Police encounters and traffic stops
I'm not an attorney, so this article is merely a summary of what I've learned in the last five years researching a person's rights during police encounters. It's a common assumption that refusing to cooperate with police makes you look guilty, but there are three things you can say to an officer and he or she will recognize unequivocally that you're exercising rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Asserting your rights cannot give an officer justification to elevate an encounter from a consensual one to a seizure. Most people believe, as I do, that most cops are good. It's innate in most of us to want to cooperate with authorities. We want to be regarded as honest and helpful. And we believe demonstrating courteous behavior will result in the best possible outcome. We'll even thank an officer after being handed a $150 speeding ticket. But police officers are heavyweight fighters when it comes to citizen encounters and, believe me, you are no match for t...