What to do When You're Pulled Over

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Shaun Appler, investigator with the Wrightsville Beach Police Department. On behalf of Expert Village, I'm here to talk to you about what to do when you're being stopped by the police. Just some of everything, just remember, the officers are out here, we're stopping vehicles for safety. First thing you want to remember is go ahead and pull off to the right hand side of the road. And what I told you earlier, the officer has already picked where he wants you to stop, in his mind, where a logical place for you to stop is, when he activates his emergency equipment, you go ahead and look for the next logical place for you to stop. Okay? Turn your directional on, pull over to the right. If you're on a busy street and there's a side street coming up, remember to pull onto the street, pull up far enough so both you and the officer can get in there and you're not affecting the intersection. Okay? Remain in your vehicle, don't get out unless the officer instructs you otherwise. Have your driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance ready for when the officer approaches the vehicle. I can't stress this enough, be polite to that officer. Have a good attitude. When the officer starts talking to you, if he is planning on giving you a warning, a good attitude will help you and go a long way. The opposite is also true. If you're going to give the officer a hard time, and you're going to argue with him, and you're going to show him an attitude, you could talk yourself into additional charges, you could talk yourself into definitely get yourself a citation and possibly arrested. So just make sure you have a good attitude with the officer and be honest. If you have a weapon in the car, make sure you let the officer know immediately that there is a weapon in the car and then follow his instructions to the letter. Remember what I told you, officers are here, they're in their shift, they want to go home at the end of it. They want to go home safe, they're number one goal is to go home to their family. Alright? If you're in there, if you're in your car and you have a weapon, and you don't tell the officer about that, that can go bad for you really quickly. So make sure you let the officer know that there are weapons in the vehicle. Don't try to flirt your way out of a ticket, don't try to cry, and don't try to bribe the officer. Remember what I told you, you don't have enough to offer me to get out of that ticket. You're not going to cost me my career. Alright? Overall message. Pull to the right, be polite, and you'll do fine."