Seeing those red and blue flashing lights and getting pulled over by the authorities can be nerve wracking even if you haven’t done anything wrong.
The time of your traffic stop can influence how anxious you feel during the stop. For example, if it’s noon on a Sunday afternoon, you may have just been going a little fast or have had mechanical issues with your vehicle. Compared to midnight or two a.m. on a Friday or Saturday night, now you and the officer might be thinking about drinks at happy hour or the club or bar you just left.
In either scenario, if you get pulled over in Bexar, Hays, Travis, Williamson, or any Texas county you should do the exact same thing every time. If you have access to your license and insurance, grab them and have them in plain sight, so that everyone can see what you are holding, on top of the steering wheel is best. Then slowly lower your window.
If you cannot access your information quickly, wait for the officer to be at the window and let them know you will be reaching for your information. This is Texas, so many people have firearms in their vehicles. If you have a firearm in the same location as your information, tell the officer that you have a weapon and don’t want to reach in that direction. In the future, keep your information and your weapon in separate locations.
If it is a night you have gone out for a couple of drinks, leave the weapon at home. In Texas, you can have a weapon in your vehicle or in certain situations on your person, but the catch is if you commit a crime or are accused of a crime that gun that you legally had on you or in your car is now a separate crime. For example, if you get arrested for driving while intoxicated, you will also be charged with unlawful carry of a firearm.
So the officer is at your window and you have handed them your information. They will run it through dispatch and see if you have warrants and to make sure you are who you say, while making small talk. This is the part where many people get themselves into trouble. The small talk and friendly questions are an investigation into what you are or have been doing.
Officers are well trained at saying something like, “We just need to wait for the station to radio me back…. What are you up to? Where are you coming from? Where are you headed? Did you watch the game/fight/movie etc.?” People don’t want to be rude or they hate uncomfortable silences, so they talk. That leads to one thing that leads to another and now you are saying things that get you in trouble.
Why the question about dinner or sports events? Because those things also have alcohol and DWI is something that plagues counties all over Texas. Or the officer just wants you to talk to see if you seem odd or off, are you on drugs are you overly nervous. So you can ask politely why you were stopped and then say you would rather not talk. If they ask why, just blame us and say, “My attorney told me not to talk a lot.” They may follow up with “Why not, if you haven’t done anything wrong you have nothing to worry about.” You can answer, “I don’t know, but I am just going to do what they said and not speak.”
Following Citizen Defense’s advice, give the officer your info and stay quiet. What should happen next is the officer coming back with a warning or ticket for the reason you were stopped. Sign the document. It's not saying you are guilty, it just says you got the paperwork and will deal with it. Too many times a simple ticket has escalated into an arrest because of unruly drivers wanting to fight their fight on the side of the road. Nothing is won in an argument or altercation in public. We do our fighting in court later with judges, court reporters, and witnesses that can share exactly what happens during the fight, and not just your word versus a police department.
This information is for a safe and smooth traffic stop. No one likes getting pulled over, but this will keep everyone safe and the issues to a minimum. You always seem to get stopped when you are already having a bad day, but just follow these steps and hopefully you just leave with a warning. If your stop does escalate into you being arrested give us a call or send an email and we can advise you on the next step.
Citizen Defense is always ready to defend you against criminal charges, when it’s you versus the government, you need help and Citizen Defense is here.
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