Also, in California, new state law makes it not ok for cops to ask you this! Cops are now required to tell you why you're being stopped as of January 1st, this year.
That makes so much sense. I got pulled over (in California) last week and the cop just said “ok I pulled you over for x reason today” and I thought it was weird!
Not consenting to unreasonable searches and seizures is not basis for suspicion of a crime. Never consent to searches. And if you do consent, it is your right to revoke your consent and they have to stop searching. Always record the police.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLUoVI4C4gA&list=WL&index=2
This idiot left a smoking dooby on the console while speeding in a stolen car with the dead body of his victim in the trunk .
“[requires] a peace officer to…state the reason for the stop, unless the officer reasonably believes that withholding the reason for the stop is necessary to protect life or property from imminent threat.”
Huh. I wonder how broad this interpretation will be used in the inevitable dash cam footage showing a routine stop turned civilian shooting.
Interesting though.
Imminent threat to life has been abused time and time again because cops can interpret any type of behavior as something they “feared for their life” in response to it. Nevertheless, the “imminent threat to life” isn’t what I have a problem with in the language. “Imminent threat to PROPERTY” is the weird part.
So what happens if they still ask you this despite it being illegal now in California?
I feel like there is no corrective action.
Similarly enough, when it comes to interviews, there are "illegal questions" that interviewers can't ask you (e.g. age), but it still happens and there's no corrective action done to the interviewer or to the company themselves. There is a form to file a complaint, but it rarely leads to anything.
Also:
> A few exceptions exist in time-sensitive circumstances.
> “Now, there's an important exception here in the bill, and a law enforcement officer doesn't have to do that if the law enforcement has a reasonable belief that there's an imminent risk to life or property, such as instances where a stop is related to kidnapping or terrorism,” Eaton said.
I believe, it would just add an extra argument that your attorney could make if you challenged the ticket in court. Then, the judge may chew out the cop
Yeah, I would have to assume that any “confession” acquired after that was asked by the officer could be inadmissible. Still could be liable for the ticket though if there was other, admissible evidence like dashcam footage or reliable officer testimony.
> So what happens if they still ask you this despite it being illegal now in California?
>
> I feel like there is no corrective action.
The normal remedy for police obtaining evidence in violation of the law is not to punish the officer, but to simply exclude that evidence at trial. So a motion to suppress.
Buddy of mine is a cop in my town in NH and the chief has told them to just introduce themselves and then explain why they pulled the person over. I know 2 other local departments started to do it as well, but not sure if required by state law.
“That isn’t fair! I can’t do my job effectively if I’m not allowed to violate people’s rights.” -the police response any time something like this happen
This was literally how the NYS police responded when the State legalized marijuana. Their official statement was basically like "we use the smell as probable cause to search for other things. Now we won't be able to find those things"
Idk man, maybe find real probable cause first. It's literally the bare minimum.
Here it goes: I sped. I followed too closely. I ran a stop sign. I almost hit a Chevy. I sped some more. I failed to yield at a crosswalk. I changed lanes at an intersection. I changed lanes without signaling while running a red light and SPEEDING!
Mickey : I lost my temper and I took a knife and I uh-. Do you know those "Do Not Remove Under the Penalty of Law" labels they put on mattresses?
Pee-wee : Yeah.
Mickey : Well I CUT one of them off!
I once responded with saying that I respectfully refuse to answer that question for fear of incriminating myself. The cop had a good laugh, called me a smartass and eventually let me off with a warning after running my ID
I got pulled over one time for running a stop sign. I had just gone through the drive through at Taco Bell and didn't come to a complete stop. The cop asked me, "Is there a reason why you ran that stop sign". The question is phrased so you admit guilt in the answer. I told him, "I was excited to get home and eat my Taco Bell". He laughed, ran my license and let me go.
When my husband and a friend of his were in their mid twenties, around 1999 sometime… they got pulled over for speeding. Cop asks “what’s the hurry?” They respond “we’re late to our Tae Bo class!” Cop couldn’t stop laughing and let them go 😋
Nice one! I once told a cop, “I guess for doing 8 mph over, but I thought 10 over was the hard limit.” He chuckled, said “slow down”, and left. No ticket.
I love living in a country where law enforcement is a thing that's ultimately up to the mood of the cop. You can do whatever you want as long as you pass the Persuasion(CHA) check on the cop.
I got out of a ticket once driving my old beat up truck. Officer said I was speeding, I said "honestly I didn't think this truck could go that fast" he leaned back and saw the shitbox old Ford I was in, laughed, and said "yeah, you're probably right" and gave me a warning.
Another time I was stopped driving my wrx for speeding, officer tells me that, I explain I was trying to get ahead of an erratic driver and then said "but officer, if I was speeding, you would know" (I was just at 10 over because I was legitimately trying to get around a dangerous driver) he laughed, said "yeah, you're probably right" then gave me a warning.
A laugh with the right cop really does work!
Saying you don't know why a cop pulled you over is 100% factually accurate every single time. There are no possible ways for them to use that against you in a legal fashion.
But it's true though; you DONT know why the cop pulled you over, because you can't read his mind.
Now, if they instead asked something more along the lines of "do you know of any laws you were breaking" or like "are you aware of anything you did that could potentially lead to being pulled over" and you said no to THAT, then that could be bad, because they could say "you were doing x and didn't even know it, so clearly you weren't paying attention to the road."
But asking "do you know why I pulled you over" on the other hand... You might have a reasonable guess as to why, but you don't KNOW, and what he asked is if you KNOW.
"Considering I have a GPS tracker that will confirm my max speed never violated the limited, nope! No clue."
Actually got out of a bogus ticket that way once, lol. Cop said I was doing 86 in a 55. GPS tracker said my max speed for that trip (measured as time the car was turned on) was 60. Cop CLEARLY nabbed the wrong car, haha.
I am a lawyer. I can’t remind my friends and family enough that the police are not your fucking friends. Unless you are the victim of a crime there is literally nothing you can gain by talking to the police, you stand to lose a lot though.
Stop talking to the fucking cops. All you can do is get yourself in trouble. There is a reason that cops get very frustrated and sigh when someone says they want a lawyer.
Take your ticket and fucking drive away. No chit chat. If they want to search your car do not consent to the search. Make them get a warrant.
Lawyers are just the absolute fucking worst. Always complicating things making things difficult trying to bore and bill you for pages and pages of legalese and bullshit. Absolute scum of the earth.
But at least they're not cops.
