If a cop tells you to do something when you haven't done anything wrong do you have to do it?

J K

1st off, you shouldn't be pulled over without a reason. There always has to be "probable cause", such as speeding, turn signals, tag light, following too closely... If the officer asks for your license & registration, what's the harm in that? It's not an unreasonable request so just give it to him. When you start refusing & arguing with the officer, it can only go down hill for you from there.
As far as getting sued for abuse of the law, that depends. If the officer is doing things according to policy & operating within the scope of his training & duties, the answer is no.
The situation dictates a lot of things.

bassclar15

If they pulled you over, then they have probable cause (ie, they observed you doing something wrong/illegal). So they do have a right to check your ID and registration. They're supposed to tell you why they pulled you over, but if it comes down to it, they'll claim they did tell you even if they didn't. It's going to be their word against yours.

old fuzz

You are not going to get pulled over for "no reason". That officer saw you do something inappropriate or illegal, or, you or your car happen to fit the description of a wanted person.

There are reasons the officer will not tell you immediately why you have been stopped. For instance, he may not want to warn you that you are the murderer the department is looking for until AFTER he gets you out of the car.

Your State traffic law REQUIRES you to show your drivers license, the vehicle's registration, and proof of insurance when the officer requests or demands it. Your failure to provide it can result in your arrest.

Since you told the officer you will not provide the requested documents, and he has ordered you out of the car, which you refused to do; the officer can use reasonable force to remove you and effect your arrest.

If the force used to remove you from the car and arrest you was EXCESSIVE, then you can sue. Keep in mind that you are sitting at the wheel of and in control of a vehicle, a large and dangerous weapon. I can pepper spray you, Taze you, grab various parts of your body and attempt to physically remove you from the car. And, if you attempt to run me over, I get to shoot you as well.

Sometimes a little cooperation goes a long way. . .

Guano Islander

I'm going to give you the same advice that I gave both of my sons. Don't ever argue with a police officer. Comply completely with whatever they tell you to do.
If you respect a cops authority, chances are he's going to respect you. If you don't, you may find yourself knee deep in something that you can't handle.

Do whatever the cop demands of you and deal with your legal rights and the offense to your pride later.

I'm not kidding. Some of these cops, especially the small town cops, barely made it out of high school. They became cops because they were the biggest baddest SOB on the football team and they would like nothing more than to bust you up.

jamesfentress44

Why stage a scene...suppose the cop has reason of
suspicion and his suspicion is wrong...until he knows
it's wrong, he expects you to cooperate with the procedure
and if you don't do as ordered by the officer, you may feel
the sting of his force. Policemen have a very dangerous
job and smart alecks don't get their favor very often...an
officer can arrest a subject for a simple reason as
suspicion...

David J

Alaskamusher2 is completely correct. It is baffling to me why anyone would give him a thumbs down. I have just about Had it with all the idiots on Yahoo! Answers giving completely bogus answers and making Yahoo! Answers nearly worthless. This is not a chat room. ALL lawful orders by a police or peace officer must be followed. If it is NOT against the law and an officer tells you to do it... do it. If you don't - then he can arrest you.

gomanyes562

Yes, you have to do what they say. If you believe your rights are being violated, you should comply and then file a lawsuit later. That will look much better for you in court than if you refused to comply. It is up to a judge whether or not he had the right to make you do it, not to either of you.

Billiam92407

They will always make up an excuse as to why they pulled you over.

Always do exactly what they say.
My friend Rodeny told me about a time he didn't do exactly as he was told.

alaskamusher2

You are required to obey any lawful order given by a police officer. Contrary to popular belief a police office does not have to explain to you why you were stopped. And you are breaking the law if you refuse to identify yourself and/or prove that you are lawfully operating a vehicle (license, registration, insurance).

When you operate a vehicle on a public street you agree to all of the above. You want to be a self annointed constitutional law lawyer and remain completely free of public interaction-stay home.

Wordsmith

Gee, Mr Random thoughts. Probable cause...a green car is seen leaving the scene of whatever. It's described as a 4 door late model import, occupied by an early twenties white male. This suspect seen leaving the scene, is believed to be armed. Hows that for random, but guess what you happen to drive a green late model 4 door car and are a white male in his twenties and you are in the immediate vicinity of the "whatever" report.
Guess what happens now. You get pulled over. The officer approaches your vehicle, standing just behind your door and asks for Drivers license, proof of insurance, etc. You in your innocence refuse to comply with a lawful order, even though you don't understand it. The Officer, believing you may be the suspect in the whatever, understandably starts getting a little nervous. Put yourself in the officers position, what would you do? Remember, possibly armed.
Get out of the damned car and comply. You have nothing to gain by resisting and everything to lose. Remember, operation of a motor vehicle is not a right, it is a privilege. What seems like "no reason" to you may have a perfectly good reason behind it. You will find out the why a lot sooner if you help more than hinder. Hell, the guy in the green car may have just shot your Dad at the family store while trying to rob him. How do you feel about the officer stopping the green for door now?

