Montgomery Police Talk Traffic Stop Protocol
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For weeks, the public has been weighing in on the deaths of Sandra Bland and Sam Dubose, two unarmed civilians whose traffic stops were caught on camera. In the wake of the controversial traffic stops, now some are questioning police protocol.
Nobody wants to see flashing lights in their rear view mirror, but in the event that you do get pulled over, you should know what to do. We spoke with the Montgomery Police Department to get you the DOs and DONTs of a traffic stop.
It’s bound to happen at some point. Getting pulled over is never fun but Montgomery police want you to know how to proceed after you stop your car.
“First, when the officer pulls somebody over, of course, when they approach the car, they’re going to come and tell the person the reason why they stopped them,” said Sergeant Theordore Williams.”
They’ll ask for your license, registration and proof of insurance. And it’s not unusual for an officer to ask you to put your hands where they can see them.
“We prefer that when we pull someone over that they place their hands on the steering wheel. The reason why is that we want to be able to see if there’s any type of movement or something going on.”
Montgomery police officers are trained for three different types of stops. The first is a felon traffic stop, which is a high-risk stop.
“Of course, if we know that there is a known felon, when we approach that car, we’re going to approach it different.”
The officer will be on alert and more cautious.
The second type of traffic stop is a non-felon stop, which is low-risk and more casual. The third – is called an officer contact traffic stop.
“As we’re approaching, we will also sometimes touch the car to make sure that they know that we are there.”
What about getting asked to put your cigarette out or being told to get out of your car without explanation? Sgt. Williams says it’s all about communication.
“Just going up to a car and telling them to get out of the car and not even explain why? No.”
He says an officer will draw a weapon in the event if they feel there’s a definite threat.
“That’s the only time that an officer should draw his gun if he’s threatened and sees something or his partner sees something.”
But Montgomery Police don’t want any traffic stops to get to that point. Williams says they’re trained to remain professional at all times.
“Of course we cannot take our feelings into account. We have to go ahead and do the job. You cannot allow the person inside of the car to get us upset.”
Williams says it’s important to cooperate with the officer. He says they know you may be on your way to work or on some type of schedule. Traffic stops will move a lot quicker if everyone is on the same page.