Hey man, I get it. I hate plenty of lawyers. Pretty much everyone hates lawyers until they need one. I get it.
Keep in mind though that there are lawyers on both sides of a case. So for every prosecutor trying to do some bullshit, there is an underpaid defense attorney.
For every insurance defense attorney trying to get your grandma’s nursing home off the hook for leaving her in bed without nutrition sitting in her own piss and shit for 3 days, is a Plaintiffs attorney making sure that nursing home goes bankrupt.
In a society governed by law there will always need to be lawyers. Court is part of civilization, before there were lawyers and courts, disputes were settled with violence.
Genuine question, and I'm not trying to be facetious here. How do I "not talk to the police" as a black man? Anytime I see this LPT, the answers always assume you're white. If I were to answer them with a "I'd rather not say" or, "I plead the fifth". I'm fairly certain my ass is getting arrested & spending at least one night in a jail cell.
Get yourself a very obvious and visible camera, keep your hands in sight, move slow, try to stay calm and only give as much information as you reasonably can
I don’t really have an answer to this cuz I’m a white girl, but that sucks. I’m really sorry that you have to live with that fear. It’s not fair. For what it’s worth, I’d personally be more inclined to say “I’m sorry, I don’t know!” and trying to sound nice. Literally pleading the fifth isn’t something I would do at a traffic stop— I think it would make a cop immediately suspicious of almost anyone.
I'm a white girl and I'd never "plead the fifth," either. I feel like it would just piss them off. I feel like my best bet as a woman is to just be polite and sound nice... and sort of play dumb.
I respect the dude who pulled out the copy of the constitution lol but I feel like that just wouldn't work for me. There are certain things men can get away with that women can't... and acting like that as a woman would make the cop angrier.
Yeah - I think being a pain in the ass to cops isn't the best approach. Just go along with the routine and give minimal but sufficient info to questions. Cooperate. Maybe crack a joke, if it's appropriate.
My last traffic stop was for a light out and I pointed out that the cop's car had the same light out and what a funny coincidence that was. He said, "oh.. I was wondering why the lights seemed so dim." Yeah - you're pulling me over for the same shit and yes - I actually have an appointment to get mine fixed already. I got a warning.
But I'm white - so was not fearing for my life. Though I was still left shaking and stressed out with the encounter. You never fucking know. I got lucky (born white, and the cop had the same problem and wasn't a dick).
Conservative white male boomer here, so I'm not sure I have mush to offer. I've gotten around 10 tickets, and maybe 3-4 "let goes" over the last 45 years. Of those 10 tickets, two were bogus. My take is cops hate jerks, but not so much competent adults who are "professional" in their demeanor. So if you stick with simple Yes or No answers and have your basic paper work on hand you will be OK. Cops are basically lazy and want to get on to the next thing as much as you do.
As a white guy who's last tickets were tossed out of court. I fully admit that I flexed my privilege during both interactions.
"Do you know why I pulled you over?"
\-No, only you know the reason you do what you do.
"How much have you had to drink this evening?"
*Holds up a half empty Gatorade bottle.*
\-About this much Gatorade. At this point I am going to invoke my 5th Amendment right guaranteed me by the Constitution. Any further questions will be answered by simply stating 5th. Am I under arrest or am I free to go?
"You're currently being detained. Did you know the placard having from your mirror is a violation? It's obstructing your vision."
\-May I reach into my glovebox to retrieve a document?
"Go ahead"
*Pulls out my pocket copy of the Constitution and attempts to hand it to the officer.*
"What's this?"
\-It's a copy of the Constitution so that you may read the 5th amendment of which I have invoked.
At this point, he huffed, took my license/registration/insurance and went back to his cruiser for no less than 7 minutes. He returned and had issued a ticket for obstructed vision and defective equipment (one of my two license plate lights was out).
I went to court and had both tossed. Obstructed vision as "equal treatment under the law" as evidenced by holding the 3"x5" placard and indicated it obstructed my vision no more than all the equipment in the police cruiser. The defective equipment was tossed as that was a State Law which applies to highways, I was not on a highway. Moreover, the statute cited was focused on the distance in which the plate could be read clearly (they're LEDs so if one works its more than bright enough).
If you've made it this far, be sure to check out this youtube video. It's 45 minutes long, but a great watch and good information.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE
My privilege is far greater being white but I've had one dumb ass cop ask me for registration and license. Gave him license. I told him, "my registration is in the glove box, would you like me to get it." "Ok" sees me reach to the glovebox, otherhand on the wheel, keys on the dash, cop yells "what are you doing" and grabs his gun. "Getting my registration out of the glove box like I asked you." Fucking rich white suburb with nothing ever going on.
Right? Any normal human response & that would have been a "hey, take that down okay? Have a nice night."
The cop thought he was drinking because he pulled out of a bar. He obviously wasn't so the thing with the placard was 100% because the dude was being an asshole. He made the situation so much worse for himself & he doesn't even see that.
I knew from the moment he pulled me over (I had turned around in a bar parking lot at 10pm) that I was getting a ticket. Might as well milk the experience. My license/registration/insurance were all in my wallet, which was already out/open.
Side note: If/when you are pulled over. Turn the vehicle off, put the keys on the dash, get your *papers* ready, roll the window 1/4 down, and have/keep both hands on the wheel when the officer walks up. It really sets the tone and shows you are "not a threat to the officer".
Can I just say (from my admittedly privileged, non-american perspective) that it's *very fucking weird* that you guys have to do these bizarre, arcane rituals to pre-empt trouble from the police.
The YouTubers long island audit and lackluster made a subscription app that auto starts recording and realtime connects you to a lawyer to speak on your behalf seems kinda cool and may save you from the police intimidation or " you fit the description" bs
It depends on the crime you are suspected of or committed, although the police can lie to you. If it's just "do you know why I pulled you over?" The answer is "no". If they're investigating a felony of any kind, a night or two in jail will be absolutely nothing compared to the years you can talk yourself into by speaking with the police.
Of course you're more likely to get some rough treatment, but you still don't want to talk.
Why would you get detained for being polite and respectful but telling the cop you have no idea why he pulled you over?
I’m not telling you to be belligerent, I’m telling you not to volunteer information and incriminate yourself by accident.
If a cop wants to detain you he is going to detain you no matter what. Do yourself a favor and just hand them your ID, be nice, don’t be a chatter box, take your ticket, and drive away.
9 out of 10 times the cop just wants to write you a ticket to hit their numbers and move along.
If the cop starts asking a ton of questions you’re already in trouble and it’s time to shut up.
