Positive interaction with a LEO today...

[ENTHUSIAST]

I was driving down the 101 in N. County San Diego today on my way home to San diego proper. I have a lead foot and havent had a speeding ticket in a while so when I seen a motorcycle cop pull out get behind me and light me up I figured oh well havent had one in a long time I guess it is just my turn today.

Officer walks up I greet him with calm "Good afternoon Sir." He replies, "Good afternoon Sir, my name is Officer --------- and I just stopped you for speeding."

He asked me if I knew what the speed limit was and what my speed was. I replied, "No sir and no sir."

Officer: "You were going 53 in a 35."

Me: "Uh-Oh."

He then asked me if I was from around there, "No sir."

He then asked for my DL, Reg and proof of Ins. I had all my paperwork in order and promptly handed them over with a, "Yes, here you go sir."

He went back to his bike and started writing my citation and all I could think of was great now court, fine $$$ & traffic school that sucks...

Oh well I drive a lot so it is bound to happen sooner or later. I thought to myself just tell the officer to have a great day and call Mr. Ticket when I get home no biggie. *sigh*

Then when the officer returns he says 3 things:

1. "First off, the speed limit along this stretch is 35."

2. "Number two, when most people say they arent from around here (Carlsbad) they are usually from like Toledo, Ohio not San Diego.

3. "Number 3 You REALLY need to wash your car!!! Go ahead and sign here this is a WARNING."

(This was the ONLY time he raised his tone of voice at me during the whole stop.)


I was like "Oh officer THANK YOU so much now could you just remind me to take some deep breaths while I sign this!" *BIG SIGH OF RELIEF*

We both just LOL'd at that point!

I told him my girlfriend was getting on me about washing my dirty car the other day too!

He asked if I had any questions for him and I just told him to, "Have a GREAT DAY!"

Very nice guy.

-ENTHUSIAST

[Jonathan Doe]

When I was on the patrol assignment, I was not much into writing tckets. If the driver admits his/her mistake, I usually gave them a break. Those who argue with me about my traffic stop sure got tickets. I had to protect myself.

Althouh, I wrote 15 tickets in one shift once in my career. I could not understand why people try to argue with me. By the way, it was a full moon day.

[retired]

I wasn't into writing many tickets either. Now, if it was a flagrant violation (i.e. running a red light/stop sign [not a Ca. stop]), I write it. If they didn't start mouthing off and asking me where I was the week before when their car was egged or something like, I generally gave them a verbal warning.

Now, I will admit I did give a lot of disabled parking tickets and it didn't matter if I was working a criminal or traffic car. That was and remains my pet peeve. I sometimes wish the dept. gave me a case of parking cites when I retired.

[Denver]

Not trying to thread jack here so forgive me if that is what happens...

Attitude is everything in life. When you get pulled over you as a citizen are always threading the fine line between preserving your own rights but yet being cordial and admitting to your mistakes and the fact that you broke the law. A good attitude is everything in life and not just with LEO.

Now, ask yourself this; If you had a OLL in the back seat and the officer said "Is that a rifle, may I inspect" what would be your reaction. From reading posts on this website for a while, I get the impression that many here are in the "It's none of your business and don't say anything to em crowd". This turns an otherwise pleasant stop into a confrontational situation, you put the officer on the defensive.

I am in NO way saying let them step on your rights but if everything in your car is legal and the LEO feels safer about seeing your weapon only then why not show it to him. Have the paperwork about legal OLL's with you and leave it at that.

You win when you can leave the stop driving away with your OLL. Keep in mind that there are a small few LEO's out there that use their job as a big power trip, they can conceivably ruin your life and it's your word againsed theirs. That is a scary thing to me and I hope I never win that lottery.

Your good attitude and not arguing about the fact that you broke the law benefited you.

[SoCalDep]

I agree with all the above and would like to relate a little story...

My old FTO and his trainee arrested a guy who was a named vandalism suspect. They found him in a car an hour after the crime and couldn't "put" the vehicle at the crime. In the car was a hidden Sig P228...They were trying as hard as they could to figure out how to place a felony on the guy (no criminal history but a bad guy...) for the gun and couldn't...One of the detectives walks in and they're talking about finding this guy with a gun and all the misdemeanor charges they had...the detective stops them and says "Is he a bad guy?"...They say something else and he says "yea, but is he a bad guy?"...Basically he was saying that if the guy wasn't a crook he didn't think he should be charged at all...

I know that here on an anonymous forum where we don't know who we're talking to we have to be careful. In addition, we have to speak to the law as other peace officers may not see things the way we do. I can say, however, that the vast majority of cops I've worked with are pro-gun and have enough of a head on their shoulders to know when to use discretion in their job. I'm not saying that everyone should start carrying in their cars and that the internet commando SCD said to "go ahead", but there are a lot of cops who are just nice guys...That's something that many people forget...

[PolishMike]

See what happens if you don't start the conversation with "am I being detained?"

[ENTHUSIAST]

Routine traffic stops for speeding I have no problems with.

Internal checkpoints with warrantless searches well...

See what happens if you don't start the conversation with "am I being detained?"

[ENTHUSIAST]

While I believe a little courtesy goes a long way I still will not be volunteering any of my weapons over for inspection during a traffic stop. I have found out that you may be in for a long afternoon (as Mike alluded to) if the officer is not a CalGunner!

