We repeat it over and over again: “There is no such thing as a ‘routine’ traffic stop.” But do we really listen to those words? Do we really listen to that inner officer safety voice? Or have the tactics we use become “routine?” Humans are creatures of habit and although we may not take the suspect for granted, have the tactics we use at our traffic stops become, in fact, routine?
A number of articles have been written — and even some informal studies have been conducted — on approaching the vehicle on the right side. Some officers swear by this tactic and always approach the violator’s vehicle using the “right side approach.” When it comes to officer safety, this tactic has some valid points. Particularly:
1.) being able to see the passenger compartment more clearly, and
2.) creating an element of surprise to knock the operator of the vehicle off balance (for the most part, they’re expecting you to come up on the left side, right?) and
3.) it gets you out of the flow of traffic as you approach the vehicle.
Tools in our Tactical Toolbox
But the right side approach should not be the only tool in our tactical toolbox. Otherwise we become the “routine” at our traffic stops. Some experts will proclaim to always use the “right side approach” on all of their traffic stops. It may work for you most of the time, but what happens when you’re from a Northern state with ten to twelve foot high snow banks on the shoulder of the road? How do you make contact with the operator of the vehicle when you’re towering over him looking down at his roof? Or how about the narrow streets of some of our older cities where the streets were originally designed for horse and buggy — not large SUVs —parked along the sides. If you attempted to conduct a right side approach on one of these narrow streets you’d end up going around a parked car and contacting the operator from the sidewalk.
How many of us have been backup on a traffic stop and witnessed the contact officer screaming at the operator of the stopped vehicle to “Get back inside your car!”? How many of us have been that officer screaming? Instead of taking the operator exiting the vehicle for what it is, an indicator, we have become routine in our tactics and the violator exiting his vehicle has thrown a monkey-wrench into our “routine.”
The violator exiting his vehicle is an indicator. It could be an indicator that he is attempting to distance himself from the vehicle and the contraband that it contains, or it could be an indicator that he plans on attacking you. Why not keep the suspect outside of his vehicle so you can read his body language? Order the suspect over to the shoulder of the road, to the sidewalk, or to the front corner of your cruiser so you can use your patrol car as a barrier, and see if he obeys your commands. If not, then you’ve got more than someone trying to distance themselves from the vehicle, or trying to prevent you from walking up and seeing what’s inside.
Watching for Indicators
Why not even use this tactic on your next traffic stop? If you’re in a safe location, order the suspect out of his vehicle and to the side of the road. If you think a right side approach was a surprise to the operator, wait until you do this. As the violator exits his vehicle read his body language. Don’t just watch his hands, watch his palms. He can conceal a small weapon in his hand, but he can’t hide it in his palm, so take it a step further and always watch the palms.
Read the violator’s body language. Does he appear angry, is he adjusting his clothing to conceal a weapon, is he or she following your commands, is he intoxicated or high on meth? These are all questions that stay unanswered if you keep the suspect in his vehicle, and in reality the surprise is on you when you get to the side of the violator’s vehicle if you were approaching it. So why not have the violator exit his or her vehicle and use it to your advantage?
Officers working drug interdiction use this tactic when there is more than one person in the vehicle to compare stories between the operator and any passengers. Different accounts of where they’re headed to, or coming from, is an indicator. Any form of deception is an indicator. Why not use this tactic of calling the operator out of his vehicle as part of your tactical toolbox and look for indicators. Not just indicators of possible criminal activity, but also for any possible attack indicators.
Some of these attack indicators are conspicuous ignoring, where the suspect is obviously ignoring your commands. An obvious but sometimes overlooked one is the squaring off or blading of the body in a pre-attack posture. Just as obvious and sometimes missed by the officer, is the tightening of the body or flexing of the muscles. Along with that could be a change in the suspect’s breathing. Watch the subject to see if he is looking around, either for an escape route, to see if any of his fellow gang bangers are going to assist him, looking to see if you have any backup, or maybe he’s looking for any possible witnesses to the assault he is about to commit.
Repetitious questioning is an indicator that can double as both a criminal indicator and a pre-attack warning sign. Repetitious questioning goes something like this:
Officer: “Where are you going?”
Suspect: “Where am I going?”
The bad guy cannot formulate a plan of attack in his head while at the same time trying to come up with lies to satisfy your inquiries into his actions, so the questions get repeated to buy him some time. This, for the most part, is not done consciously, but is more of an automatic reaction to the stress being placed on him at the time.
Just as important is to watch for any sudden movements, covert movements, any exaggerated movement, suddenly ceasing all movement, rearranging clothing, protecting personal items, or “crowding” the contact officer. Couple some of these with a quick attitude change and some target glancing, and there is a good possibility that you’re about to be attacked. No one pre-attack indicator by itself means a sudden attack, but several indicators or “clusters” could mean a possible attack is imminent. We all know that action is faster than reaction. By being aware of these pre-attack warning signs, you can cut your reaction time down allowing you to respond and counter attack faster.
Mixing It Up
But the suspect’s attitude isn’t the only one we need to keep in check, sometimes we need to keep an eye on ourselves as well. Every year the FBI comes out with an exhaustive study on officers killed and assaulted in the line of duty. Many years ago they came up with some “Fatal Tendencies of Officers” and even though these tendencies came out years ago, they still — unfortunately — hold true today. They found that some officers were to service/community oriented. That they used less force than their peers and that there was a time delay in using force. Failing to follow procedures and acting without backup are also fatal tendencies. Along with officers who rely on their ability to “read” a suspect, which usually leads to the officer relaxing his or her guard too early.
The news media portrays the “routine stop” as a traffic infraction of some sort, but routine for us means that we’ve allowed our actions and tactics to become routine, and that means danger for us. By letting the tactics you use on a daily basis become “routine” or “comfortable” you are lulling yourself into a false sense of security. It’s time to mix it up a little. Do a left side approach, a right side approach, or call the violator out of his or her vehicle — not just to keep the bad guys on their toes, but to keep your edge as well. No two traffic stops are the same, nor should your tactics be the same.
