Law Enforcement Officers and roadside etiquette

[Gared]

Alright, let me make absolutely clear first off that this is not a question about the etiquette of police officers on the side of the road. Nor is it a question of whether it's polite/the law to move over a lane when there's a patrol car on the side of the road. This is an actual question for the two (or more, or former, or soon to be, or whomever) officers regarding what is or is not appropriate to say to an officer when the two of you are on the side of the road - i.e., you just done pulled me over.

First question, is "cop" still considered a derogatory term for a law enforcement officer? I ask only because law enforcement officer is a bit of a mouthful and a bit of a pain to type and cop is one three-letter syllable.

So, I've only ever really had one problem with an officer's attitude, and that was during a very late night stop on my way home from a very long shift at work, so my attitude wasn't stellar either. I was taught from an early age that LEOs were to be respected and all instructions followed quickly and quietly. This teaching was reinforced as I grew up and spent a fair amount of time doing SAR work, and my scout master was a police sergeant, etc. I wouldn't quite go so far as to say that I revere LEOs, and I know there are bad situations on occasion, but this isn't really about that either.

I know that, whether it's because of criminals who hate you for your job, desperate people who aren't thinking straight, extremely bad traffic accidents, or just pure dumb luck; from the moment you leave your home in the morning until the moment you return, your ass is on the line so you can enforce the laws which ultimately (if not immediately) serve to protect my ass. I know that not everyone you speak to during the course of your day/night/whenever your shift is will be pleasant to you, whether you just ticketed/arrested them or whether they just see you on the street or in a restaurant. And, I know that you work long hours, and depending on your exact job, you may have to sit in that damn car all day long, on the side of the road, waiting for someone to screw up and/or need help.

My question is, is it appropriate for me to thank an officer who has just given me a ticket/warning, wish them a good day, and express my wishes for their continued safety? I'm not in the habit of being pulled over frequently - the last time it happened was several years ago for expired car tabs - but it's my genuine hope that you make it home safe at the end of your day and that you have more pleasant encounters than not. I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to butter an officer up or bribe them, so I would wait until after I received my ticket/warning/what have you. I just want to make sure I'm not setting off any warning signals if I say "Thank you officer, have a good day and stay safe."

 

[Dave]

I think Frank and OC would be better for this, but I sincerely doubt that this would be a bad thing.

 

[Chazwozel]

I wouldn't say, "hey there, Cop"

I think "Officer" suffices as a respectful salutation.

 

[Tinwhistler]

I've never called an officer "cop" or "officer" or anything to his face. I usually say "hey, how's it going" in a friendly and cordial manner when they walk up to my window, and they usually follow it with "I stopped you because your taillight was out/you were speeding/whatever."

I've only ever gotten a few tickets in my life. After I've gotten a ticket and I sign, when the guy gives me back my d/l, I usually say "thanks, take it easy". There's no real purpose to be served by being a douche to the cop, and doing so could compound your problems. Might as well hope to make things go as smoothly and as quickly as possible.

I've gotten a couple of warnings instead of tickets, one of which was for doing 57 in a 30, so being nice can work to your advantage, also.

 

[Gared]

Well, yeah, I'd never greet an officer that way, I was more concerned with use as a descriptive term in a sentence like, "Man, there sure are a lot of cops on the roads tonight," instead of "Man, there sure are a lot of police officers out here today."

 

[Adam]

Anything is better than:

"Man, there sure are a lot of pigs out here today."
"Aren't you the guy from the Village People band?"
"I though you had to be in relatively good physical shape to be a police officer."
"Man, do you smell bacon? *sniff sniff*"
"I was going to be a cop, but I decided to finish high school instead."
"Donut place closed?"
"I pay your salary."
"I can't reach my license unless you hold my beer."
'How long is this going to take? Your wife is expecting me."

 

[SpecialKO]

Anything is better than:

"Man, there sure are a lot of pigs out here today."
"Aren't you the guy from the Village People band?"
"I though you had to be in relatively good physical shape to be a police officer."
"Man, do you smell bacon? *sniff sniff*"
"I was going to be a cop, but I decided to finish high school instead."
"Donut place closed?"
"I pay your salary."
"I can't reach my license unless you hold my beer."
'How long is this going to take? Your wife is expecting me."

