When Being stopped by Police
 

A few good tips to maybe avoid angering someone who could very well RUIN your entire day, week, life and so forth...

When being stopped by a squad car...

1) If you can clearly see that you violated the law or ordinance of some sort, find a SAFE, public, and roomy place to stop, like a parking lot, or the LEFT shoulder of a multi lane highway (I-94, 694, etc). Stop on the RIGHT side of a regular road (snelling, university, central etc...)
***If you cannot pull over safely, point out the window or wave to acknowlege that you plan to stop, or point in the direction of which you plan to travel to find a place to stop. And do it in a safe, but VERY prompt manner.

*Always keep your ID with you. You can be booked into jail for failure to produce ID*


*****IF YOU DOUBT YOU ARE BEING STOPPED BY A REAL OFFICER******

Slow down and pull to the shoulder, keep your speed at around 5-10mph, put your 4 way flashers on, turn on your dome light, and call 911... Tell them you've been signaled to stop by an unmarked vehicle that does not look like a regular squad car. Tell them where you are, and what city you are in... If you're on a major state road or interstate, or US highway, ask immediately for the State Patrol. Give dispatch your license plate number and description of your vehicle. Dispatch will come over the "main" channel will ask all cars if they are stopping you. The dispatcher should be able to adivse you to stop at that time... If the dispatcher says that they don't know who is stopping you, DO NOT STOP. Continue at your slow pace, and if you must stop, do it in a VERY public place like a gas station, mall parking lot, etc... Tell dispatch EXACTLY where you are, and where you plan on stopping. "I'm on highway 36 just west of 35W... I'll get off on Rice Street, and stop at the Super America."

2) Pull over as FAR as you can, even if you're half in the ditch. Shut your car COMPETLEY off, place the keys on the dash at night. Turn on your dome lights, but NEVER let your hands drop below the line of sight of the officer. Keep your hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel. Do NOT pull out your ID or insurance YET... The officer may approach slowly, and knock on your trunk. Don't be alarmed. That's so no one pops outta the trunk with an AK47 like in the movies... Hey, it happens in LA, it could happen here ;)

The officer will most likely have their hand on their side arm... Don't be alarmed, this is Standard Operating Procedure as set forth by the POST (Police Officer Standards Testing) Board. Don't be alarmed by back up either... If you've done nothing wrong, then it's because there's nothing better to do...


If you're a pasenger, keep your hands, palms relaxed, laying on your lap. Look strait ahead. Answer ALL questions honestly, because once your seperated and you lie, your story will most likely not match those of others... Then you ALL go to jail.

3) Let the officer lead the way... They'll ask you for ID and insurance. Tell them where it is, and ask if you can reach for it... "It's in my jacket here sir/mam, can I get if for you?" "I keep it in my glove compartment, can I reach for it?" Follow their directions. They may ask you if you have any weapons or drugs in the car at that time. Tell them EVERYTHING, cause they'll probably find it anyway... It's just gonna lead to an additional obstruction charge. Pipes, roaches, bumpers, one'ies, blunts, baggies, scales, pen guns, deer hunting rifles in the trunk, BB guns, nunchucks, sais, hand gernades... EVERYTHING

4) BE BRUTALLY HONEST. If you were going 76 in a 55, tell him/her that you had the cruise at 80 or so... Don't try to be funny... Just be honest. "I ment no disrespect, I just didn't see that stop sign until it was too late"


5) Do NOT argue... Try your case in court. Arguing will not get you anywhere... Don't plead, beg, or belittle yourself by crying and peeing your pants (happens every week).

6) If the officer does not fine you, THANK THEM TOO MUCH. Don't take any more of their time telling them about your aunt's new boyfriend who knew a guy who dated a cop from some town in North Dakota. I, nor anyone else in this world gives a rat's ass...

