Traffic stop gone wrong

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Bill Glasheen
Posts: 17299
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY

Traffic stop gone wrong

Post by Bill Glasheen »

This was recently in the news.

.... Police Shoot Unarmed Man When Asked To Get His ID -- Cop Arrested!

What went wrong? What do you teach your karate students?

FWIW, I had a conversation with my oldest son about this. Younger son in a bit...

- Bill
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Bill Glasheen
Posts: 17299
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY

Re: Traffic stop gone wrong

Post by Bill Glasheen »

I had a motorcycle as my sole means of transportation for two full years. Before doing so, I had a very long conversation with a fellow who similarly rode nothing but a motorcycle. I took his advice to heart.

Most importantly...

In many situations, people need to get away from the idea of "being right" - especially when standing steadfast in that position translates to being dead right. On a motorcycle, you're at the mercy of any maroon driving a larger vehicle who chooses not to give you the legal respect on the road that you deserve. If they make a mistake, they may end up in jail... while you end up six feet under. Just what has that accomplished?

My friend told me that your worst accident(s) would happen in the first year of riding. If you survived a year of having a motorcycle as your only transportation source, you were likely to remain relatively safe from that point on. Indeed in the UVa community, I noted that the worst motorcycle accidents happened at the first breath of warm weather when the "weekend riders" would hit the streets with a car driver's mindset. Many of these people went on to live - organs only - through the bodies of others. That's noble, but that's not a path to DNA immortality. You have effectively been eliminated from the gene pool.

When riding, I learned to anticipate all the dumb things that others would do. My son knows today that I will sometimes enter an intersection mumbling "Don't do it.. don't do it.. don't do it...", only to witness someone doing something really dumb. Anticipating the unexpected and the illogical is part of survival.

Chris Rock's "How not to get your *** kicked by the police" is humorous, but spot on. Seriously... it doesn't take that much effort to put yourself in the shoes of another and imagine what they must be thinking. When a police officer approaches someone at a traffic stop, (s)he also may be in a fearful state. Whether by training or by bad experience, they may be wondering when the next traffic stop is going to result in their death. So as they approach you in this moment of confrontation, an emotionally intelligent person does any and everything they can do to build trust and lower tension.
  • Don't ever do anything sudden.
    ....
  • If you're in the car, stay in the car with your hands visibly on the wheel until you've told the officer you're going to do something different.
    ....
  • Maintain eye contact if possible. It's difficult for most normal people to shoot you if they see your face - even if they mean harm to you. See Grossman's On Killing.
    ....
  • If there's any reason to put your hands in a hidden place, announce that you need to do that and get confirmation that this move is acceptable. Do it slowly.
    ....
  • Politeness doesn't cost you anything. Being nice doesn't cost you anything. Maintaining a sense of calm - which most will mirror - doesn't cost you anything.
    ....
  • Stereotyping happens. Minorities get "extra attention", as do the very young. I once had long, wild "Jim Morrison hair" back when that was a form of political expression, and so been there done that. Understand the reality of the situation, and get over it.
There's a difference between a reason someone acts a certain way and excuse for that behavior. We understand why the officer fired his weapon prematurely. However... there's no excuse. Ignorance abounds, and someone may do jail while the other deals with a lifelong injury. This was a tragedy for everyone involved.

- Bill
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Van Canna
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Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am

Re: Traffic stop gone wrong

Post by Van Canna »

Great post, Bill. I also think some people can't think straight under the stress of the police stop and will do and say foolish things.
Van
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