Also, don't ask a male officer if you can touch his gun.

Also, don't ask a female officer if you can touch her guns.

 

[Troll]

 

[Gared]

I love that bit - and the follow-up bit.

 

[Officer_Charon]

Speaking for myself, I'm not going to think you're being sarcastic, if that's what you mean.

I understand that if I've got you stopped, I'm not meeting you at your best. The only thing that's going to garner you a less-than-cordial introduction and explanation of why I stopped you is if you're either acting like I'm a mere inconvenience to YOUR busy schedule (which'll guarantee you a citation - if you can' acknowledge fault, you deserve the "stupid tax"), or if you're blatantly hostile, which might have you looking down the business end of a Glock 21.

Something they mention in a half-serious tone in the Academy is, if you leave an arrest situation with a subject with him smiling and waving, you missed something. But I don't think that you wishing me well is buttering me up - I don't take well to that kind of behavior, and have a good nose for ulterior motives, in any case *chuckles*

 

[Wasabi Poptart]

The last time I got pulled over, the police officer was completely hostile during the entire interaction. It didn't help that I was driving a white Ford van and this was during the Virginia/DC- area sniper shootings. He had to have been on edge, which I understand. However, I think if he could have gotten away with ripping me out of the vehicle he would have done so. I was speeding (50 in a 30 MPH zone), but he was freaking out like I just ran over his grandma.

 

[Philosopher B.]

I always say something like 'What can I do for you, officer?' in a cordial tone, to which they invariably inform me just how badly I was abusing the speed limit. I like to keep it friendly, but I'm not going to wish them a good night or anything.

Personally, I've never been pulled over by any jazzholes, but my brother apparently got some manic dude once who yelled at him pretty nicely ...

 

[Gared]

Speaking for myself, I'm not going to think you're being sarcastic, if that's what you mean.

I understand that if I've got you stopped, I'm not meeting you at your best. The only thing that's going to garner you a less-than-cordial introduction and explanation of why I stopped you is if you're either acting like I'm a mere inconvenience to YOUR busy schedule (which'll guarantee you a citation - if you can' acknowledge fault, you deserve the "stupid tax"), or if you're blatantly hostile, which might have you looking down the business end of a Glock 21.

Something they mention in a half-serious tone in the Academy is, if you leave an arrest situation with a subject with him smiling and waving, you missed something. But I don't think that you wishing me well is buttering me up - I don't take well to that kind of behavior, and have a good nose for ulterior motives, in any case *chuckles*

There we go, that's what I was going for. I wouldn't want it to seem like I was trying to butter the officer up or weasel out of a ticket. If you want to give me a warning, I'm all for it, but the three times I've been pulled over in the last 8 years were for things that I definitely deserved to be pulled over for (extremely out of date tabs, speeding, and speeding), and I'm willing to pay the price for screwing up; I'm not going to cry, beg, plead, argue, or anything else to get out of something I know I did wrong.

My biggest concern, I guess, is with the recent-ish rash of officers being killed, I don't want to accidentally cause the officer to think that I either know about an impending shooting, or that I'm planning an impending shooting; I just want to sincerely wish them a safe night, but I would hope that they would have finely tuned enough instincts to tell the difference between a concerned citizen and a threat.

 

[Officer_Charon]

Dude, EVERY traffic stop contains a potential gun: outside of domestics, those are the situations most likely to result in officer injury/death.

Actually... lemme rephrase that first part - Every ENCOUNTER, PERIOD has a gun - the officer's. It's why we're paranoid about personal space.

Some are never able to get past the paranoia, and stay brusque when dealing with citizens. Others get too complacent, and end up paying for it. It's not that there is a recent rash of shootings - there are always officer shootings. It's a fact of the job. Trust me - the most important thing you can do to put the officer at ease is to keep your hands visible/on the steering wheel at all times, unless moving (SLOWLY) for the glove box to retrieve your registration and proof of insurance. If you DO have weapons in the car (and they're not illegal to have where you live,) keep your hands on the wheel and inform the officer of them in a steady tone of voice ("Officer, just to let you know, I have an unloaded pistol in a gun box in my back seat/I have a folding knife clipped to my right pocket"). THAT kind of behavior will earn you points, and will reduce the risk of an over-zealous officer seeing the afore-mentioned weapon and freaking out over it.