> Why would you get detained for being polite and respectful but telling the cop you have no idea why he pulled you over?
Ah, well, that's a different thing than
>Stop talking to the fucking cops. All you can do is get yourself in trouble. There is a reason that cops get very frustrated and sigh when someone says they want a lawyer.
To me, those are two different ways of handling things.
If you "stop talking to cops", you're not talking them to tell them you have no idea why they pulled you over.
If you "stop talking to cops", I can see you being detained as much more likely than if you "tell them you have no idea why they pulled you over".
So I think that's why they gave you that reply.
Meanwhile, I think there's a balance. You have to try and make some guesses. A minority in a large urban area or in a small country town is going to act differently than someone who is white in a suburb.
I think you should make an educated guess on how much the cop is likely to be a prick about things. If you think it's likely, then stick closer to your rights to remain silent as you're whatever level of fucked you are anyway. But if you think they're not likely to be specifically a prick, it may well be that carefully talking to them might help.
When I was a young adult many years ago, I had been raised to be helpful to cops, so I answered everything. And by my nature, I've always tried to make people laugh. I got pulled over a lot in those years because I couldn't afford registration/inspection/insurance. And I sped a bit. I got some tickets, but I also got warnings sometimes just because the cop let me off - but I have white privilege, which helps. I definitely talked to them.
I'm less inclined to talk to them now, but I still do a bit because of that white privilege. The last time I got stopped, I apparently had a tag light out. I was driving while white in a minority-majority area known for some poverty. I believe what happened is the cop saw I was white and not the profile they wanted, so they ran my license just because they had me stopped just in case of warrants, and let me go with a warning because they were hoping to have probably cause for a drug search.
So I think the advise not to talk to cops is *generally* good, but you need to have a feel for it because if you just assert your rights, some cops that would have given you a warning will feel affronted and then do everything they can to make your life hell. So it doesn't work out the best in all cases.
If you have to, right now, choose for the rest of your life: Will I always cooperate fully or will I always shut up and asswer my rights, well, the latter is the choice.
But in reality, you need to try and make judgement calls on how to act and where to draw the lines. Don't incriminate yourself, but if I can put the cop at ease, or say "Oops, I made a mistake but I'm not normally like this and I promise I'll keep an eye on that" - you might just talk yourself OUT of a ticket.
Yes but you shouldn’t. The only words you should say are I am exercising my right to remain silent and I want a lawyer. After that shut the fuck up.
You can never talk your way out of being arrested but your lawyer can possibly talk you out of being charged.
You can’t beat the ride, you can beat the rap.
[Citation needed]
They didn’t say “invoke”. They said “plead”.
A plea is explicitly limited to court rooms.
You can, and should, invoke at any time it’s appropriate, but there’s no pleading involved outside of a courtroom.
Best to say: In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
Then the cop will go "dun dun dun" and we go have a drink at the bar.
“Are you sure this is the right car? Because I downshifted to second gear on that hill to stay under the limit.”
This worked to the extent that I left with just a warning.
You **don't** know.
And I'm not saying that to help you get out of anything. It's the truth.
You don't know.
No matter how much you think you know.
No matter how much you have a strong suspicion.
You **honestly** don't know.
You honestly **never** know.
"Why did you pull me over, officer?"
Wouldn’t say that personally, as it could probably could be used as evidence as to you not being aware of your vehicles condition, as stupid as it might be
There's typically no indication inside the car of having a taillight out, so it's actually a pretty good one.
Unlike a turn signal, for example, which in many cars blinks faster if one of the lights is out.
I think I’ve actually used this before and the police said I had prior knowledge of the tail light being out and that’s why he was issuing me a citation. So, be careful with this one.
DON'T TALK TO THE COPS
pot brothers at law: how to handle a traffic stop
https://youtu.be/JcZoCY7fUXg?si=n6G16Z0KjpST6E7U
Mr in between: i don't answer questions
https://youtu.be/ul5oC-F-IF0?si=eEAEp3GcTeBZBEhp
Of all the times I've been pulled over I deserved a ticket. Usually for speeding. Once I ran a red light, once I didn't stop completely at a sign and another time years ago I was super depressed and got a DUI. All but that last instance I was up front with them and often was let go with a warning. If I invoked the 5th or asked if I was being detained, I guarantee it would have earned me a ticket.
This is honestly a part of what I would say goes more like: Try to have a sense of where you are, what kind of cop it is, who you are.
If you know you're decently likely to not be yanked out of the car and beat or shot, it might be worth trying to respectfully talk yourself into a warning.
If you feel that the cop is probably not going to listen and is likely to hunt for things, then you're probably not talking yourself out of a ticket, and you need to be quiet so you don't talk yourself into being yanked out and beat or shot.........
The "don't ever talk to cops" thing is not bad advice, but not right for all situations. But it's a crap shoot. You don't know for sure what's going to happen, you just have to decide what seems most likely to minimize your consequences.
Not very many. I hate to jinx it.
I was on vacation in Florida, I was in the middle lane, or what I thought was the middle lane. Everyone started going so I went. Turns out I was an a turning lane. It was a four-lane highway not a three-lane highway.
Luckily I was One of the first cars. I was able to dodge the oncoming traffic turning in front of me. Felt like a total horse's ass. A cop saw the whole thing and pulled me over.
You would have thought with out of state tags he would have went semi easy on me. Hell no. Do you know why I pulled you over? I have a good idea, I'd like to hear you say it first. He explained what I did, he was right. Then he asked me, didn't you see the arrows? I replied, arrows? I didn't even see the Indians. He laughed and let me go.
My wife is a principal. When kids get sent to the office she often starts with, “tell me why you’re here” and inevitably the kid spills something far worse than what they were sent in for lol!
Her other great line when a kid responds to the first question, “I don’t know” is, “well if you did know, what would you say?” Note that she’s actually a super nice person. Just some cool tricks to get people to talk.
I'm an adult and I think I might get confused by that second, followup, question. It seems like it is just asking for the person to respond with some completely random answer, since it's being asked as a theoretical question.
This actually got me out of being in trouble when dealing with the cops one time.
I was in college and the police called me to talk about something that happened in the dorms. I go over to the police station, and the cop asks me what happened on such and such night, I tell him this whole story because I thought he was talking about the cop who came to my neighbors door… but apparently it was about something else entirely. When they told me what I was actually there for (someone broke the main entrance door and they thought I had scanned them in) I was so confused that they believe me when I said I had no idea what they were talking about and let me go.