7) If the officer DOES fine you, be VERY clear and ask questions. Again, do NOT argue. Listen to his directions, and if you have ANY doubt on anything they just said, ask them questions. Better to ask a redundant question than to miss a court date. State of Minnesota suspends your DL now for late tickets. Thank the officer anyway... Piss and moan about it here... not to the officer.

8) Wait for the officer to get back into their car before you start yours again, and SIGNAL when you leave...


9) And no, I can't get you out of your tickets. So stop asking.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Damn, who pissed you off? People that do not follow those rules are pretty stupid. I've gotten out of 2 tickets simply because I followed orders and waited for his command before doing anything.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

OH! No one pissed me off... I'm just trying to keep ALL of you from becoming that other guy on the news who got his ass kicked for not stopping in Saint Paul...

Just friendly words of advice! :)

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

All seems like common sense to me.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Any tips on how to run from the cops.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Good advice kyle, stuff I always follow when im engaged in such an activity.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

JDM is a reserve officer... He's just doing his part in helping us out.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

I hear ya! I have been let go on a couple occasions myself for being respectful and following orders. Saying "sir" after everything said also helps the cause.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Good thing it was posted, now Tom has it all spelled out for him. LOL

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Yeah, Don't get caught! ;)

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Being honest to the cops has gotten me a ticket before. I was traveling 80 on a deserted highway and told him the honest truth. He came back told me he didn't radar me and that if i told him I wasn't speeding he would have let me go. He said that I confessed to speeding and was basically screwed if I tryied to fight it. I just say as little as possible now. Like if they ask me how fast I'm going I say," sorry officer I was to busy watching the road to notice."

Also if you get a ticket overpaying it 5 dollar ACTUALLY works, well at least in Iowa.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

I overpaid by $1.37 about 1 1/2 years ago; the check was never cashed and never heard word about it again. We'll find out within a few weeks if it worked for Reid...

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Same thing happened to me with a snow emergency parking ticket I recieved. I over payed and the check was never cashed. It should work. I would be surprised if it DIDNT work.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

I was watching the SPEED channel yesturday and they had a show about tickets and getting out of them. They had the one where you pay to much and than you never have to pay. Baiscly they said it didn't work anymore and will get you in more trouble.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Trying to not get tickets?

Try not speeding.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

The state has done much to remedy the "overpaid" ticket thing...

If a system shows that you overpaid, and the ticket goes unresolved, or stays in "pending"... your DL status will go to "pending". It used to stay like that for a small undetermined amount of time...

NOW, the system waits 10 days, AND THEN YOU'RE SUSPENDED...

I know this from first hand actions. I had paid a fine, but thought I had two fines on the ticket, but it was only one, so I over paid double on one check. And two months later, UMPD stopped me for DAS (driving after suspension). No ticket was issued, and I was allowed to return home.

If failure to respond to a fine is kept for more than I THINK 6 months, then a petty warrant is issued for your arrest for failure to appear.


And although honesty may get you a ticket, he did pull you over anyway, so he had to have at least THOUGHT you were speeding... I can't say for sure, but I'm guessing that cop was full of it... You'd probably been issued a ticket anway.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

I already did most of the things you listed, except the dome lights. And as for how to avoid tickets, the whole not speeding thing works really well. And instead of being brutally honest, I leave my statements open ended so the officer can suggest what I was doing, and if I was doing it I admit to it. So far I only have one ticket that stuck, and that was almost 3 years ago.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

I overpayed because I knew I was paying late but didn't know if there was a added charge here in St. Louis Co. It said nothing of it on the ticket. If I get in more trouble for giving them too much money, no amount of their pain will make me happy. I've had enough of trying to do the right thing. It always costs more and screws me in the end. I can't wait to have some more jail time for doing the right thing, again.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

Do all these tips work on Japanese cops too? Oh wait wait, that's right, they don't waste time on traffic here. Instead they stick to actual crime. Maybe that's why there is basically zero crime here.

Re: When Being stopped by Police
 

I'm sure that works. This is the only country where the bad people are running red arrows and the good guys are beating their kids.