 

[AshburnerX]

Honestly, the best course of action for a traffic stop is...

- Be Polite.
- Be Calm.
- Ask them what you did.
- Do as they say.

You can try calmly explaining if there is a reason you broke the law intentional, but you had better have a damn good explanation for it... like on the caliber of "My wife in the seat next to me just went into labor". I wouldn't recommend it though. However, the most important thing to remember during a traffic stop is this: A traffic stop is not the time to question an Officer's judgment. If you want to contest the ticket or complain about an officer's actions, try to remember the name or car number of the officer in question (don't ask them, this will agitate the officer) but let them do their job.

 

[fade]

Man, I can tell you this. I'm married to a cop, and know a lot of her friends in social contexts. But they still scare the shit out of me on patrol. Part of it is the total shift in personality to robocop. I understand the danger of a traffic stop, but I also know that that cop attitude makes me feel instantly desperate, and I can't feel alone. Desperate is never good.

 

[Frank]

Long and short of it is don't be dick and do what we tell you.

 

[Chibibar]

Long and short of it is don't be dick and do what we tell you.

That is common sense. I always wonder why people don't follow this?

 

[Troll]

Paging LeQuack, paging LeQuack, you are urgently needed in a thread...

 

[ScytheRexx]

Like said, just be polite. Keep your hands on the wheel until he/she comes to the window, and slowly grab your information without trying to obstruct his/her view. One thing I always do is be honest with them, and I don't fight them or become hostile. I always assume if they pulled me over they had good reason, and if I disagree I can fight the city about it later rather then make the situation worst now.

One example is recently I miscalculated a light change and it became red before I crossed the line. A officer was at the intersection and obviously caught it. She followed me around the corner and I pulled into a parking lot once the lights came on. Once she came to my window I waited for her to ask the question, and was honest that I miscalculated the light, and I was willing to accept any ticket for my mistake. I went to reach for my insurance and the woman waved my hand, saying "don't worry about it, just going to give you a warning, have a nice night." and I said thank you, a minute later after I felt everything was good, I drove off for home.

So far my last two infractions, one being the red light and the one before being myself being overzealous through a stop sign, have been warnings. I have not gotten a ticket itself since I was in high school.

I said "you too" waited for her to get into her patrol car, and then drove away.

 

[Ravenpoe]

Don't try to be funny.

If you must be funny, don't joke about being involved in terrorism.

If you must joke about being involved in terrorism, don't say you're a gun runner for Al Queda.

You know the joke is over when the officer pulls his gun.

I did not get out of that ticket.

 

[Troll]

Don't try to be funny.

If you must be funny, don't joke about being involved in terrorism.

If you must joke about being involved in terrorism, don't say you're a gun runner for Al Queda.

You know the joke is over when the officer pulls his gun.

I did not get out of that ticket.

You're kidding, right?

 

[Ravenpoe]

Don't try to be funny.

If you must be funny, don't joke about being involved in terrorism.

If you must joke about being involved in terrorism, don't say you're a gun runner for Al Queda.

You know the joke is over when the officer pulls his gun.

I did not get out of that ticket.

You're kidding, right?[/QUOTE]

Nope.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

 

[Officer_Charon]

Poe... just... wha... dude... *facepalm*

NO!!!

 

[Ravenpoe]

Poe... just... wha... dude... *facepalm*

NO!!!

In my defense, I thought it would be funny.

In retrospect, it actually was kinda funny.

The guy (a state trooper) pulled me over, and asked me why I was speeding. Now, this was a state trooper, mirrored sunglasses and mustache and everything, sitting at a speed trap, so I knew I was going to be paying state funds to someone. I didn't want to tell him the truth, that I was tired of this little podunk county, wanted to get home as quickly as possible, and being the only car on the road didn't see any harm in doing 75 in a 65.

Officer: "Why were you going so fast?"
Me: *obviously joking manner* "Oh, you know, just gun-running for Al Queda."
Officer reaches for his gun
Me: "Woah woah, it was a joke."
Officer: "Do I look like I'm laughing?"
Me: "No... you sure don't."

As a side note, is officer the correct term for a highway trooper? Saying "Trooper" just sounds... weird.

