TRAFFIC STOPS

[Ozzman]

I don't answer questions... to any LEO in their official capacity... PERIOD.

If I get pulled over:
- First, I start recording on my cell phone
- I ask why I am being pulled over.

One of two things that happen here
1. the officer tells me the reason, and if lawful I comply with the next steps.
2. If their ego takes over, and they say "you will find out in a minute when I write the ticket".
At this point, I request a supervisor and stop talking until I am told what I did.

- Once I am told what I did, and if it is/was unlawful (not just because I want to ID you for no reason at all) - I provide my DL, over my LTC, over my Insurance Card.
- I don't answer any questions, and I keep my hands on the steering wheel at all times.
- If asked to step out, I do; if asked if they can search me, I always say NO.

Usually, I get my ticket and go on about my day. I have had 2 instances of the latter, where a supervisor came out and had to address the "ego".

I always record, and never speak...

Questions like: "where are you going in such a hurry", or "do you know how fast you were going", "why did you make that turn", etc, etc... do nothing but incriminate.

 

[Brains]

I guess I'm little frazzled because I just got home home from a 100 mile round trip and witnessed 3 separate drivers going extremely over the speed limit causing other people to hurry out of their way thinking they were in danger.

Nothing efficient about those situations, but I'm sure the speeding drivers all think they can speed without consequences for others which reminds me of drunks stating they drive better when drunk...yeah sure.

Define "extremely" ?

I recently got back from an 1100 mile round trip, and leading into Lubbock people run pretty hot on 84. The bulk of traffic was in the right lane running around 95mph, and a few in the left lane passed us estimating around 110 or so. Maybe people up there are smart enough to stay the heck out of the left lane, because in that whole stretch nobody had an issue. Come back towards the larger cities and you have idiots in left lane lala land getting passed on the right.

 

[cbp210]

At the suggestion of an acquaintance on another forum, I have a plastic-laminated card between my CHL and driver's license, that says "Deaf guy, will comply, please speak clear and slow". I know it should say 'clearly' and 'slowly' and 'hard of hearing' not 'deaf' but there is only so much room on the card, depending on the font.

This topic came up on that forum - https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/hearing-loss-and-police-interactions/65542 - a while back, not related to traffic stops but to all interactions between HOH (hard of hearing) people and the police.

I know several police officers and they are decent, good guys, trying to do a difficult job in potentially dangerous circumstances. Still, they can shoot you down like a rabid skunk and walk away spotless, if they can articulate why they felt it necessary to do so.

Like people on the autism spectrum, HOH people do not act right - slow to respond (takes time to understand what was said, even if one does finally figure it out) and can appear resistant to obeying commands. Or if deaf on one side, they might be head twisting to get the hearing aid on the "good" side facing the speaker (police officer). Looks weird.

So - maybe it might be wise to make a card that explains one's particular situation - autism or deafness or whatever - and carry it with CHL/LTC and DL and car insurance. Couldn't hurt, might save your bacon.

If it is against the rules to post a link to another forum, sorry - please delete!

We use sticker placards such as these. We also participate in the Harris County Project Guardian which is a cooperation between Harris County Sheriffs and the Autism community.

 

[cbp210]

Look, I get it. If you have a bad, or several bad experiences with something, you are likely to begin treating all of that group as dangerous, which unfortunately for the person in the case of dealing with police will tend to create poorer outcomes because the person argues, fights, flees, &c, which is no fault of the current cop, but one they now have to deal with and the interaction will be interpreted by the citizen as "another cop being a jerk"when in fact it is confirmation bias. While some police need to really evaluate why they are requesting or demanding something, the VAST majority do an amazing job at recognizing signs of IDD, autism, dementia &c


The following is a commendation I got a while back. I hate showing it because it feels really "look how good I am"... I share it not because it was me, but because I want to show there are cops doing it right. There could be a hundred of these written every day for APD officers... I am a decidedly mediocre cop, but a little listening and explanation go a long way. He was "in custody", but I took the time to explain my actions that he was going to be searched, why he needed to be searched then I searched him. Thankfully he was cool because I have to be safe regardless of his triggers.