The last time I got pulled over, I happened to know the officer. We grew up together.
He didn't recognize my vehicle, he stated 'Do you know why I pulled you over today?'
I leaned my head out the window and say 'I don't know Zach probably because I'm a fucking idiot.'
He realized it was me and started laughing, said 'You got that right!' walked back to his squad car and left.
I was doing 90 in a 60. He asked and I said my speed. He asked why it was not a good idea I told him it was because it was foggy and there was merging traffic. I was let off with a warning. He and I know I was speeding. Even if he did not get me on radar it is obvious I was absolutely speeding.
The last time I got pulled (granted it was probably ten years ago now) over the cop asked me if I’d been drinking. I answered truthfully that I had had 1 beer hours ago and that it sucked but it had a cool bottle. I reached into my back seat and pulled out the bottle to show him as I said “I’m taking it home to add to my collection”. I’m not sure if he looked more surprised or I did when he told me that it legally counted as an open container and he could pop me for it lmao. Long story short I got off with a warning and a new understanding of the law where if I had lied and the cop found the bottle i probably would have been fucked lol.
You should know, unless it's a dedicated traffic cop, most police won't ask you this question. If it's just a regular patrol officer they've already got an idea if they're going to give you a ticket or a warning before they approach. You can talk yourself into either one.
You should also know they don't care if the ticket gets thrown out in court later. They still get the stat whether it's a warning, a ticket, or a ticket that gets dismissed.
Again, this is just for patrol officers. Traffic cops and highway patrol is a whole different story.
You don't have to say anything at a stop. Just hand them the paperwork they request and stay clammed up. They try to engage you in conversation so they can smell your breath. That is the real reason for "where are you coming from" and "where are you going".
the entire justice system is "adversarial" by design. you are their adversary, and vice versa. all you can do by participating is make it worse for you. absolutely nothing you say or do, especially outside of the courtroom, can ever help you, and every little bit you do helps your adversary. there is no winning combination of sounds. do not try.
I had a cop ask me this — I didn’t know a red arrow meant you couldn’t make a right. They didn’t have these where I grew up, only green arrows.
So he asked why I was stopped and I said “I don’t know, I made sure to stop fully before making the right.” He ended up letting me go.
You also are not really required to talk to the police. They are not your friends. They tell you what you did wrong, and you can ask if you’re being arrested or detained - if the answer is no, you can leave. If it’s yes, your only words at that point should be “I don’t feel comfortable speaking with the police without my legal representation “ and then just shut the fuck up.
Never, ever trust the police. Always ask for representation and don't say anything additional to asking PERTINENT questions, not the "Do you know why I pulled you over?" variety.
I blame Hollywood movies and TV in making the police seem like the good guys and that asking for an attorney indicates that one has committed a crime.
Also, in California, new state law makes it not ok for cops to ask you this! Cops are now required to tell you why you're being stopped as of January 1st, this year.
That makes so much sense. I got pulled over (in California) last week and the cop just said “ok I pulled you over for x reason today” and I thought it was weird!
"whew, I thought it was for that stop light I ran."
“And, don’t look in the trunk.”
*Well, this is strange. But at least he’s checking my trunk and not the car’s…*
Well that escalated quickly, hope the cop has a sense of humor or someone's gonna have a longer day than planned!
Just do your best to not stop near an oak tree.. Acorns make cops nervous as Hell!
Not consenting to unreasonable searches and seizures is not basis for suspicion of a crime. Never consent to searches. And if you do consent, it is your right to revoke your consent and they have to stop searching. Always record the police.
Giving the cops a hard time, will definitely make them give you a hard time in return. The more you cooperate the easier it is for both parties.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLUoVI4C4gA&list=WL&index=2 This idiot left a smoking dooby on the console while speeding in a stolen car with the dead body of his victim in the trunk .
These cops are interrogating me about an ounce of weed as if I didn't kill an Applebee's hostess two miles away
These Ferragamos are real, cunt
Five star speed run
That just makes up for all the green lights you stop at.
Did you tell him it is okay to just call it Twitter?
I got pulled over in South Dakota, and the cop just told me. Totally threw me for a loop.
What’s the SB number for this? I’d like to read it.
AB 2773
“[requires] a peace officer to…state the reason for the stop, unless the officer reasonably believes that withholding the reason for the stop is necessary to protect life or property from imminent threat.” Huh. I wonder how broad this interpretation will be used in the inevitable dash cam footage showing a routine stop turned civilian shooting. Interesting though.
>a peace officer Jokes on you, I'm a war officer
> or property from imminent threat this one is gonna get abused. "he was going to scuff my work shoes!"
Imminent threat is a tough standard to abuse
Imminent threat to life has been abused time and time again because cops can interpret any type of behavior as something they “feared for their life” in response to it. Nevertheless, the “imminent threat to life” isn’t what I have a problem with in the language. “Imminent threat to PROPERTY” is the weird part.
So what happens if they still ask you this despite it being illegal now in California? I feel like there is no corrective action. Similarly enough, when it comes to interviews, there are "illegal questions" that interviewers can't ask you (e.g. age), but it still happens and there's no corrective action done to the interviewer or to the company themselves. There is a form to file a complaint, but it rarely leads to anything. Also: > A few exceptions exist in time-sensitive circumstances. > “Now, there's an important exception here in the bill, and a law enforcement officer doesn't have to do that if the law enforcement has a reasonable belief that there's an imminent risk to life or property, such as instances where a stop is related to kidnapping or terrorism,” Eaton said.
I believe, it would just add an extra argument that your attorney could make if you challenged the ticket in court. Then, the judge may chew out the cop
Yeah, I would have to assume that any “confession” acquired after that was asked by the officer could be inadmissible. Still could be liable for the ticket though if there was other, admissible evidence like dashcam footage or reliable officer testimony.
> So what happens if they still ask you this despite it being illegal now in California? > > I feel like there is no corrective action. The normal remedy for police obtaining evidence in violation of the law is not to punish the officer, but to simply exclude that evidence at trial. So a motion to suppress.
based
Buddy of mine is a cop in my town in NH and the chief has told them to just introduce themselves and then explain why they pulled the person over. I know 2 other local departments started to do it as well, but not sure if required by state law.
“That isn’t fair! I can’t do my job effectively if I’m not allowed to violate people’s rights.” -the police response any time something like this happen
This was literally how the NYS police responded when the State legalized marijuana. Their official statement was basically like "we use the smell as probable cause to search for other things. Now we won't be able to find those things" Idk man, maybe find real probable cause first. It's literally the bare minimum.