Copgirl

You don't get pulled over for not doing anything wrong. You MUST comply, or get arrested (failure to obey lawful order). Its your choice.

Melissa

Police will only pull you over if there is a reason (I was an MP with the Army) and yes you have to do what they say no matter what because you will just be causing yourself more trouble if you dont. If you have a problem with anything that happened during that time then you can always bring it up at your court hearing or to the supervisor of the officer. Not all cops are bad ya know?

joeanonymous

In Ontario we can pull people over in order to check documents. You are required to surrender the documents and identify yourself upon request (regardless if the officer gives you a reason or not). Failure to identify yourself is an arrestable offence and you will end up getting dragged out of your car if you don't follow instructions.

areyouserious?

First off, I really doubt that a police officer is going to pull you over for "no reason".

Second, you are required by law (at least in PA) to identify yourself & show proof of insurance upon the demand of a police officer when stopped while driving. As a matter of fact, you are required to identify yourself even if he walked up to you on the street.

If you don't act like a punk, or that you are some sort of street attorney who "knows his rights", then you will most definately never have a problem. If you think you were wronged, or your rights were violated, then call his boss or your attorney. Your only going to lose if you challenge a officer on the street. What they do is for their own safety and the safety of others. Even the ones that don't appreciate it. And that is pretty apparent by some of the posters here.

Duane J

If an officer pulls you over and asks for your identification and you refuse to give it to them, then you have already committed a crime and if you refuse to get out of the car then you have committed yet another crime, so if they have to drag you out of the car because you refuse it will only prove their case more in court...moral of the story is do as the cops ask..if you feel he or she pulled you over for no reason then do as they tell you to do and even if you get a ticket you still get your day in court

sjbrown25@att.net

I'm here in Los Angeles and based on what I've been instructed to do if this ever happens to you, is for you to just cooperate with the officer. If he requests to see your documents, you MUST furnish them to the officer upon his request-failure to do so, will just add on more charges than what you're already going to face or already facing.

The part about them getting you out of your car by force, every stop/situation's different. They have to have probable cause in order for them to do that, otherwise their actions is being recorded by a dash cam in their patrol car, unfortunately, it might not be able to record audio as well.

Can they be sued for violating the law under color of authority? It happens all the time, now the part here is, IF you have a case, who's the jury going to believe? Keep in mind that the police union league who protects the police officers when they get sued by the public or go thru inquiries by their very own dept., will also do a background check on you and your credibility, to see if they have any kind of ammunition that they can use against you, in order for the lawsuit NOT to proceed by any means, necessary.

But, this is definitely a good question that should apply to us all, regardless of the region that we live in.

marine_semperfi_jarhead

most police officers have cameras in there cars and microphone packs on there person how do you think they get all that footage for the show cops different police agencies donate that footage to that show if they tell you to do something its not to play games with you but for there safety and yours so they can perform there duties your more likely to have a better experience and a lot less of a criminal record by listening than by trying to be hard headed and you will be lucky if all they do is drag you out of the car

RedBad M

Sadly, cops are almost untouchable in the eyes of the law.

You would need undisputable video evidence of the acts you are talking about. You can refuse to do what the cop says...But he will then probably arrest you and get very physical. You could play the tape in court to exonerate yourself. That is the BEST case scenario.

PD123

In Pennsylvania MVC,

Title 75 Â§ 1511. Carrying and exhibiting drivers license on demand.
(a) General rule.--Every licensee shall possess a drivers license issued to the licensee at all times when driving a motor vehicle and shall exhibit the license upon demand by a police officer, and when requested by the police officer the licensee shall write the licensees name in the presence of the officer in order to provide identity.

(b) Production to avoid penalty.--No person shall be convicted of violating this section or section 1501(a) (relating to drivers required to be licensed) if the person

produces at the headquarters of the police officer who demanded to see the person's license, within 15 days of the demand, a driver's license valid in this Commonwealth at the time of the demand, or
if a citation has been filed, produces at the office of the issuing authority, within 15 days of the filing of the citation, a driver's license valid in this Commonwealth on the date of the citation.

So to answer your question, again regarding PA MVC anyway, when you sign your Driver's License you are acknowledging this clause and therefore MUST produce your information.

Kevy

Oh yes you have to. If he stopped you, he DOES not have to tell you why until he feels the need to. Many departments require you to gather the info before telling them why you cited them. Not only will you lose the lawsuit, you will be found guilty of failure to obey the lawful order of a PO.

TURANDOT

Your best bet is, if you are in doubt pull your cell phone and videotape the interaction.

AndThenThereWasLight

the guy above me is wrong

he does need a reason but if you object he'll just lie

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