Philando Castile case. Officer charged

[Bearcatrp]

When I get stopped, my hands are on the steering wheel with window open. I don't say crap, and wait for questions to be answered and ask for permission to retrieve my wallet when asked for my DL and were its at. If they don't ask about firearms, I don't disclose ****!. Learn to follow instructions and you won't have any problems!

[brad3579]

I fail to see your point Donn. I got to do stupid people tricks when I didn't do furtive movements. Every time I've been prepared with my wallet out upon the officers approach, things went far better.

I agree. If I'm stopped, the window is open, interior lights on, wallet on dash, engine off, hands at 10 and 2, before the officer gets to my car. No mention of guns/ permits, or any conversation not requested. Didn't stop me from getting a 51 in a 40 ticket last month, but it was a safe, respectful encounter.

Exact same way that I do it, try to make it stress free for the LEO when they come walking up. I have not gotten speeding tickets the last few of stops but usually am running about 8 or 9 mph over.

[Lumpy]

Unfortunately, driving while black when there's an APB out for a black male suspect is enough to put your life at risk in the blink of an eye.

Remember the Dorner manhunt in California a few years ago? And the two women who were out delivering newspapers:

The officers thought the women's truck matched the description of Dorner's vehicle.

One officer said he mistook the sound of a newspaper hitting the ground for a gunshot

nor is there evidence to suggest that the officers did not honestly believe they were being fired upon

Black guys are in danger of this almost every day of their lives. I agree with the verdict on the basis of innocent until proven guilty; but there's gotta' be a better way.

[Ghost]

Unfortunately, driving while black when there's an APB out for a black male suspect is enough to put your life at risk in the blink of an eye.

Remember the Dorner manhunt in California a few years ago? And the two women who were out delivering newspapers:

The officers thought the women's truck matched the description of Dorner's vehicle.

One officer said he mistook the sound of a newspaper hitting the ground for a gunshot

nor is there evidence to suggest that the officers did not honestly believe they were being fired upon

Black guys are in danger of this almost every day of their lives. I agree with the verdict on the basis of innocent until proven guilty; but there's gotta' be a better way.

You mean like change the statistics and start being more responsible as a community?

[xd ED]

...Black guys are in danger of this almost every day of their lives.....

From whom comes the greater threat: police, or other black guys?

And FWIW, the jurors who have been interviewed- all white people that I've seen, said they actively sought the opinion of the 2 black jurors (which, if you do the math puts the percentage of blacks on the jury above that of the general population), the possibility of this being a racial situation. Neither of the black jurors reportedly said it was, and neither of the 2 black jurors were among the hold outs on the 10/2 vote for not guilty.

I'd also advise that the guidance I got was from a white cop instructing his kids how to behave in a traffic stop.
As inconvenient as it is for some, there seems little chance this was a racially motivated incident. It was driven by behavior that likely would have got any of us shot, had we acted the same.

[FJ540]

My window is down (which has proven to be wrong, because the officers have come up soft side), keys on the center console, wallet on console, wrists on the steering wheel, and nothing in my hands. Wait to be spoken to, and respond accordingly.

You might be surprised how many tickets this has resulted in. The last one was 10 over on 694, and it was in 2001 (yes, 16 years ago).

I don't get stopped much, but it does happen (sometimes for dumb things like taillights) occasionally. I even told the officer I'd committed to making it through an intersection out of frustration with how few cars were able to (legally) make the turn arrow and expected a ticket when I saw him turn around to stop me. No ticket! I had a gun on me that time, wife and kid in the car too. Never mentioned it. He checked my DL for warrants/priors, and said have a nice night. I totally deserved a running a red on that one. Wouldn't have even pled it. I was wrong to go when I did, and I knew it.

[atomic41]

Unfortunately, driving while black when there's an APB out for a black male suspect is enough to put your life at risk in the blink of an eye.

Remember the Dorner manhunt in California a few years ago? And the two women who were out delivering newspapers:

The officers thought the women's truck matched the description of Dorner's vehicle.

One officer said he mistook the sound of a newspaper hitting the ground for a gunshot

nor is there evidence to suggest that the officers did not honestly believe they were being fired upon

Black guys are in danger of this almost every day of their lives. I agree with the verdict on the basis of innocent until proven guilty; but there's gotta' be a better way.

That's a really bad example. Dorner was a cop who turned against cops and started killing them because of the massive corruption in LAPD. Those idiots that fired on that truck were guarding a superior's house that morning and they were jumpy as hell. Dorner wasn't just a black man with a warrant, he was one of them and he was killing them. Plus LAPD is well known for being trigger happy and overall terrible. I would hold any MN police officer in much higher regards than the average LAPD cop anyday. LAPD was freaking out that week and those idiots were ready to shoot anything that moved.