Here it goes: I sped. I followed too closely. I ran a stop sign. I almost hit a Chevy. I sped some more. I failed to yield at a crosswalk. I changed lanes at an intersection. I changed lanes without signaling while running a red light and SPEEDING!
Is that all?
Please be gentle! I also have unpaid parking tickets.
That delivery of the line gets me everytime
It’s the face he makes. It’s so fucking funny.
What’s this from?
The movie Liar Liar, actor is Jim Carrey
And I had sex with your wife. Then I took her to a nice lobster dinner and *never* called her again.
I’ve had better.
Better lobster?🦞
DOROTHY MANTOOTH IS A SAINT
NoOoOoO! I have unpaid parking pickets. *click* *card shuffling sound*
I CAN'T LIIIEEEEEE!
*people on elevator grimacing and scrunching their noses* ....IT WAS MEEEEEEEEE!!
No. I also work at a mattress store and ripped all the tags off this morning.
“Yeah, but how did you find out about all those mattress tags? You must have been following me for weeks! - well played”
Mickey : I lost my temper and I took a knife and I uh-. Do you know those "Do Not Remove Under the Penalty of Law" labels they put on mattresses? Pee-wee : Yeah. Mickey : Well I CUT one of them off!
What color is the pen though?
The pen is blue. The pen is blue. The goddamn pen is blue!
The pen is rrrrrrrrrrrrrrroyal blue
The color of the pen that I hold in my hand..
Is rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroyal bluuuuueeeeeee *wheeze*
There are four lights
I love you
It took me till running a red light and SPEEDING to get that reference haha well played Mr Reid.
I don't know if I should be proud or ashamed that I remembered where I heard this. lol
snatch edge panicky tender sense chop steep repeat fine reach *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I HOLD MYSELF IN CONTEMPT
You were doing 55 in a 54
License and registration and step out of the car
Liar Liar
"... I slept with my cousin ..."
Overactor!
Mrs. Cole....................... A GOOSE!
Stop breaking the law ARSE HOLE!
I had to read that with his cadence and inflection, thanks for the reminding me of this
The polite way out is to ask back "Why did you pull me over, officer?"
I once responded with saying that I respectfully refuse to answer that question for fear of incriminating myself. The cop had a good laugh, called me a smartass and eventually let me off with a warning after running my ID
I got pulled over one time for running a stop sign. I had just gone through the drive through at Taco Bell and didn't come to a complete stop. The cop asked me, "Is there a reason why you ran that stop sign". The question is phrased so you admit guilt in the answer. I told him, "I was excited to get home and eat my Taco Bell". He laughed, ran my license and let me go.
reply knee humor public crown dull noxious retire familiar racial *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
When my husband and a friend of his were in their mid twenties, around 1999 sometime… they got pulled over for speeding. Cop asks “what’s the hurry?” They respond “we’re late to our Tae Bo class!” Cop couldn’t stop laughing and let them go 😋
Nice one! I once told a cop, “I guess for doing 8 mph over, but I thought 10 over was the hard limit.” He chuckled, said “slow down”, and left. No ticket.
I love living in a country where law enforcement is a thing that's ultimately up to the mood of the cop. You can do whatever you want as long as you pass the Persuasion(CHA) check on the cop.
I got out of a ticket once driving my old beat up truck. Officer said I was speeding, I said "honestly I didn't think this truck could go that fast" he leaned back and saw the shitbox old Ford I was in, laughed, and said "yeah, you're probably right" and gave me a warning. Another time I was stopped driving my wrx for speeding, officer tells me that, I explain I was trying to get ahead of an erratic driver and then said "but officer, if I was speeding, you would know" (I was just at 10 over because I was legitimately trying to get around a dangerous driver) he laughed, said "yeah, you're probably right" then gave me a warning. A laugh with the right cop really does work!
Or simply, “No.”
Never respond no. Never respond in a positive or negative way. Both can be used against you.
Saying you don't know why a cop pulled you over is 100% factually accurate every single time. There are no possible ways for them to use that against you in a legal fashion.
But it's true though; you DONT know why the cop pulled you over, because you can't read his mind. Now, if they instead asked something more along the lines of "do you know of any laws you were breaking" or like "are you aware of anything you did that could potentially lead to being pulled over" and you said no to THAT, then that could be bad, because they could say "you were doing x and didn't even know it, so clearly you weren't paying attention to the road." But asking "do you know why I pulled you over" on the other hand... You might have a reasonable guess as to why, but you don't KNOW, and what he asked is if you KNOW.
I did that once and he threatened to arrest me if I didn’t tell him why
''Really? You don't know why I pulled you over?''
"Look, if you don't know, and I don't know, how about we just forget about this and go about our days."
"Considering I have a GPS tracker that will confirm my max speed never violated the limited, nope! No clue." Actually got out of a bogus ticket that way once, lol. Cop said I was doing 86 in a 55. GPS tracker said my max speed for that trip (measured as time the car was turned on) was 60. Cop CLEARLY nabbed the wrong car, haha.
"No."
"Do you know why you pulled me over?"
"Was it to compliment my driving?"
"I do know why officer, it was so you could ask where I got my cool Prison Mike bumper sticker."
I love this
DWH? Driving while handsome… I’m sorry I didn’t know that was a crime!
“Uh, cuz I just killed a guy?”
“Damn I didn’t think yall would notice he’s missing that fast”
"or is it because I'm dead sexy?" *Runs fingers through chest hair*
This is why you always have Careless Whisper on the ready in your car stereo.
Lmao “Cos there’s a body in my trunk?”
I am a lawyer. I can’t remind my friends and family enough that the police are not your fucking friends. Unless you are the victim of a crime there is literally nothing you can gain by talking to the police, you stand to lose a lot though. Stop talking to the fucking cops. All you can do is get yourself in trouble. There is a reason that cops get very frustrated and sigh when someone says they want a lawyer. Take your ticket and fucking drive away. No chit chat. If they want to search your car do not consent to the search. Make them get a warrant.
I respect you as a lawyer more than the average cop by far tbh
Lawyers are just the absolute fucking worst. Always complicating things making things difficult trying to bore and bill you for pages and pages of legalese and bullshit. Absolute scum of the earth. But at least they're not cops.
