Just do what they say and you should be fine. DON'T ARGUE. DON'T RESIST.

Keep your hands in sight at all times, preferably away from your sides. If they start yelling, drop whatever is in your hands. Do NOT put your hands in your pockets to get your wallet. And for pity's sake, drop your cell phone if they start yelling. Let it break. It can be replaced.

Are you a person of color? You are more at risk, especially in the South and in certain high crime urban areas.

Tug your forelock. Swallow your pride. Get mad later not in front of the cop.

A friend of mine was stopped by the highway patrol late at night in rural Texas. He is white, middle class, driving a big fancy Buick. He made the conscious choice to keep his hands on the steering wheel at 10 and 2 so the cop could see them and not be nervous.

You don't want the cop to get nervous. That is when most bad things happen.

Practice saying "yes sir" and "yes ma'am". You'll be fine.


>> ^conan:

I'll be visiting the states soon and as strange as it sounds one of my major concerns is police. not being a native speaker i am afraid somewhat that if being stopped confusion might arise and there are various clips here that show us what confused US police officers like to do. ironically i'm not really afraid of street crime since i can choose where to go, but police officers? they are everywhere. maybe watching these clips while planning the trip is not a good idea.

Video description from YT for the curious:

SUMMERVILLE, SC (WCSC) -

Dash cam video released Thursday from a stolen Summerville, South Carolina police cruiser shows a suspect fighting a police officer then crashing the stolen car into a landscaping truck at a high rate of speed.

According to police, the incident started last Friday when 38-year-old Arthur Lee Thompson attempted to steal a computer from a Summerville Wal-mart. When confronted, Thompson allegedly punched the store's loss prevention officer in the mouth. Authorities then put out an alert for Thompson's green Jeep.

Officers were able to spot the vehicle and made a traffic stop on Cedar Street near 9th Avenue. Dash cam video from the stolen police cruiser shows Thompson exiting his Jeep, disobeying the officer's commands and then attacking an officer.

According to the incident report, the officer tased the suspect twice, first when Thompson started fighting him and again once he was in the police cruiser, attempting to steal it.

Thompson wasn't affected by the taser and video shows him pulling out the stun-gun barbs and then continuing to fight with the officer. Thompson then drove off in the stolen car at speeds of over 100 mph.

The dash cam video shows Thompson weaving in and out of traffic, running through several red lights and making erratic maneuvers. The high-speed chase ended when Thompson crashed the cruiser into a landscaping truck attempting to make a left hand turn. The video shows the cruiser slam directly into the truck on North Maple Street near Elks Lodge Lane, three miles from the original traffic stop.

Thompson is then heard and seen trying to escape from the wrecked police cruiser. He shattered a window in the car in an attempt to escape, but failed, and was arrested. The victim in the landscaping truck was taken to a hospital. Thompson was transported to MUSC for treatment. Neither had serious injuries.

A toxicology report shows that Thompson tested positive for cocaine base. While at MUSC, Thompson became extremely violent, a police report states. Thomspon allegedly yelled "You are all racist," as people walked by him, and "If you don't get these (restraints) off me, I'm gonna hurt myself and turn this bed over."

Thompson then began violently throwing himself around on the bed in an attempt to overturn the bed. An officer then tried to secure his right hand when Thompson spit in his direction.

According to the incident report, Thompson admitted to police that he had "smoked crack" earlier that morning and was very high. Thompson then asked police if he "made the news."

Later, while being processed at the Summerville Police Department, police say he looked at every officer in the booking area and made derogatory comments to all of them. Thompson then allegedly bragged about stealing the police car saying, "You should've seen how big the officer was that I worked. He was like 280 pounds."

Thompson repeatedly looked down at his fists and said "I need to retire these things," the report states.

Authorities charged Thompson with strong armed robbery, failure to stop for blue lights, assault on a police officer while resisting arrest, grand larceny, possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime of violence and throwing bodily fluids on a law enforcement officer. Police say Thompson has an extensive criminal history.

Thompson was also charged by the South Carolina Highway Patrol with reckless driving in the collision. Authorities are continuing the investigation.

>> ^LarsaruS:
1) There is one type of person which is the most dangerous you can come across. It is people who suffer from White Knight Syndrome. Most if not all cops suffer from it;

Is this based on some kind of study, or just "things I think seem likely but haven't actually confirmed"?

I know six people who are in law enforcement from local deputies to state highway patrol. One is a badge-heavy bitch who is more than willing to throw her badge around to support her ego. The rest are normal people who hate seeing others get hurt just as much as anyone.

