Cops tase man on busy highway who is then run over and killed by a car

The kid is the one penalized for being a dumbass and fleeing on foot along a busy highway. The officer clearly warned he was going to use his taser but the kid continued to run and things obviously did not turn out well.

The kid could have easily complied with the officer and would have been back on the streets the next morning but instead he chose to flee and that was his ultimate mistake. But the good news is the parents are suing so they may get a nice pay day for raising such a fine young man.

 

I'm not sure that in any state there is a legal requirement to roll your window down (and def not one to roll it down all the way). Certainly not a constitutional requirement. It might be polite but if you roll it down all the way, you're basically inviting police to stick their head in and to fish. "Sniff sniff, I smell maryjane or alchol etc..."

In almost every state you where you're legally stopped in your car, you have to produce id & registration/insurance, but even then you only have to roll your window down enough to hand these documents over to police/receive them back and then you can roll your window right back up. Also under no obligation to permit a search of your vehicle and passengers in your car are not under any legal or constitutional obligation to provide identification in a traffic stop.

 

My point. So roll it down and end it or don’t roll it down and continue deception. I guess I’ve just always tried to end it.

 

The problem is in all 50 states it is legal for the cop to order you out of the car. I'd prefer to roll the window down.

 

Bingo.

Again, I am as boring as a person can get. I honestly can’t thing of anything I do illegally. While I am a strong proponent of certain illegal activities like weed, I don’t even do it. I have indeed tried it, and I just don’t have a positive result. Haven’t done it in decades.

I am the definition of “nothing to hide” and I will be damned if I give up a single liberty via demand.

As I’ve mentioned, I also went to a law school (not a JD) and one of the things I did there was work at a clinic that provided legal services for poor folk, often immigrants. I saw first hand how often they are bullied into giving up rights and then get in some sort of unrelated trouble. The general idea is that if you are asked to do it, do not. No matter that your car is squeaky clean. DO NOT allow a search. All sorts of mystery items magically materialize in those searches. Never answer “Do you know why…” Uh, wha? You don’t? What is the point of that question? There are zero positive results from any answer.

On and on.

Just to be clear, I’m not doing some sovereign citizen idiocy. And I am also not combative. In the past when I was in smaller places where cops routinely sniff for just anything to write-up I also held this line. Once in the middle of like January when it was about 5 degrees I went through a road check and did indeed barely crack the window. That also angered the cop. Too bad man. It’s cold and this is ridiculous to start with. That resulted in an illegal equipment ticket: factory-installed tail-light covers that I never even realized were covers at all. The Silverado “grille” covers from the 2000’s that you routinely see on those trucks today. I had that truck for 14 years and it was never once mentioned during any other stop or the 14 inspections I went through. I didn’t even remove them. But that day an enterprising cop protected the public by giving me a $160 ticket.

But I am not giving away my rights under any scenario. Punish me with these petty power plays, I won’t give in.

 

Why would it have to be from deception?

Maybe some don't want the further intrusiveness that comes with so many police encounters. Possible, right?

 

Sure. That sounds logical. Can u tell me the legal limit to lower my window so I can keep a tape measure in my truck for any future incidents please?

 

Yes. Preferring to roll down the window is a choice you can make, but in many situations it leads to police sticking their heads in cars to fish. In any case, if ordered out of your car, you can lock the doors.

 

End of day if you’re hiding something don’t roll it down, I guess the windows would need to be tinted pretty dark for this to work. It draws an immediate flag, but, wtf right?

 

Don't forget SCOTUS overturned established case law and allowed pretextual stops. The number of equipment stops went up exponentially. I had to go out and buy the same window tint meter the local cops were using.

 

Exactly.

A person doesn't have to be a sovereign nut job citizen or combative or insulting to police to protect their rights. They can do so politely and firmly without ever answering any questions, allowing them to search your car or person or answering questions, which are so often stated in ways to get you to admit wrongdoing.

Do you know how fast you were going?
But officer, I was only doing 9mi over the speed limit!

I smell alcohol
But officer, I only had one drink!

Best to tell the officer politely that you will not answer questions and that it's your right not to.

 

The cop has to have probable cause, consent or another exception to the warrant requirement to stick his head in your window, even if it's open. He can't break the "plane" otherwise.

 

Second post in and you’re already politicizing it. Seems to be your MO. I know of no one saying it’s okay to disobey authority. I know plenty who think cops are always right, though.
Each of us is responsible for our actions and the consequences. The mature responses in this case are that the youth AND the cop were, each having made a poor choice under the circumstances.

 

The window is for the officer to be able to receive and return documents and have a conversation. End of analysis. Why does it have to be “all the way” down? It obviously does not. They just want to establish who is boss. And they are, for certain things. But not that. It’s just a power play, and it is to diminish the already limited power I still retain in a stop.

 

Wait till he goes into rigor mortis and he'll resist.

 

I sure as hell wouldn't roll it down in that situation!

Thing is, these flags are often contrived. Police often approach stops as opportunities to fish and given that so many approach them with a suspicious mindset, they'll use arguments such as "well if you got nothing to hide" to get you to comply with orders that you don't have to. They'll also take various sensory cues in ways that lead them to suspicion regardless (e.g. the person seemed nervous becomes "suspicion of hiding something" never mind that most people get nervous when stopped).

But it's in the person's interest not to play that game at all, regardless of whether one has something to hide or not.

 

Maybe the window or the reflection make it harder for cops to get a clear view inside? Not a hill I’d want to die on, metaphorically or literally.

 

Seems logical to me as well.

 

Thing is they do break that plane a lot. And even if they don't, a wide open window can allow them sniff into cars and then make claims about smelling things. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book and they get away with it a lot, regardless of probable cause requirements or even any reasonable suspicion.