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Home My WebLink AboutRE_ PSA Traffic stop.msgIt’s great. Covers all areas. I’ll just clean it up a bit as customary but it’s well-organized. 😊 Cecilia Arellano City of Diamond Bar | Public Information Coordinator t 909 839-7056 | carellano@diamondbarca.gov From: Aaron Scheller <AScheller@DiamondBarCA.Gov> Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 12:19 PM To: Cecilia Arellano <CArellano@DiamondBarCA.Gov> Subject: PSA Traffic stop I understand as a person who has been pulled over before, seeing those red and blue flashing lights behind you gets your blood pressure up and your heart begins to beat heavily in your chest. Panic may set in because you’re not exactly sure what to do as you contemplate where to stop and your thoughts begin to wonder if all your paperwork is up to date. Hopefully this blog will give you a little insight on what you should expect to happen during a traffic stop and what you will need with you to have things go smoothly. What you might not know is the officer, or deputy depending on where you live, is also feeling uneasy. Traffic stops bring an inherent danger and not every traffic stop is the same. For this reason, law enforcement will take all precautions necessary to make sure that both the driver and themselves are as safe as possible. Conducting a vehicle pullover can be one of the most dangerous duties a patrol officer can perform. Violent acts that have taken place during a vehicle pullover are among the leading causes of officer injuries and death. Below is the FBI statistics from January 2021 until September of 2021: * 59 police officers were killed in the line of duty from January 2021 through September 2021. * This includes two special agents from the FBI’s Miami Field Office. * Of the 60,105 officers who were assaulted in 2020, 18,568 (30.9%) sustained injuries. * 44,421 officers were assaulted with personal weapons (e.g., hands, fists, or feet); 25.8% of these officers were injured. * 2,744 officers were assaulted with firearms; 6.1% of these officers were injured. * 1,180 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments; 9.7% of these officers were injured. * The remaining 11,760 officers were assaulted with other types of dangerous weapons; 16.8% of these officers were injured. Conducting vehicle pullovers is one of the most frequent duties that a patrol officer will perform. Peace officers conduct vehicle pullovers for a wide variety of reasons ranging from issuing a citation for an equipment violation to apprehending an armed and dangerous felon. It is not unusual for a patrol officer to stop at least one car per shift. Every traffic stop must be based on a standard of reasonable suspicion or probable cause consistent with the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. A key consideration when preparing to make a vehicle pullover is the amount of risk perceived by the patrol officer. All vehicle pullovers will fall into one of the two risk levels, an “unknown risk” and a “high risk” category. An unknown-risk category is simply conducting a traffic stop based a call for service or the driver’s actions. Two examples would be if someone was pulled over for a traffic or equipment violation or if a resident called in suspicious activity for possible criminal activity. Such as driving in business complexes when no business is open. The reason it is called an unknown traffic risk is because we have no idea of who is driving the vehicle. It could be grandma on a slow stroll or a parole at large who is armed and willing to shoot a police officer. We just don’t know until we have already committed to the traffic stop. A High-Risk category is knowing there is something dangerous about the traffic stop before it has been conducted. Such as a stolen vehicle or an identified vehicle which had been used in a crime already. These types of traffic stops are usually when you see the police stop a distance behind the vehicle and will have the occupants exit the vehicle and walk back to them. This gives the opportunity for officers to evaluate the intentions of the occupants in the safest manner as possible. You would think that this is the more dangerous of the two, but it’s actually not. It’s the unknown risk that causes the most injuries to officers. For an officer we must treat every traffic stop as a possible danger until we determine the intentions of the occupants. This is where you can help to make the interaction as safe and positive as possible. When being pulled over try to locate a place where you can pull over safely leaving room for cars to unaffected in the lanes. The California Highway patrol will most likely ask you to go the next off ramp which allow them the safety of not being struck by freeway drivers. If your radio is up, turn it down to allow yourself any instruction that may be given over the loud speaker. Once you come to a stop, the officer will offset their car to protect you and themselves from being stuck by traffic driving by. At night time the officer will use their spot light to illuminate the vehicle to ascertain the movement of the occupants. Once you have pulled over safely, go ahead and turn your car off and put your keys on the dash in plain view, then keep your hands on the steering wheel. This will indicate to the police officer that you are not a threat and are willing to comply with instructions. If you have tinted windows, before you turn off your car put the windows down. This allows the officer to know it’s safe to move forward to the driver’s window without a threat form the back seat. Once they arrive to the driver, typically they will ask for your driver’s license, registration, and proof of auto insurance. If these documents are out of your reach, let the deputy know. They will appreciate the communication and will encourage you to find the paperwork. They will ascertain if all the documents are current and valid including a current address. If they have not told you the reason for the traffic stop by this point, I would encourage you to ask them. If they do not answer you right away, don’t be upset. I promise you by the end of the traffic stop, you will understand the reason for the stop. Remember this, everything an officer sees and smells can come into question. If you were pulled over for a traffic violation but have an open container of alcohol, a simple citation will change to an investigation of possible drinking while driving or maybe being under the influence. Or if an officer smells alcohol or marijuana emitting from the vehicle, the officer most likely will investigate the origin of the smell. If so, follow the direction of the officer until they have concluded their investigation. Whether you receive a citation or a warning, following the directions of the officer to help keep everyone safe. If you have questions, respectfully ask the officer to clarify. If you disagree with the officer’s decision or course of action, do not prolong the contact by arguing with the officer. Rather, you may seek to contest the decision in court through established legal channels. Your acceptance and signature on a traffic ticket is not an admission of guilt. However, the refusal to sign a traffic ticket may result in your arrest. The Sheriff’s department does require deputies to utilize their body cameras on each traffic stop which is admissible in court. Aaron Scheller | Special Projects Deputy Los Angeles County Sheriff | City of Diamond Bar 21810 Copley Drive | Diamond Bar, CA 91765 909.348-8334 | 909.348.8316 Fax ascheller@diamondbarCA.gov <mailto:ascheller@diamondbarCA.gov> | www.diamondbarCA.gov <http://www.diamondbarca.gov/> E02001F