 

[crono1224]

He's gotta be kidding, that could have lead to him ending up in a undisclosed prison being interrogated by a 3 letter organization. Though I think it is still better than joking with border crossing people about that stuff.

Blast my slow post, ahh I didn't realize the joke went over that fast, I figured it was like a bad sitcom where you really tried to land the joke and it was super akward.

 

[Ravenpoe]

Heh, just ask the irc crew. They heard all about it, and still give me shit about it.

 

[Officer_Charon]

Proper term for a state patrol officer is "Trooper," in most parts. Here, we call ours "God's Special People" (Georgia State Patrol) *grins*

 

[North_Ranger]

Man, you guys are really scared of the police, aren't you?

I know some of the police officers in my little corner of the globe get a lot of verbal flak when picking up drunks who can't even manage to unzip to take a whizz, but to hear people talk about getting shot while doing their job... now that's something I haven't heard about in here. Don't get me wrong, the police officers in here get dissed as well, being called "pigs" or "bluebells" or "shit caps", but I can't for the life of me remember reading about a policeman getting shot. Maybe it's about the way people use guns... Finns aren't big on handguns, and open/concealed carry is illegal unless you're professionally licensed.

Personally I've never been pulled over, but I always try to be cordial and polite if and when dealing with the police.

 

[Ravenpoe]

Man, you guys are really scared of the police, aren't you?

I know some of the police officers in my little corner of the globe get a lot of verbal flak when picking up drunks who can't even manage to unzip to take a whizz, but to hear people talk about getting shot while doing their job... now that's something I haven't heard about in here. Don't get me wrong, the police officers in here get dissed as well, being called "pigs" or "bluebells" or "shit caps", but I can't for the life of me remember reading about a policeman getting shot. Maybe it's about the way people use guns... Finns aren't big on handguns, and open/concealed carry is illegal unless you're professionally licensed.

Personally I've never been pulled over, but I always try to be cordial and polite if and when dealing with the police.

I wouldn't say we're scared of the police. This sort of discussion is just to ensure that when we deal with police, we do it in a way that causes the least amount of inconvenience for you and the officer.

And no offense to the finnish police, but I think being a cop in america is an entirely different beast. Guns are ingrained in american culture. Everyone has one. It's a basic american right.

 

[Tinwhistler]

Exactly, Raven.

Why bust some cop's chops for no reason? Do you think if you get up in his face, and act like a total jackass, it's going to get you out of the speeding ticket? Much like a colonoscopy, it's better to just try to make a process that's bound to be unpleasant for everyone involved to go as smoothly and quickly as possible

I mean, no matter how much you bitch and moan about it, you're still gonna take it in the ass anyway.

 

[North_Ranger]

And no offense to the finnish police, but I think being a cop in america is an entirely different beast. Guns are ingrained in american culture. Everyone has one. It's a basic american right.

Call me old-fashioned, but there's something wrong with a scenario where someone's basic right means someone else has to worry about some whackjob using his face for target practice. But that's another kettle of fish entirely.

 

[Ravenpoe]

And no offense to the finnish police, but I think being a cop in america is an entirely different beast. Guns are ingrained in american culture. Everyone has one. It's a basic american right.

Call me old-fashioned, but there's something wrong with a scenario where someone's basic right means someone else has to worry about some whackjob using his face for target practice. But that's another kettle of fish entirely.[/QUOTE]

I really don't want to open that can of worms...

Goddammit, I can't help it.

You probably have the right to carry a pocket knife. Which you could then use to stab someone with. I'm not going to claim it's simple enough to equate the two, a gun is much easier to use for malicious purposes, but I just wanted to point out that reasoning could be used for anything. Like I said, it's a cultural difference.

 

[North_Ranger]

Heh, didn't mean to open any cans, with or without worms Just giving my $0.02, 's all.

 

[tegid]

You probably have the right to carry a pocket knife. Which you could then use to stab someone with. I'm not going to claim it's simple enough to equate the two, a gun is much easier to use for malicious purposes, but I just wanted to point out that reasoning could be used for anything. Like I said, it's a cultural difference.

The key point is not that it's easier to use a gun for malicious purposes, but rather that its only common uses are malicious purposes and defending from them, unlike what happes with knifes!