Refresher Steps the Officer will take during each traffic stop

A. The officer will turn on his/her lights and sirens once you have violated a traffic law or the law in general.

B. The officer will run the plates of the car using his/her cruiser laptop or by reading your plates to dispatch before exiting the vehicle. If the owner of the vehicle has a felony, or if the care was reported stolen, or used in a commission of a crime, that will come up. This is why it’s important to be careful of who car you may drive. 

C. During a night traffic stop the officer will shine his/her spot lights and flashlight into the car, not to irritate you, but so that they can clearly see what’s in your car during a night traffic stop and for officer safety. 

D. The officer will keep his/her hands above their duty belt as they approach your car, some officer will have their hand on their weapon while it’s in the holster, this is a safety tactic that the officer is trained to do when in the academy. 

E. The officer may call for backup if there are more than two passengers in the vehicle, at the officer’s discretion, this is done for safety reasons.