Quick Scenario

[fightermage]

Well,

I finally got hired by two departments within one month. A small village dept, and a county Dept. My question was, besides what training you have in the subject what would you do if the following happened?


You pull over a someone for a speeding violation. You approach the vehicle and make contact. You ask him/her for their identification and they have none. You then ask them for the required info, NAME DOB, etc. They refuse to give any information to you and roll up the window. They don't drive away, but completely ignore you. What do you do?

I would probably tell them that they were risking getting arrested for obstructing an officer and if that didn't work, open the door and get them out of the car assuming that wouldn't be too much trouble, (Would have backup there by then or coming). What if they lock the door?

What avenue would you approach this situation with??

[Fred]

I still have 6 months to go before I am in an academy but I have spoken with many family friends and family members who are cops right now from New York to Nashville. What these people have in common is that they all drill into my head that your dispatcher is your best friend. They tell me over and over " at the first sign of anything alert your dispatcher" my cousin says it is as simple as "dipatcher everything is fine but could you start another car my way".


Where it goes from there no one knows but at least your friends are already on the way if something comes up.

[gaboy]

Definately get back up started. If possible wait till they arrive. While waiting, get some sort of cover. Once back up arrives, offer them one last oppurtunity to exit their vehicle. If they don't comply extract them out with force.

Use good judgement of course. If its a very elderly lady, or a very young driver that appears frightened of you, You may want to try talking a little longer. However if all your bells and whistles are going off, listen to them. When you do decide to take action it should be very swift. Treat it as a felony extraction until you determine otherwise.

There's a 1000 answers to your question. Just remember that you don't have to rush your actions. Take as much time as you need to solve it peacefully but if you have to act. Don't BS around. Break window, Open door, Everybody in the car goes on the ground. Everybody gets handcuffed.

[relative]

Ive had this questions several times in oral boards. I have asked many people what they would do in this situation and here are some of the possible reactions...

They may have a language barrier, and that in some asian cultures this would be a normal response to police. So, try to acertain if this is a possibility.

Are they one some sort of illegal drug and/or having medical problems?

and, find out as much as possible about the car/driver/reg owner of vehicle to find out if they are wanted/dangerous/have done this before etc. and proceed from there.

I think the big issue with this question (I was told this by an interviewer after the interview) is that they want to see if you would make the mistake of actually PHYSICALLY removing them from the vehicle, possibly in a violent manner.

-r.

[gaboy]

Just curious, whats the mistake in physically removing them after all other options have been tried. Maybe that is the wrong answer if it was your first responce in an interview, but in the real world you will physically remove them.

[K9 Police]

I agree with you Relative. I firmly believe that you should try to gain as much facts and information about the situation before making a haste decision. Obviously there are situations that you would take immediate action. However, if the individual is just sitting in the car I would try to obtain as much information as possible. Determining if there is a language barrier, unknown medical condition, etc. is very key in this situation. Although I have learned fairly quickly that making a quick decision without all the facts or information jeopardizes your credibility and outcome of the situation. Police work is about gaining as much information possible at the time and then making a decision on the basis of that info. The more info the better.

K9

[Birky]

ok tthis question sounds a lot like a scenario on a couple of b-pads i have taken is that where you got this?

[fightermage]

Actually, I just was wondering because it seems like a probable scenario that may happen. I'm not sure what a B-Pad is, I didn't have to do that to get the job, but i've heard others mention this before. It was just a scenario that I wanted an opinion on. Since I have only been a cop for 3 months, I like running scenarios through my head and seeing how I, or others would deal with them. Thanks for all your responses! :)

[relative]

Birky,

I have yet to take a B-Pad (I dont think theyre too popular a testing tool in Nor Cal), but have had this question asked on oral boards at least 2-3 times.

gaboy: I dont think there is anything wrong with physically removing them from the car, BUT that you should exhaust all other options first, and also do it in the most gently manner possible, unless they try and resist you.

I think the point of this question, is to see if you would handle it as non-physical as possible and use your brain before your braun.

Again, my .02

-r.

[Bravo8]

I agree with not making too hasty a decision, but I don't see a problem with hastily removing them from the car. I'm not going to sissy-foot around trying to be Mr. Peace-and-Love. They're getting arrested.

[try163]

I have to laugh because I had a situation similar to this happen to me. I stopped a car one night for going the wrong way on a one way street. Get up to the car, whole speech license, registration, yada yada yada. Well, she has no license on her, and her car was uninspected. We tow the vehicle when it is uninspected, that was our policy. I asked this lady several times to exit the vehicle and calmly explained to her that the car was being towed and the reasons for it and she refused to get out of her car. I told her if she did not get out she would be arrested for obstructing governmental administration. She still refused. What did we do? My partner went around to the passenger side,opened the door, reached in, undid her seatbelt, and I grabbed her arms and removed her from the vehicle and arrested her. Her car got towed, and she spent the night in jail on a class A misdemeanor.

TRY163