It's very easy to characterize everyone within a profession as sharing an identical mindset when your source of information is internet videos. I thought construction workers were mostly vulgar and uneducated until I took a job building houses for a summer.

The only group I know of that really does fit a stereotype consists of people who use broad generalizations... they're all the same. ;-)

The Prius that was in the news recently, here in San Diego, the conventional brakes were useless, and shifting to neutral wouldn't work, as it wouldn't allow it. What was successful, according to the CHP, was a very zealous tug on the hand brake (definitely an "emergency" brake in this case) as well as the foot pedal. The officer positioned his car in front, not to slow it down, but to prevent it from shooting forward after the driver finally got the car to a stop, despite it still wanting to move forward. Essentially the squad car was acting as a brick wall, but not a brake assist.

In this case, the car would not shift into neutral, nor did foot braking alone make a difference. It was muscle on the hand brake that ever so slowly dropped the speed.

You are correct about the first casualty. It was a Lexus and it happened in Santee, CA (part of San Diego County). The brake and neutral attempt were useless. The situation is described thus:

---
California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, his wife, Cleofe, 45, their daughter Mahala, 13, and Cleofe's brother Chris Lastrella, 39, were traveling on a freeway near Santee on Aug. 28 when their vehicle reached speeds of more than 120 mph, hit a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames.

Investigators found that a wrong-sized floor mat that trapped the accelerator was the cause of the crash. (Note, this has not been forensically proven, and is in dispute at the moment.)

A haunting 911 call captured Lastrella telling the others to pray before the car launched off the embankment.

...the Lexus ES350 "began to accelerate on its own." Saylor attempted to apply the brakes and do everything possible to stop the car, but he was unable to do so...
---

The video demonstrated the "technique" on a relatively low horse power (and low torque) four cylinder engine. A Lexus ES350 has a 272HP V6 (at full throttle) and the Prius has a high torque electric motor. Good luck with that braking.

>> ^silvercord:
>> ^supersparky:
What this article fails to include are the unique issues with the hybrid cars. Oddly enough, two have gone out of control in my home city, San Diego. The first being a death, which started the publicity. This one was driven by an off duty cop! I would think his training would have given him these skills to stop the car. However, as more and more facts have come out, the brakes it seems are useless. The Prius uses a combination of electrical and mechanical braking. Unfortunately the mechanical only kicks in under a certain speed.
Many people have reported burying the brake pedal to the floor and it having little effect. They also seem to not be able to shift into neutral, as it's a drive by wire system. Many cars don't let you shut off the engine if it's in gear too.
The Prius, while being a butt ugly eye sore and gutless wonder, also has an electric motor. These have 100% of their torque at any RPM. This means a gas engine can be fought and stalled with functional brakes, but you fight the full torgue of an electric motor all the way down to stopping, if you're lucky.
No, a fail-safe override needs to be considered for all drive by wire vehicles. Something that actually physically disconnects power from the system as a last resort.

My understanding is that the car driven by the off duty officer was a 2009 Lexus ES 350. That is not a hybrid. That said, I tried the 'move the shift to neutral' trick yesterday in my Windstar and it worked just fine.
However, the link I provided also noted: Last month, Consumer Reports found that models that don't have so-called smart-throttle technology, which allows the brake to take precedence over the throttle, a vehicle might not have adequate brakes to overcome a stuck throttle at 60 mph.
So, jam your foot down on the brake and kick it into neutral, pray like hell that you hit a truckload of Snuggies.
As for the electric cars, maybe a nuclear air burst that issues an effective electromagnetic pulse would do the trick.

EMT: Trooper's Dash Cam Will Clarify Everything
http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0509/627284.html

Tulsa - The paramedic involved in a confrontation with an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper caught on a cell phone camera says he doesn't expect any charges to be filed against him.

Maurice White, Jr. is the critical care paramedic seen in the video that has created quite a stir not only here in eastern Oklahoma, but all over the nation.

The video shows the aftermath of a traffic stop that took place while the Creek Nation ambulance was taking a patient suffering from heat exhaustion to the hospital. The ambulance was pulled over by the trooper because troopers say the driver failed to yield to his patrol car.

...................

White posted a message on NewsChannel 8's message board Friday morning, responding to the many questions our viewers have had.

He says quote, "I assure you that time and the trooper's dash cam will clarify everything."

He says the reason he got out of the ambulance in the first place was because he believed a person in the trooper's car was in need of medical attention.