But yes sometimes it is best to find the right balance between asserting your rights and maintaining a good rapport.

Not trying to thread jack here so forgive me if that is what happens...

Attitude is everything in life. When you get pulled over you as a citizen are always threading the fine line between preserving your own rights but yet being cordial and admitting to your mistakes and the fact that you broke the law. A good attitude is everything in life and not just with LEO.

Now, ask yourself this; If you had a OLL in the back seat and the officer said "Is that a rifle, may I inspect" what would be your reaction. From reading posts on this website for a while, I get the impression that many here are in the "It's none of your business and don't say anything to em crowd". This turns an otherwise pleasant stop into a confrontational situation, you put the officer on the defensive.

I am in NO way saying let them step on your rights but if everything in your car is legal and the LEO feels safer about seeing your weapon only then why not show it to him. Have the paperwork about legal OLL's with you and leave it at that.

You win when you can leave the stop driving away with your OLL. Keep in mind that there are a small few LEO's out there that use their job as a big power trip, they can conceivably ruin your life and it's your word againsed theirs. That is a scary thing to me and I hope I never win that lottery.

Your good attitude and not arguing about the fact that you broke the law benefited you.

[ke6guj]

Now, I will admit I did give a lot of disabled parking tickets and it didn't matter if I was working a criminal or traffic car. That was and remains my pet peeve. I sometimes wish the dept. gave me a case of parking cites when I retired.

Good. I hate those that park in a handicapped spot without a placard or plate.

Back in the day when I worked retail, I saw this young guy pull up into a handicpped stall in an otherwise empty parking lot and stroll into the store. A couple minutes later he comes tearing past me with a couple employees in tow. Guy gets caught with some merchandise under his shirt. Cops are called and they put the cuffs on him and load him in the back of the patrol car. Just before the cop left, I said, "Oh officer, that car in the handicapped spot is his as well and he doesn't have a placard that I can see". So the cop went over there and wrote him a ticket for that before he took him to jail

[SoCalDep]

Good. I hate those that park in a handicapped spot without a placard or plate.

Back in the day when I worked retail, I saw this young guy pull up into a handicpped stall in an otherwise empty parking lot and stroll into the store. A couple minutes later he comes tearing past me with a couple employees in tow. Guy gets caught with some merchandise under his shirt. Cops are called and they put the cuffs on him and load him in the back of the patrol car. Just before the cop left, I said, "Oh officer, that car in the handicapped spot is his as well and he doesn't have a placard that I can see". So the cop went over there and wrote him a ticket for that before he took him to jail

Pure awesomeness!

[mlatino]

Good. I hate those that park in a handicapped spot without a placard or plate.

Back in the day when I worked retail, I saw this young guy pull up into a handicpped stall in an otherwise empty parking lot and stroll into the store. A couple minutes later he comes tearing past me with a couple employees in tow. Guy gets caught with some merchandise under his shirt. Cops are called and they put the cuffs on him and load him in the back of the patrol car. Just before the cop left, I said, "Oh officer, that car in the handicapped spot is his as well and he doesn't have a placard that I can see". So the cop went over there and wrote him a ticket for that before he took him to jail

Would have been GOLD if he scratched it and then towed it.

[retired]

This thread has gone off topic, but I believe this should be addressed for clarification sake.

Now, ask yourself this; If you had a OLL in the back seat and the officer said "Is that a rifle, may I inspect" what would be your reaction. From reading posts on this website for a while, I get the impression that many here are in the "It's none of your business and don't say anything to em crowd".

Denver, if the officer saw your OLL in the back seat and asked you that question, you should probably let him inspect it or you could be arrested. I would surmise most members would acquiesce.

12031PC (e) In order to determine whether or not a firearm is loaded for the purpose of enforcing this section, peace officers are authorized to examine any firearm carried by anyone on his or her person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any public street in an
incorporated city or prohibited area of an unincorporated territory.
Refusal to allow a peace officer to inspect a firearm pursuant to
this section constitutes probable cause for arrest for violation of
this section.

[yzErnie]

There are other posts for the shoulda, coulda, woulda stuff.

To the OP, thank you for bringing to light one of the positive contacts we have had with a citizen. There is so much negativity in this message board towards LEOs that when someone brings a positive contact to light I (and I am sure others do too) really appreciate it.

[cadurand]

Officer walks up I greet him with calm "Good afternoon Sir." He replies, "Good afternoon Sir, my name is Officer --------- and I just stopped you for speeding."

I'm curious why you left the cop's name out of your message? You're giving him a compliment, is this something that requires secrecy?

He had you sign something.. so it's not like there isn't a record of him giving a warning.

Speaking of, I've never had a cop have me sign something if they were giving me a warning. They usually just checked my license and told me to stop doing whatever I was doing they didn't like. Then I was on my way.

Do some departments actually keep track of warnings?

[9mmepiphany]

Do some departments actually keep track of warnings?

i tracks an officer's productivity during the shift/week/month

i was lucky, i worked for a SO and we didn't do traffic as a rule.

my pet peeves were disabled parking and no front plates on Corvettes.

the very worst is when they have a disabled placard and the person it is issued to isn't in the car...they get a ticket and i get the placard too