NOT exclude YOU from being subject to arrest. You can still be convicted of interfering with an Officer even if the original charge was unfounded. NEVER argue! Your time to argue is later in court. Being arrested, because YOU think you are right, just causes YOU problems, not the officer. Doug

[obgraham]

I think that in a situation as proposed the LEO and I have similar expectations:

The LEO already thinks there is a problem, or he wouldn't have stopped me. He expects that I will not add to his danger by doing something threatening to him. I expect the officer to follow the law, safely for all concerned (whether I'm guilty of an offense or not).

Nothing requires me to give up my rights, including those requiring due process for a search, but all I have at the side of the road is verbal tools. If the officer decides to violate my rights, there isn't anything I can do about it there -- it will have to be in court later.

The LEO, however, has other immediate ways to defend his right to safety -- from a citation, to arrest, on up to use of his weapon.

It's not a situation of equal power. All I can do is calmly express myself, and anticipate that all will proceed as it should.

[Effy]

This really calls for common sense here. One of two things will happen if you are pulled over in a MH. They will come to the driver window, in which case you should follow normal protocol. Hands on the wheel, greet the officer and don't do anything unless they ask you to (like fetch your license and reg). I try to put the officer at ease as much as possible - it can be a scary job and I feel it's my civil duty to show them respect and let them know they will get full cooperation from me and I am no threat. If they come to the door, I will open the door, stand back in a non threatening way and proceed as instructed. I would consent to him entering the coach if he wanted. I have nothing to hide and will be as helpful as I can be. I might even offer them coffee. I am not sure why anyone would feel threatened or violated or have any reason not to allow them in. Unless you have something to hide. I seriously doubt they would ever need to see the inside of the coach unless there is probable cause, in which case I am not doing anything to cause that. Personally I think officers leave Mh's pretty much alone with the exception of near a borders. Most Mh's that I have seen driving obey the laws and move so slowly and cautious and I imagine it's a hassle for them not to mention scary as there is a lot they can't see from the outside.

[rgatijnet1]

I posted it before, but here it is again. This is current case law as it pertains to a motor home ON THE ROAD:
A police officer may lawfully stop a vehicle, motorized or otherwise, if he has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the operator has engaged in criminal activity, including a minor traffic violation.” State v. Roberts, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 23219, 2010-Ohio-300. The United States Supreme Court has held that routine traffic stops are more “analogous to a so-called Terry stop, ‘than to a formal arrest’” and that police conducting a traffic stop, similar to police conducting a Terry stop, “may ask the detainee a moderate number of questions to determine his identity and to try to obtain information confirming or dispelling the officer’s suspicions.” Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 439-440 (1984).
Once the vehicle is stopped, and if the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the occupants are dangerous and may gain immediate control over weapons inside the vehicle, the officer is permitted to order the occupants out of the vehicle and to make a protective search of the vehicle for weapons, based upon considerations of officer safety. See, e.g., State v. Bobo (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 177, paragraph two of the syllabus; State v. Henderson (Nov. 7, 1997), Montgomery App. No. 16016; Michigan v. Long (1983), 463 U.S. 1032, 1048-1049, 103 S.Ct. 3469; Pennsylvania v. Mimms (1977), 434 U.S. 106, 98 S.Ct. 330.
As you can see, for officer safety, in HIS opinion, no warrant is required.
The officers that I know will not stop a motor home unless they have a good reason. They hate walking up to a MH that can hide all kinds of things that can hurt them.