"It was the fact that the trooper was approached at such a high rate of speed, and driving so erratically, I assumed that the woman in the front seat of the cruiser dressed in civilian clothing needed immediate help," white says. "That is why I initially stepped from the rear of the unit."

Troopers have accused White of assaulting them prior to the confrontation caught on the cell phone camera. That's something only the trooper's dash camera may be able to clarify.

You are doing the right thing.

In reply to this comment by HadouKen24:
I live in Oklahoma. I will probably be making a phone call or two to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol tomorrow, and possibly my representatives, to express my dismay.

This is completely unacceptable.

I live in Oklahoma. I will probably be making a phone call or two to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol tomorrow, and possibly my representatives, to express my dismay.

This is completely unacceptable.

I don't like this sort of thing being posted and having people laugh at it.

>> ^mram:
He wasn't ok...
Here is the news account of this wreck fron the Colfax,CA record.
Second victim pulled from Colfax big rig wreckage
By Jenna Nielsen, Journal Staff Writer
The body of a co-driver was extricated this morning by Cal Fire crews at the scene of Monday's big rig rollover crash near Colfax.
The body of a second man was found underneath debris Tuesday morning at the accident site of a big rig rollover near Colfax Monday, officials reported.
The man, whose name is not being released pending notification of his family, was reportedly a passenger in the big rig, which rolled into a guard rail spilling its load of recylced plastic down the embankment near the Magra Road exit on westbound Interstate 80, California Highway Patrol offi-cials reported.
The driver, who was trapped inside of the truck’s cab and was also killed in the accident, was re-portedly going 70 mph and passing another truck in the fast lane when he lost control and slid down an embankment, said CHP Officer Rich Ruiz.
“This morning, as the investigator was going over log books, (it was) determined there was possi-bly a co-driver involved,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz said investigators also have video footage of the accident, recorded by a device on a Wal-Mart truck, which the driver of the big rig was passing at the time of the accident.
“The driver of the WalMart truck was doing 55 mph, so we estimate the driver (of the big rig) was going 70 mph when he approached a curve and lost control. You see in the video the trailer starts to fishtail. When the driver tries to correct, he is sent over the guardrail.”
Battalion Chief Jeff Brand of Cal Fire said crews located the co-driver under the debris and extri-cated him this morning.
Brand said when the truck was overturned, the cab was torn off and wedged beneath the contents of the trailer and the trailer itself.
All westbound lanes were closed as a result of the accident, which occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m. All lanes were opened by approximately 7:45 p.m., California Highway Patrol officials said.
Ruiz said the driver of big rig had only had his license for nine days.
http://trkrjim.blogspot.com/2008/09/big-rig-rollover.html

I love this movie. Here's the trivia section from IMDB:

* Charlotte Rampling had a role as a hitchhiker whom Kowalski met while en route, but her scenes were deleted before the US release. The scenes were re-inserted for the UK release. The DVD release includes both the US and UK versions.

* The car featured in the film is a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, with a 440 cubic-inch V-8, and not a 426 Hemi V-8 (as is often believed). Five white Challengers loaned from the Chrysler Corporation were used during the filming.

* The Challenger had Colorado plates: OA-5599

* There were actually four 440 Challenger R/Ts and one 383 Challenger R/T, which was an automatic with green interior. This one was used for some exterior shots and it pulled the 1967 Camaro up to speed so the Camaro could hit the bulldozers. As confirmed by property master Dennis J. Parrish, all of the cars were NOT originally white. They were just painted white for the film. During the scene where Kowalski has a flat tire, you can see green paint in the dents.

* Cameo: [David Gates] The singer/songwriter (of Bread fame) played the piano during the rousing revival in the desert with the J. Hovah singers.

* The city names on the California Highway Patrol tracking board (where Kowalski never made it) were Stockton, Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco.

* Director Richard C. Sarafian's original choice for the role of Kowalski was Gene Hackman, but the studio, 20th Century Fox, insisted on using Barry Newman if the movie was going to be made.

* The color white was chosen for the car simply so the car would stand out against the background scenery in the movie. White was not symbolic in any way. The director says this in the DVD commentary.

* A 1967 Camaro shell (no engine) loaded with explosives was used for the final crash. You can see the "Camaro" fender nameplate upside-down in the lower left corner of the screen after the crash.

He wasn't ok...

Here is the news account of this wreck fron the Colfax,CA record.