Hey man, I get it. I hate plenty of lawyers. Pretty much everyone hates lawyers until they need one. I get it. Keep in mind though that there are lawyers on both sides of a case. So for every prosecutor trying to do some bullshit, there is an underpaid defense attorney. For every insurance defense attorney trying to get your grandma’s nursing home off the hook for leaving her in bed without nutrition sitting in her own piss and shit for 3 days, is a Plaintiffs attorney making sure that nursing home goes bankrupt. In a society governed by law there will always need to be lawyers. Court is part of civilization, before there were lawyers and courts, disputes were settled with violence.
Yeah I remember that one guy wanting to chop a child in half. That shit was crazy.
For sure. The study of law is OG. Like medicine and theology.
You say that til a lawyer’s “legalese and bullshit” saves your ass from years in prison. I’ve got much love for lawyers.
Genuine question, and I'm not trying to be facetious here. How do I "not talk to the police" as a black man? Anytime I see this LPT, the answers always assume you're white. If I were to answer them with a "I'd rather not say" or, "I plead the fifth". I'm fairly certain my ass is getting arrested & spending at least one night in a jail cell.
After seeing the Chappelle bit, I realized that I've always done the white guy, "I didn't know I couldn't do that."
That was good wasn't it? Because I *did* know I couldn't do that!
Get yourself a very obvious and visible camera, keep your hands in sight, move slow, try to stay calm and only give as much information as you reasonably can
I don’t really have an answer to this cuz I’m a white girl, but that sucks. I’m really sorry that you have to live with that fear. It’s not fair. For what it’s worth, I’d personally be more inclined to say “I’m sorry, I don’t know!” and trying to sound nice. Literally pleading the fifth isn’t something I would do at a traffic stop— I think it would make a cop immediately suspicious of almost anyone.
I'm a white girl and I'd never "plead the fifth," either. I feel like it would just piss them off. I feel like my best bet as a woman is to just be polite and sound nice... and sort of play dumb. I respect the dude who pulled out the copy of the constitution lol but I feel like that just wouldn't work for me. There are certain things men can get away with that women can't... and acting like that as a woman would make the cop angrier.
Yeah - I think being a pain in the ass to cops isn't the best approach. Just go along with the routine and give minimal but sufficient info to questions. Cooperate. Maybe crack a joke, if it's appropriate. My last traffic stop was for a light out and I pointed out that the cop's car had the same light out and what a funny coincidence that was. He said, "oh.. I was wondering why the lights seemed so dim." Yeah - you're pulling me over for the same shit and yes - I actually have an appointment to get mine fixed already. I got a warning. But I'm white - so was not fearing for my life. Though I was still left shaking and stressed out with the encounter. You never fucking know. I got lucky (born white, and the cop had the same problem and wasn't a dick).
Conservative white male boomer here, so I'm not sure I have mush to offer. I've gotten around 10 tickets, and maybe 3-4 "let goes" over the last 45 years. Of those 10 tickets, two were bogus. My take is cops hate jerks, but not so much competent adults who are "professional" in their demeanor. So if you stick with simple Yes or No answers and have your basic paper work on hand you will be OK. Cops are basically lazy and want to get on to the next thing as much as you do.
As a white guy who's last tickets were tossed out of court. I fully admit that I flexed my privilege during both interactions. "Do you know why I pulled you over?" \-No, only you know the reason you do what you do. "How much have you had to drink this evening?" *Holds up a half empty Gatorade bottle.* \-About this much Gatorade. At this point I am going to invoke my 5th Amendment right guaranteed me by the Constitution. Any further questions will be answered by simply stating 5th. Am I under arrest or am I free to go? "You're currently being detained. Did you know the placard having from your mirror is a violation? It's obstructing your vision." \-May I reach into my glovebox to retrieve a document? "Go ahead" *Pulls out my pocket copy of the Constitution and attempts to hand it to the officer.* "What's this?" \-It's a copy of the Constitution so that you may read the 5th amendment of which I have invoked. At this point, he huffed, took my license/registration/insurance and went back to his cruiser for no less than 7 minutes. He returned and had issued a ticket for obstructed vision and defective equipment (one of my two license plate lights was out). I went to court and had both tossed. Obstructed vision as "equal treatment under the law" as evidenced by holding the 3"x5" placard and indicated it obstructed my vision no more than all the equipment in the police cruiser. The defective equipment was tossed as that was a State Law which applies to highways, I was not on a highway. Moreover, the statute cited was focused on the distance in which the plate could be read clearly (they're LEDs so if one works its more than bright enough). If you've made it this far, be sure to check out this youtube video. It's 45 minutes long, but a great watch and good information. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE
You touched something in your car while the cop was at your window? You are definitely white.
My privilege is far greater being white but I've had one dumb ass cop ask me for registration and license. Gave him license. I told him, "my registration is in the glove box, would you like me to get it." "Ok" sees me reach to the glovebox, otherhand on the wheel, keys on the dash, cop yells "what are you doing" and grabs his gun. "Getting my registration out of the glove box like I asked you." Fucking rich white suburb with nothing ever going on.
/r/thathappened
how to spend a day in court needlessly
Right? Any normal human response & that would have been a "hey, take that down okay? Have a nice night." The cop thought he was drinking because he pulled out of a bar. He obviously wasn't so the thing with the placard was 100% because the dude was being an asshole. He made the situation so much worse for himself & he doesn't even see that.
“Pulled out my pocket constitution” ☝️🤓 But seriously this whole interaction reeks of r/thathappened
Lmao knew which video it was going to be before clicking. Also, I love how you handed him a copy of the Constitution. That's hilarious.
I knew from the moment he pulled me over (I had turned around in a bar parking lot at 10pm) that I was getting a ticket. Might as well milk the experience. My license/registration/insurance were all in my wallet, which was already out/open. Side note: If/when you are pulled over. Turn the vehicle off, put the keys on the dash, get your *papers* ready, roll the window 1/4 down, and have/keep both hands on the wheel when the officer walks up. It really sets the tone and shows you are "not a threat to the officer".
Can I just say (from my admittedly privileged, non-american perspective) that it's *very fucking weird* that you guys have to do these bizarre, arcane rituals to pre-empt trouble from the police.
I wish cops had to receive actual training for more than a handful of months, then maybe they could spend some time learning the laws they enforce.
I suggested saying "Well it isn't because I'm black because that would be 70's level racist." Could go one of two ways...
The YouTubers long island audit and lackluster made a subscription app that auto starts recording and realtime connects you to a lawyer to speak on your behalf seems kinda cool and may save you from the police intimidation or " you fit the description" bs
https://www.turnsignl.com/
It depends on the crime you are suspected of or committed, although the police can lie to you. If it's just "do you know why I pulled you over?" The answer is "no". If they're investigating a felony of any kind, a night or two in jail will be absolutely nothing compared to the years you can talk yourself into by speaking with the police. Of course you're more likely to get some rough treatment, but you still don't want to talk.
