While police don’t always need a reason to stop you on the street for general questioning, they do need reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to detain you or pull over your vehicle. Regardless of the reason for the stop, having a calm demeanor and a brief understanding of your rights can go a long way to a favorable outcome.
What to Do If Police Stop You on the Street
An officer doesn’t need a reason to stop you on the street to ask you general questions. At the same time, you aren’t obligated to answer any questions or consent to a search. You can politely inform the officer that you don’t wish to answer any questions and ask if you’re free to leave.
Stop and Identify
If you’re not free to leave, the officer must have a basis for detaining you—meaning the officer must reasonably suspect criminal activity on your part is afoot or already occurred. While you have the right to remain silent, some states require that you provide your name to the officer if asked. Not doing so can land you with a misdemeanor for obstruction or failure to identify yourself. Lying to an officer can also land you with criminal charges. If you don’t want to answer questions (other than identifying yourself), inform the officer you’re invoking your right to remain silent.
Stop and Frisk
An officer who suspects you might be armed and dangerous can go a step further and frisk you for weapons. This protective pat down should be limited to a search of outer clothing. While the search is meant to ascertain if a person has weapons, an officer can seize anything that clearly feels like contraband.
Arrest and Search
To arrest you, the officer must have probable cause that you’ve committed a crime. Probable cause raises the bar from reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to a reasonable and objective belief that a crime occurred. An officer can conduct a search incident to an arrest without a warrant. This search is generally limited to your person and the immediate area.
Know that the officer doesn’t need to give you a rundown of your rights unless and until they question you about the crime—so it’s usually best to remain silent. If you start providing a bunch of information unprompted, the lack of a Miranda warning will not save you from any incriminating statements you give.
What to Do If Police Pull Over Your Vehicle
An officer can only pull over your vehicle with reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or a traffic violation. Justifying a traffic stop doesn’t take much—a broken taillight or wide turn into the wrong lane will suffice.
If you see the flashing lights, pull over to the right side of the road as safely as possible, turn off your vehicle, and turn on interior lights if it’s dark. It's usually best to hold off on rummaging through your purse or wallet to find your license or other documents until the officer asks for the information. Realize that an approaching officer can't tell if you're reaching into the glove compartment to get your vehicle registration or a weapon.
Stop and Identity: License and Registration
Once the officer asks you to hand over your license and registration, inform the officer that you’ll need to gather those documents from your purse, glove compartment, or another place. Move slowly and try to keep your hands visible at all times. Address the officer in a civil and courteous manner but don’t offer up any lengthy explanations. Keeping answers to “yes, officer” or “no, officer” is usually best.
Stop and Frisk: Get Out of the Vehicle
The officer can ask you and your passengers to step out of the car. If the officer suspects you might be armed and dangerous, the officer can frisk (pat down outer clothing) and search any place from which you might be able to reach for a weapon (like a glove compartment or under seats).
Vehicle Search
Generally, officers cannot search the entire vehicle based solely on a traffic violation—rather, they need probable cause to suspect evidence of a crime is in the vehicle. Without probable cause to support a search, officers might ask for your consent. You don't have to consent to a search. But if you do (and many unwittingly do), your consent makes the search legal despite the officer not having probable cause. If asked to consent, it's often best to decline.
Arrest and Search
If probable cause exists to believe a crime was committed and the vehicle contains evidence of the crime, the officer can arrest you and expand the search of your person and the vehicle. The officer may or may not read your Miranda rights at this point. Either way, it's often best not to answer questions or provide information that you think might help you (as it probably won't).
Even if officers don't have probable cause that criminal evidence is in the car, they may be able to search the car through what's called an inventory search. After an arrest, officers typically can’t leave abandoned vehicles on the side of the road. They'll often need to tow and impound the vehicle, which gives them the authority to conduct an inventory search of the car (basically to protect them from liability should something be damaged or lost). Anything they find during the inventory search is usually fair game in court.
What to Do If Police Unlawfully Stop You
Even if you’ve done nothing wrong, that doesn't make a police stop unlawful. The officer only needs reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, and you don’t know what information the officer has. You might be in the wrong place at the wrong time in a vehicle that matches the description of a getaway car.
Don’t resist or get angry, as it can only make the situation worse. Calmly give your identification and obey the officer’s instructions. Remember that you don't have to consent to a search or offer up any information.
If you refuse to pull over or hand over documents, the officer could charge you with obstruction, fleeing, resisting arrest, failure to identify yourself, or another crime. Worse yet, the officer might use force to make you comply.
The safest place to fight an unlawful stop or arrest is in the courtroom. Talk to a criminal defense lawyer about your options. Your lawyer may be able to argue that any evidence found as a result of an unlawful stop or search can’t be used in court. You might even have a basis for a civil lawsuit for a violation of your rights.