Expert: Chris Wagoner - 10/25/2007

Question
QUESTION: Just wonder the procedure taken when pulling someone over. What if they are a road rager, how would you handle the situation differently? Do you always take into account that they can be dangerous right away? Thanks if you can help me out! Adam

ANSWER: Hi Adam,

Good question. Actually we train police officers to consider every traffic stop an "unknown risk" stop. That means that we do not consider any stop just a stop.

Stops are conducted by a set of guidelines that allow us to go from a minor stop to a full blown felony take down.

The thing with traffic stops is that you never know who you are stopping. It could be someone that just murdered their family 10 minutes before and you just stopped them after they left the house. They could be a average person that just was speeding along a little over the limit. You never know.

True Story: I stopped a man in a small blue car (don't remember the type) after he had run a stop sign. After he pulled over and I got his drivers license and registration (which he gave me) I ran a check on him for warrants while I was writing him a ticket. Turns out he was wanted out of Mass for a double homicide 2 weeks earlier. I then called for backup, and we took him out of the car at gunpoint. No one hurt, no injuries. And a guy I stopped for running a stop sign turned out to be a double homicide suspect. You never know.

If I knew ahead of time that the person I am stopping is a road rage suspect then I would of course be more cautious than I would be normally but I am cautious every time.

I hope that answers your question well enough. If you have anything to add or another question feel free to ask.

I would appreciate it if you would take the time to rate my answer. Thank you ahead of time.

Stay Safe!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Can you give me some more depth on the training for road patrol? I took a ride along with an officer and he always run's the plates before he gets out of his car. Is this mandatory or just better safe than sorry in case he needs back-up?

Answer
Hey Again Adam,

Good follow up questions. Running plates on cars before you stop them is a good safety tactic. If the car or plates should be stolen then he would know before he stops them. I used to find stolen vehicles that way.

Also once you know the registered owner, you can run them and see if they have a suspended license or any warrants for their arrest, another good thing to know before you stop them. All officer safety techniques.

As for a more in-depth information on training for road patrol, you have to understand thats a huge list of subjects. Here is a short list of just some of the subjects in the patrol section of the academy:
Officer Safety
Survival Skills
Assessing the Situation
Stress management
Preparing for Patrol
Patrolling Techniques
Interacting with Citizens
Function of Patrol
Abandon Vehicles
Community Policing
Evaluating the Situation.

Thats just some of them in that section. Recruits have to learn 14 different sections (we call the modules) and some of those include Firearms, Driving, Defensive Tactics, Law, Patrol, Investigations, Traffic and more...

SO as you can see there is a lot to learn in the Academy. Its about 6 months long and goes 8 hours a day M-F.

So I hope that answers your follow-up question. Feel free to ask more if you like.

Also please remember to rate this answer even though its a follow-up. Thanks Adam.