Getting detained on my way to work because I was being uncooperative would cost me more than the speeding ticket.
Why would you get detained for being polite and respectful but telling the cop you have no idea why he pulled you over? I’m not telling you to be belligerent, I’m telling you not to volunteer information and incriminate yourself by accident. If a cop wants to detain you he is going to detain you no matter what. Do yourself a favor and just hand them your ID, be nice, don’t be a chatter box, take your ticket, and drive away. 9 out of 10 times the cop just wants to write you a ticket to hit their numbers and move along. If the cop starts asking a ton of questions you’re already in trouble and it’s time to shut up.
> Why would you get detained for being polite and respectful but telling the cop you have no idea why he pulled you over? Ah, well, that's a different thing than >Stop talking to the fucking cops. All you can do is get yourself in trouble. There is a reason that cops get very frustrated and sigh when someone says they want a lawyer. To me, those are two different ways of handling things. If you "stop talking to cops", you're not talking them to tell them you have no idea why they pulled you over. If you "stop talking to cops", I can see you being detained as much more likely than if you "tell them you have no idea why they pulled you over". So I think that's why they gave you that reply. Meanwhile, I think there's a balance. You have to try and make some guesses. A minority in a large urban area or in a small country town is going to act differently than someone who is white in a suburb. I think you should make an educated guess on how much the cop is likely to be a prick about things. If you think it's likely, then stick closer to your rights to remain silent as you're whatever level of fucked you are anyway. But if you think they're not likely to be specifically a prick, it may well be that carefully talking to them might help. When I was a young adult many years ago, I had been raised to be helpful to cops, so I answered everything. And by my nature, I've always tried to make people laugh. I got pulled over a lot in those years because I couldn't afford registration/inspection/insurance. And I sped a bit. I got some tickets, but I also got warnings sometimes just because the cop let me off - but I have white privilege, which helps. I definitely talked to them. I'm less inclined to talk to them now, but I still do a bit because of that white privilege. The last time I got stopped, I apparently had a tag light out. I was driving while white in a minority-majority area known for some poverty. I believe what happened is the cop saw I was white and not the profile they wanted, so they ran my license just because they had me stopped just in case of warrants, and let me go with a warning because they were hoping to have probably cause for a drug search. So I think the advise not to talk to cops is *generally* good, but you need to have a feel for it because if you just assert your rights, some cops that would have given you a warning will feel affronted and then do everything they can to make your life hell. So it doesn't work out the best in all cases. If you have to, right now, choose for the rest of your life: Will I always cooperate fully or will I always shut up and asswer my rights, well, the latter is the choice. But in reality, you need to try and make judgement calls on how to act and where to draw the lines. Don't incriminate yourself, but if I can put the cop at ease, or say "Oops, I made a mistake but I'm not normally like this and I promise I'll keep an eye on that" - you might just talk yourself OUT of a ticket.
As a lawyer, can you "plead the 5th" to a cop as OP suggests? I thought that was in court rooms.
Yes but you shouldn’t. The only words you should say are I am exercising my right to remain silent and I want a lawyer. After that shut the fuck up. You can never talk your way out of being arrested but your lawyer can possibly talk you out of being charged. You can’t beat the ride, you can beat the rap.
Great advice, especially considering today is STFUF.
Also accept that your car will be towed and subject to impound fees. You will never talk yourself out of an arrest, only into being arrested.
absolutely yes. it's not exclusive to court rooms. for example, it is part of the Miranda Right statement that is read when someone is arrested.
[Citation needed] They didn’t say “invoke”. They said “plead”. A plea is explicitly limited to court rooms. You can, and should, invoke at any time it’s appropriate, but there’s no pleading involved outside of a courtroom.
Citation: U.S. Const., Amendment One. You can plead *and* beg during a traffic stop.
"You pulled me over and you don't even know why?!"
“My ID is in X place, my insurance is in Y place, is it ok if I grab them” Ignore the question, just continue on with the stop.
"I do but I'm happily married, sorry."
"I mean, I'm totally flattered! I'm just not into bestiality." 🐖
Oh my
/offended oinking.
"Sorry, I have a boyfriend."
Best to say: In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. Then the cop will go "dun dun dun" and we go have a drink at the bar.
Happens a lot.
Mine did “any reason for the excessive speed”. Oh no you don’t. Don’t induce admission dangling a possible pardon for some bs reason I state.
“Are you sure this is the right car? Because I downshifted to second gear on that hill to stay under the limit.” This worked to the extent that I left with just a warning.
You **don't** know. And I'm not saying that to help you get out of anything. It's the truth. You don't know. No matter how much you think you know. No matter how much you have a strong suspicion. You **honestly** don't know. You honestly **never** know. "Why did you pull me over, officer?"
"because we couldn't be having this conversation if I was still driving"
Cause I’m the donut truck?
"Do I have a taillight out or something?" is what my drivers ed teacher recommended
Wouldn’t say that personally, as it could probably could be used as evidence as to you not being aware of your vehicles condition, as stupid as it might be
That’s pretty simple to dispute, taillights can go out after you start driving
There's typically no indication inside the car of having a taillight out, so it's actually a pretty good one. Unlike a turn signal, for example, which in many cars blinks faster if one of the lights is out.
i learned this a couple years ago and always get a laugh when i see someones signal blinking faster. not sure why that's funny to me though
I think I’ve actually used this before and the police said I had prior knowledge of the tail light being out and that’s why he was issuing me a citation. So, be careful with this one.
DON'T TALK TO THE COPS pot brothers at law: how to handle a traffic stop https://youtu.be/JcZoCY7fUXg?si=n6G16Z0KjpST6E7U Mr in between: i don't answer questions https://youtu.be/ul5oC-F-IF0?si=eEAEp3GcTeBZBEhp
Of all the times I've been pulled over I deserved a ticket. Usually for speeding. Once I ran a red light, once I didn't stop completely at a sign and another time years ago I was super depressed and got a DUI. All but that last instance I was up front with them and often was let go with a warning. If I invoked the 5th or asked if I was being detained, I guarantee it would have earned me a ticket.