Dec 18, 2018

I am writing to you today because I want to make you both aware that there is an outstanding officer in your division that I believe is worthy of recognition. His name is Officer Cycleguy2300, and on Saturday, November 10, 2018 he was the responding officer when I called in distress, searching for my 14 year-old son, who has autism and who had run away. He was behaving erratically that morning and I could see his level of agitation was escalating. I convinced him to get in the car with me and we drove to Travis County Integral Care but he became afraid after we got there and ran away. He called the police (something he liked to do) to tell them he was scared and wanted to go home. The officers who responded convinced him to get back in the car with me so that we could go and get an evaluation at Austin Oaks Hospital. The drive to Austin Oaks was difficult, as he was threatening to hurt himself while screaming at me and banging his head on the window. As soon as I parked the car at Austin Oaks, he opened the door and ran. I searched for him for close to an hour before calling Austin Police and requesting a mental health officer to come and please help me. I had just found him hiding in a fenced garbage area when Officer Cycleguy2300 arrived. Officer Cycleguy2300 asked to speak to him alone, and after about 15-20 minutes he came and spoke to me. He was calm in his delivery, something I needed after the last few hours of fear, threatening behavior and screaming. He explained to me that he had admitted he had been thinking about hurting himself and that he was now required to take him to a hospital for an evaluation. We had never been in a situation like this and I had a lot of questions which Officer Cycleguy2300 patiently answered. He shared that he used to work as a substitute teacher, and I could see for myself that he understood how to talk to kids. My son was more relaxed sitting in the back of Officer Cycleguy2300's cruiser than he had been all day. After I determined that we should go to Dell Children's Hospital instead of staying at Austin Oaks, Officer Cycleguy2300 offered to take him and said, "I get paid the same whether I'm chasing bad guys or driving in Austin traffic." I followed him to Dell Children's Hospital and so appreciated that Officer Cycleguy2300 walked him in and got him situated in a room and with a nurse while I was checking in. It seemed like once Officer Cycleguy2300 arrived on the scene that day, he calmly assessed the situation, took control, helped me feel safe, listened to my son and earned his trust. Later, my son shared that they were talking about "school and stuff" on the ride to the hospital. I am so very thankful that it was Officer Cycleguy2300 who showed up that day. After a morning of crisis and chaos, we both feel blessed that it was he who answered the call. As a mother of a child with a disability, a child who happens to be 6 feet tall and weigh 240 pounds, I am always afraid that my son's words and actions will be misinterpreted and he will face harsh treatment and punishment. I'm thankful to live in Austin where we have so many officers who have received specialized training in mental health issues and can better understand the IDD community to which we belong.

Sent from your mom's house using Tapatalk

That is awesome and great outcome in your case. You seem to be very knowledgeable in this issue and last I heard Austin has been vocal about mental health issues in their city. I am so happy that our Sheriff Ed Gonzalez created Project Guardian making more deputies and officers aware of Autism. Like I said earlier Texas Law Enforcement agencies have taken a proactive approach and it has been greatly noticed. 1 in 5 kids are diagnosed in the spectrum and it makes more sense more jurisdictions have taken an interest in awareness. I do not have beef with any officers or agencies and in fact, I carry a badge just like you and I did what you did up until 2003. My issue is with officers who have this mentality of shooting first asking questions later attitude or those who I consider trigger happy as in the case of the Salt Lake City incident the officer gunned down a 13-year-old autistic kid because he felt threatened and did not know how to deescalate the situation. Project Guardian was created for this purpose. Like I said earlier I am not in the position to criticize all but only the few.

 

[BobCat]

We use sticker placards such as these. We also participate in the Harris County Project Guardian which is a cooperation between Harris County Sheriffs and the Autism community.

That is superb! The stickers are well established, not a 'one-off' like my deaf-guy card, so any officer who sees one should know what it means and hopefully have some training in how to proceed.

And (forgive my cynicism) as the population ages the police will encounter more and more hard-of-hearing folks, and may learn not to assume they are deliberately non-compliant. The key is to make no sudden or threatening movements.