What to do when stopped by Police at Night.
Routine traffic stops are conducted during the day when traffic is heaviest. Traffic stops made at night are made for a totally different purpose. This is less like fishing and more like hunting. These stops are what we call pre-textual stops and their true purpose is to hunt for people who have been drinking, are intoxicated, or may be carrying narcotics. The police officer is not interested in giving you a ticket for the traffic violation; he really wants to determine if he can smell alcohol or see anything inside your car that is illegal. The traffic stop is the legal tool used to put the officer in a position to interact with you and make observations.
Just like hunters know that prey is attracted to bait, the police know that when the sun goes down, people go out to local bars and restaurants. Beyond the major streets and roadways in your city — the game trails — the focus shifts at night to local bars and restaurants — the watering holes. Where better to catch the drunks than where the liquor is served? It's a baited field.
Because of this shift in focus by the hunter, you need to know how to properly adapt so you do not become the prey.
- Pull over immediately. If you take your good sweet time to pull over, the police are going to say you failed to stop because you were intoxicated.
- Keep your hands at the 10 and 2 position on the steering wheel. Remember, the person coming up alongside your car has his or her hand on a GUN. Cops are trained that hands kill people, so let them see your hands.
- Keep your proof of insurance clipped to your car’s sun visor and have your license easily accessible. Don’t rummage through your belongings. Rummaging makes the police nervous. You may be looking for your insurance, but they may think you are looking for a weapon. Additionally, police will note in the report if you have difficulty getting your license out of your wallet or hand them a credit card instead of your driver’s license. You may be nervous but if you are prepared you won’t look nervous.
- Be polite, but do not engage in idle conversation. Remember, this encounter is all business. The officer is usually recording everything that is said and they will try to get you to speak as much as possible so he or she can smell for the odor of an alcoholic beverage and see if you slur your speech.
- Don’t argue with the officer EVER! Remember, someone will watch the video and you want to appear sober and reasonable. If the officer is wrong you can point it out, but be polite.
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The officer is going to ask you where you were going and where you were coming from. If that place is perfectly innocent and not connected to drinking, then disclosing that information is not terribly risky. If that place was a bar; you have a decision to make. If you tell the officer the name of the bar you where you were drinking you are helping the officer build the case against you. Since I am not an advocate of lying, I would advise that you politely say nothing. If he asks you why you won’t tell him where you were coming from, tell him, “That’s personal, thank you very much.”
At this point the officer is going to make the decision to either let you go or to get you to perform a series of field sobriety tests. Most likely, if it has gotten to this point, you are going to jail so expect that. Now is when you can help yourself the most. - The officer will ask you to get out of the car. The officer can legally do this, however, they cannot make you do field sobriety tests. From the moment you exit the vehicle you are on video. How you get out of the car, how you are dressed, how you speak, and how you react to the officer is all being recorded.
- Ask if you are being arrested, if the officer says “no” or “not yet”, ask if you are being detained and why. Ask if you are free to leave and if not, why not. This is important because it is the first time the officer is asked to explain his or her actions and preserves the answer on the video. Officers cannot stop and detain people without having a valid, legal reason to do so.
- Ask for an attorney. Tell the officer you are not going to perform any tests or answer any further questions without speaking to an attorney first.
If you are placed in the patrol car remember, there are video cameras in there as well. The officer is going to go back and search your car after you are in custody. Many a client has said things in the patrol car that they later regret. The officer will not tell you that you are being recorded and he knows once he leaves the car, you will think you are alone. Many a client has cursed the officer, confessed to being drunk, or stated out loud that they hoped the officer did not find drugs or other incriminating evidence they had hidden in the car. You may be left in the patrol car for an extended period of time to see if your demeanor will change. I have represented several people charged with DWI where the officer chose to sit in his patrol car for up to forty-five minutes filling out paperwork that normally would be done at the station with the backseat video running the entire time.
Once you arrive at the station, the surveillance only increases. You will be taken into a room where you will be offered a breath test and read your rights. You must be polite yet adamant that you will not answer any questions nor participate in any way without first speaking to an attorney. Finally, you will be booked into the jail. Remember, when you are speaking with anyone other than your attorney, what you say can be used against you. There are always medical questions you are asked. Some of these questions ask if you have been drinking, how much, and when. They also ask about drugs and drug use. What you say to these questions will also be used against you, so be careful.
Keep in mind; these are only a few of the most common strategies to apply when stopped by the police. The shorter you keep the encounter with the officer and the less you say and do, the better.
Albin | Harrison | Roach is a full-service transactional and collaborative law firm dedicated to helping people avoid legal conflicts when possible, and resolving them efficiently and effectively when such conflicts are unavoidable. Please contact us for more information at www.ahrlawfirm.com .