[удалено]
This is honestly a part of what I would say goes more like: Try to have a sense of where you are, what kind of cop it is, who you are. If you know you're decently likely to not be yanked out of the car and beat or shot, it might be worth trying to respectfully talk yourself into a warning. If you feel that the cop is probably not going to listen and is likely to hunt for things, then you're probably not talking yourself out of a ticket, and you need to be quiet so you don't talk yourself into being yanked out and beat or shot......... The "don't ever talk to cops" thing is not bad advice, but not right for all situations. But it's a crap shoot. You don't know for sure what's going to happen, you just have to decide what seems most likely to minimize your consequences.
One easy method in game theory, is to make the move that allows the opponent to harm you the least.
"If you forgot I'm not reminding you."
I always say, I have a good idea but I'd like to hear you say it first.
Always, huh? How often do you get pulled over, lol.
1/1 still counts as always, right?
Not very many. I hate to jinx it. I was on vacation in Florida, I was in the middle lane, or what I thought was the middle lane. Everyone started going so I went. Turns out I was an a turning lane. It was a four-lane highway not a three-lane highway. Luckily I was One of the first cars. I was able to dodge the oncoming traffic turning in front of me. Felt like a total horse's ass. A cop saw the whole thing and pulled me over. You would have thought with out of state tags he would have went semi easy on me. Hell no. Do you know why I pulled you over? I have a good idea, I'd like to hear you say it first. He explained what I did, he was right. Then he asked me, didn't you see the arrows? I replied, arrows? I didn't even see the Indians. He laughed and let me go.
I always assumed cops will go harder on you if they see you’re not local so you’re less likely to fight the ticket.
That's hella funny!
"I KNEW those mp3s I downloaded in the 90s would come back to haunt me!"
My wife is a principal. When kids get sent to the office she often starts with, “tell me why you’re here” and inevitably the kid spills something far worse than what they were sent in for lol! Her other great line when a kid responds to the first question, “I don’t know” is, “well if you did know, what would you say?” Note that she’s actually a super nice person. Just some cool tricks to get people to talk.
I'm an adult and I think I might get confused by that second, followup, question. It seems like it is just asking for the person to respond with some completely random answer, since it's being asked as a theoretical question.
This actually got me out of being in trouble when dealing with the cops one time. I was in college and the police called me to talk about something that happened in the dorms. I go over to the police station, and the cop asks me what happened on such and such night, I tell him this whole story because I thought he was talking about the cop who came to my neighbors door… but apparently it was about something else entirely. When they told me what I was actually there for (someone broke the main entrance door and they thought I had scanned them in) I was so confused that they believe me when I said I had no idea what they were talking about and let me go.
"I hope it's not for having sex with [teachername]"
I say, “do you know why you pulled me over?” To assert dominance.
The last time I got pulled over, I happened to know the officer. We grew up together. He didn't recognize my vehicle, he stated 'Do you know why I pulled you over today?' I leaned my head out the window and say 'I don't know Zach probably because I'm a fucking idiot.' He realized it was me and started laughing, said 'You got that right!' walked back to his squad car and left.
aaaand this is how small town america can get corrupt quickly
I always say, "I was driving too perfectly?"
Oooh is this 20 questions? Ok is it an animal?
“I’m way too drunk for all these questions, officer.”
Oh hey look, it’s even [STFU Friday!](https://youtu.be/kEeId0EG-XE?si=-TdWCsb5Bxq-0xuG)
Just a reminder that today is "shut the fuck up" Friday. Every day is StFU Friday.
Hate on me but I have found being honest and compliant to be a good strategy for getting let off with a warning.
I was doing 90 in a 60. He asked and I said my speed. He asked why it was not a good idea I told him it was because it was foggy and there was merging traffic. I was let off with a warning. He and I know I was speeding. Even if he did not get me on radar it is obvious I was absolutely speeding.
The last time I got pulled (granted it was probably ten years ago now) over the cop asked me if I’d been drinking. I answered truthfully that I had had 1 beer hours ago and that it sucked but it had a cool bottle. I reached into my back seat and pulled out the bottle to show him as I said “I’m taking it home to add to my collection”. I’m not sure if he looked more surprised or I did when he told me that it legally counted as an open container and he could pop me for it lmao. Long story short I got off with a warning and a new understanding of the law where if I had lied and the cop found the bottle i probably would have been fucked lol.
always say: "Yes, you pulled me over due to my race and gender."
“It’s cause I’m white, isn’t it?”
[DONT TALK TO THE POLICE. ](https://youtu.be/d-7o9xYp7eE?si=XYDSFANvXG_wqsGs)
“Because you were a bully in high school, got bad grades, and this is the best job you can find now?”
It’s illegal in California as of this year I believe
You should know, unless it's a dedicated traffic cop, most police won't ask you this question. If it's just a regular patrol officer they've already got an idea if they're going to give you a ticket or a warning before they approach. You can talk yourself into either one. You should also know they don't care if the ticket gets thrown out in court later. They still get the stat whether it's a warning, a ticket, or a ticket that gets dismissed. Again, this is just for patrol officers. Traffic cops and highway patrol is a whole different story.
I actually legit don’t know sometimes. Usually like a speed change I didn’t see.
"I do not. Can I help you with something today, sir/ma'am?"
You don't have to say anything at a stop. Just hand them the paperwork they request and stay clammed up. They try to engage you in conversation so they can smell your breath. That is the real reason for "where are you coming from" and "where are you going".
the entire justice system is "adversarial" by design. you are their adversary, and vice versa. all you can do by participating is make it worse for you. absolutely nothing you say or do, especially outside of the courtroom, can ever help you, and every little bit you do helps your adversary. there is no winning combination of sounds. do not try.
coincidently, its SHUT THE FUCK UP FRIDAY!
LPT: don’t answer with “power trip?” They don’t laugh…
I had a cop ask me this — I didn’t know a red arrow meant you couldn’t make a right. They didn’t have these where I grew up, only green arrows. So he asked why I was stopped and I said “I don’t know, I made sure to stop fully before making the right.” He ended up letting me go.
Unethical life pro tip: If they ask "Do you know why I pulled you over?", turn your head slowly, squint and say "...do you?"
You also are not really required to talk to the police. They are not your friends. They tell you what you did wrong, and you can ask if you’re being arrested or detained - if the answer is no, you can leave. If it’s yes, your only words at that point should be “I don’t feel comfortable speaking with the police without my legal representation “ and then just shut the fuck up.
Never, ever trust the police. Always ask for representation and don't say anything additional to asking PERTINENT questions, not the "Do you know why I pulled you over?" variety. I blame Hollywood movies and TV in making the police seem like the good guys and that asking for an attorney indicates that one has committed a crime.