[wasfuzz]

I fail to see your point Donn. I got to do stupid people tricks when I didn't do furtive movements. Every time I've been prepared with my wallet out upon the officers approach, things went far better.

What I am saying is the Less movement from the occupants of the vehicle from the time the officer decides to light you up until they
have approached your vehicle is always a relief to LEO, if there is movement the LEO is thinking what are they doing, hiding,reaching for, etc - which tends to start their spidey senses tingling, At least this was the case for me and others I know still on the job. Not saying it is right or wrong just trying to share the perspective from the other side of the traffic stop! Now if your wallet is out in the open and you do not have to reach for it before the approach, great that's the way to stay safe. No body wants to be an accident.

[FJ540]

I've been very quick to pull it out and add it to the keys beside me. I think showing up to an immobilized vehicle with the object of desire in plain sight beside the keys (my key chain is very conspicuous) combined with a calm demeanor is more than enough to appease any "What's he doing in there?" jitters that might have arose if that's even possible through my dark tinted windows.

I was repeatedly harassed by a single cop in Roseville when I was 18 and ended up losing my license over it (administrative DPS suspension for multiple offenses in a short time period). That resulted in panic attacks whenever I saw cherries behind me (even if they were just responding to another call). It took a few years for that to pass.

I don't fear police, and I think my lack of any record since turning 26 shows that I've developed a good way of responding/interacting with them.

No fast moves, no chatter, no disrespect, full compliance with their requests = no tickets

Were I to write a guide it'd be titled "don't be an A-hole to the officer and they might not bend you over."

Too easy!

[Ghost]

I've been very quick to pull it out and add it to the keys beside me. I think showing up to an immobilized vehicle with the object of desire in plain sight beside the keys (my key chain is very conspicuous) combined with a calm demeanor is more than enough to appease any "What's he doing in there?" jitters that might have arose if that's even possible through my dark tinted windows.

I was repeatedly harassed by a single cop in Roseville when I was 18 and ended up losing my license over it (administrative DPS suspension for multiple offenses in a short time period). That resulted in panic attacks whenever I saw cherries behind me (even if they were just responding to another call). It took a few years for that to pass.

I don't fear police, and I think my lack of any record since turning 26 shows that I've developed a good way of responding/interacting with them.

No fast moves, no chatter, no disrespect, full compliance with their requests = no tickets

Were I to write a guide it'd be titled "don't be an A-hole to the officer and they might not bend you over."

Too easy!

I just don't get pulled over

[MJY65]

I just don't get pulled over

That's my goal. Thirty six years of driving and never been stopped. There are better things to spend money on than tickets and higher insurance premiums.

[FJ540]

I drive somewhere around 20Kmi a year, often at odd hours of the night. It's inevitable that at some point you're going to raise someone's suspicion.

I think the trailer lights guy who took my gun was lonely/bored. I was the only vehicle on 169 at the time.

[connsolo]

My dome light is on, my hands are at 10 and 2, my keys are on the dash, my pants are down, my butt cheeks are spread wide open, and I have a document relinquishing my constitutional rights and swearing loyalty to the state signed, notarized and ready to present to any officer of the law who may happen to pull me over for whatever bs reason they can dream up. I mean, they went to the police academy and probably even a state university. Who am I to doubt a police officer?

[yukonjasper]

My dome light is on, my hands are at 10 and 2, my keys are on the dash, my pants are down, my butt cheeks are spread wide open, and I have a document relinquishing my constitutional rights and swearing loyalty to the state signed, notarized and ready to present to any officer of the law who may happen to pull me over for whatever bs reason they can dream up. I mean, they went to the police academy and probably even a state university. Who am I to doubt a police officer?

Good luck with that attitude. I hope you are kidding but law enforcement just love to level smart ass law breakers who exhibit contempt for authority. The attitude of non compliance is the key ingredient to pain and jail time. Are all stops completely justified, no, but getting piss and climbing up on your high horse probably won't end well for you.

[FJ540]

Which do you think is going to end better for YOU.

Cop pulls you over for some marginal reason and:

You're polite, don't make excuses, try to take measures to appease any concern they have about your intentions.

Or,

You're cocky, irritated, make remarks about doughnut shops, talk about how they're violating your 4th Amendment rights, make claims about meeting quotas, and maybe declare he's got wee-man syndrome for good measure.

We're not talking about 125mph in a 30, or hit and run. Just some something that got you on the radar enough to make them want to have a chat (legal stop).

Maybe they do have a quota - I'm not arguing the state's abuse of authority and revenuing (which arguably is the reason for a large number of our traffic laws). But you're still having an interpersonal relationship with the officer present and how you deal with them may well change the outcome of your stop.

I'm far from "liking" all the BS laws we're subject to, but I've made it a point to not belabor that with the guy who's been charged with enforcing them (I'm positive they don't care). In turn, that's proven to be the most cost effective approach to date (for me).