Second victim pulled from Colfax big rig wreckage
By Jenna Nielsen, Journal Staff Writer

The body of a co-driver was extricated this morning by Cal Fire crews at the scene of Monday's big rig rollover crash near Colfax.
The body of a second man was found underneath debris Tuesday morning at the accident site of a big rig rollover near Colfax Monday, officials reported.
The man, whose name is not being released pending notification of his family, was reportedly a passenger in the big rig, which rolled into a guard rail spilling its load of recylced plastic down the embankment near the Magra Road exit on westbound Interstate 80, California Highway Patrol offi-cials reported.
The driver, who was trapped inside of the truck’s cab and was also killed in the accident, was re-portedly going 70 mph and passing another truck in the fast lane when he lost control and slid down an embankment, said CHP Officer Rich Ruiz.
“This morning, as the investigator was going over log books, (it was) determined there was possi-bly a co-driver involved,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz said investigators also have video footage of the accident, recorded by a device on a Wal-Mart truck, which the driver of the big rig was passing at the time of the accident.
“The driver of the WalMart truck was doing 55 mph, so we estimate the driver (of the big rig) was going 70 mph when he approached a curve and lost control. You see in the video the trailer starts to fishtail. When the driver tries to correct, he is sent over the guardrail.”
Battalion Chief Jeff Brand of Cal Fire said crews located the co-driver under the debris and extri-cated him this morning.
Brand said when the truck was overturned, the cab was torn off and wedged beneath the contents of the trailer and the trailer itself.
All westbound lanes were closed as a result of the accident, which occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m. All lanes were opened by approximately 7:45 p.m., California Highway Patrol officials said.
Ruiz said the driver of big rig had only had his license for nine days.

http://trkrjim.blogspot.com/2008/09/big-rig-rollover.html

>> ^HollywoodBob:
It almost sounds like she's on the phone talking to someone. Possibly even the highway patrol.


She's on the camera... Talking to those who will be watching her video.

>> ^Sniper007:
Ah, what makes everyone think she is serious? It very well could be a joke BY her.


It almost sounds like she's on the phone talking to someone. Possibly even the highway patrol.

Apparently there is a class action lawsuit over the events. New Orleans tried to have the suit thrown out recently, but the judge refused. According to this news release (http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.martial-arts/2005-09/msg04050.html) the cops you see tackling the elderly woman were California Highway Patrol officers who were visiting, not regular New Orleans police. Yeah, they overreacted but to look at it from their point of view for a moment, they don't know if they're going to be dealing with some anarchist nutjob who thinks its okay to shoot cops or not.

I think that given the recent Supreme Court ruling if a city tried to do NOW what New Orleans did it would immediately be ruled unconstitutional. However, remember that at that time handgun bans were perfectly legal in several cities and the Supreme Court even now has maintained that the state has the right to regulate what and how many firearms you can own.

One thing about this story that has me wondering is whether these people were asked (on camera or off) to present proof of gun ownership and couldn't do it. That would change the story tremendously, I think. Yeah, so what if your grandma gave you a nice pistol? If you don't have a permit for it, it's an illegal weapon and the cops were right to confiscate and destroy it.

I prefer to tell these people to show me physical evidence right here, that proves to me With out the presence of doubt that the plane was not an AWAC or the E4 command post for the nation when under attack, and therefore negate the possibility of going to prison.

I see the marine airwing flying over the white house and 50 meters off the the deck at the mall all the time. This plane could have been any thing, and if it was hostile it would have been shot down with out hesitation.

They scrambled jets from the air base on Mountain Creek Lake back in Texas, at a Naval Air station (National Guard). So there was military Air Traffic all over the country that day, those jets that took off and hit the sound barrier in seconds.

The military flies unmarked aircraft just like the Highway patrol drives unmarked cars.

>> ^tedbater:
I think if I ever actually met someone in person who tried to convince me that 9/11 was a conspiracy or that a secret 9/11 "mission control" plane flew in the skies that day...I'd have to punch them in the face...alot.

This cop tasers someone over a speeding ticket for going about 55 on a straight highway in the middle of a desert with no construction in sight (in a bogus 40 zone that probably only exists for speed traps). The cop started getting ready to pull him over before he even crossed the 40 sign. Then when the driver refused to sign the citation without knowing how fast the cop thinks he was going, the driver was placed under arrest and tasered. This cop should be fired and treated for mental illness, but the Utah Highway Patrol ruled that he "acted reasonably". Fuck the Utah Highway Patrol. This cop seems to think that obedience is the most important thing, and that makes him a fascist.

Your Innocence Is No Protection:
http://www.harrybrowne.org/articles/InnocenceNoProtection.htm
CNN interview:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/11/23/intv.tasered.speeder.speaks.cnn