The motor vehicle stop, or traffic stop, is a diverse tool used by law enforcement for criminal and traffic interdiction. For the average citizen, the traffic stop comes with the expectation of a ticket or warning for speeding, expired registration, or other simple motor vehicle violations. However, the traffic stop can lead to bigger things. Some of our nation’s most infamous criminals were located and arrested due to simple motor vehicle violations. Serial killer Ted Bundy was caught during a traffic stop. Child molester and polygamist Warren Jeffs—traffic stop. Bomber and mass killer Timothy McVeigh—traffic stop. The list of hardened violent criminals and terrorists caught on traffic stops is lengthy and is a fascinating study of criminal investigation.
I’ve been in law enforcement for nearly a decade and conducted thousands of “routine” as well as high-risk motor vehicle stops. From those experiences, I communicate to my trainees and newer officers a mantra for their conduct on those stops: The public knows it’s law enforcement stopping them; conversely, we don’t know who we’re stopping nor what undiscovered crime they’ve committed.
As law enforcement officers, we’re expected to uphold the Constitution (state and federal) while complying with known case and statutory law. Case law is what the courts say law enforcement can, or can’t, do while statutory law says what laws we can enforce and how we can enforce them. In the realm of traffic stops, law enforcement is allowed to conduct a stop if they believe a crime has been committed (probable cause) or criminal activity is afoot (reasonable suspicion).
The standard for reasonable suspicion is relatively low. A crime doesn’t need to have been committed to conduct the motor vehicle stop—the officer need only believe criminal activity is afoot to conduct a detention or stop.
Some years ago, I was patrolling my old beat when an armed robbery call came out about a mile north of me. A homeowner caught two males trying to steal his vehicle and he confronted them. One of the males pulled a gun and the homeowner retreated into his home and called 911—but not before exercising his Second Amendment right and displaying his AR-15 (I should note the homeowner had good taste in firearms). We received the vehicle description and officers flew to where the truck was supposedly last seen, which was northbound. I was to the south and had little hope the truck would head my way. However, I’ve learned not everyone has directional expertise and, as it turned out, our victim was directionally challenged.
As I drove towards the address, I saw a truck matching the suspect truck description driving towards me. It was pretty close to what the homeowner described but I wanted to get a better look as it passed by. As it neared me, it suddenly did a U-turn and went the same direction in front of me. In law enforcement, we call that a “clue” and I followed it. Sure enough, I see what looks like two males in the truck. Unfortunately, it’s dark and exceptionally difficult to tell the age, race, gender, or otherwise of a person unless my lights are shining directly into their windows. Even then, tint makes that virtually impossible on some vehicles.
I ultimately decided the truck description and number of occupants were enough to make a traffic stop on it. I hit my lights and the driver decided he didn’t want to talk with me. After some entertaining and white-knuckled high-speed driving, the truck (which turned out to be stolen) lost control and hit a stopped train. As I approached, it dislodged a boulder from a nearby rock pile and the boulder rolled downhill. In something worth of a comedy, the boulder rolled in front of my car, high-centered it, and I was less than enthusiastic as I slid into the side of the crashed stolen truck. The driver fled but the passenger was arrested and gave up his buddy. As you may have assumed by their elusive efforts, it was the armed robbery suspects from earlier.
I conducted that stop without knowing they were undoubtedly the societal miscreants we sought but I had enough reasonable suspicion they were the suspects. However, I can recount several instances where I contacted a vehicle with a similar description but determined it was pure coincidence they were in the area and weren’t our suspects. Reasonable suspicion doesn’t demand we be right 100% of the time—it only demands officers believe criminal activity is afoot and we’re allowed to hold that individual until our suspicions are confirmed (a crime has been committed) or dispelled (no crime). If they are dispelled, we let people on their way.
A common reasonable suspicion stop I’ve encountered (and I was guilty of it as a newer cop) is stopping a newspaper deliverer. When patrolling neighborhoods for miscreants that break into cars or homes, you’ll catch them casing a neighborhood sometimes. These suspects will stop at random houses, slow-roll around neighborhoods, and stop in the street while the other occupants are breaking into cars or stealing packages from porches. I remember having maybe six months on the job and getting excited when I saw a car stop randomly at houses from several blocks away. As I approached, the car whipped down some side streets before I could catch up to it. I confidently hit my lights and gave dispatch my location thinking I’d caught a burglar doing burgling things. My hopes were dashed as I saw the stack of newspapers and a somewhat irritated driver explaining this was the third time he’d been stopped in the last few months. I hastily apologized and sent him on his way.
The next level above reasonable suspicion (which is defined as a temporary “detention” by the courts) is probable cause (e.g. an arrest). The standard for probable cause is for the officer to have a set of facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable officer, based on their training and experience, to believe the driver, or person, committed a crime. In layman’s terms, it needs to be more likely than not the person committed a crime but doesn’t need to meet the standard of a conviction by a court (beyond a reasonable doubt). Often, traffic stops are conducted with far more than the minimum needed to establish probable cause. Expired registration, speeding, no license plates, a broken tail light, etc. all establish probable cause to stop a motor vehicle.
In law enforcement, there’s a diversity of people in the profession—backgrounds, life experiences, families, races, genders, etc. Some cops like certain aspects of law enforcement more than others. For me, the motor vehicle stop is an interesting and complex aspect of law enforcement. I mentioned earlier how many infamous criminals have been captured during routine traffic stops. The theme in all of those is the same—these criminals were stopped for minor violations and the diligent investigation by the officer led to the discovery of the true criminal nature of the individual they stopped. I refer back to the mantra I mentioned earlier—we never know who we’re stopping.
I say this not to disparage the average citizen, but as an unfortunate reality we face—the vast majority of the American public don’t know, nor have they been taught, what their rights truly are as granted to them by the Constitution and interpreted by the courts and legislature they elect. For purposes of this article, I will not delve into the causes of this lack of education but can offer sound advice; if you’ve not had the opportunity to do a ride-along with an agency where you live, I strongly encourage it. I’ve had many people riding in my car throughout the years with diverse backgrounds. Some nights have been more entertaining than others but one thing was consistent. Every person who rode in my car walked away telling me that it was one of the most educational experiences they’ve had and gave them a newfound understanding of how criminal enforcement is conducted and law enforcement operates.
Over the next month, I will be writing articles like this to provide insight, education, and a little entertainment for those in and out of the profession. The stories and information provided are geared towards everyone and anyone to help give you a virtual ride-along into the law enforcement profession. Ultimately, the goal is to educate you, the reader, to be better informed of your rights, and responsibilities, when encountering law enforcement as well as better prepared if you have a close encounter with one of our customers.
