RetiredUSNChief
Member
"Rights", "smooth", "courtesy", "at ease"...
All these are important concepts and require balancing. That balance won't be the same from person to person, encounter to encounter.
What we can't control is how another person may think/act. What we CAN control is how we think and act.
If the luck of the draw has one pulled over by Officer McBadattitude, Officer O'Reallyidontgiveacr*p, or some such, there's not likely to be anything one can do to "put the officer at ease" or "smooth the encounter".
That said, looking back on 4-plus decades of driving experience, it seems to me that all my police encounters were very professional, whether in my teens in my home town or any of the various other states I've lived in, been stationed in, or have driven through.
While we can't CONTROL how the officer may think/act, we CAN exert influence. Being polite and respectful goes a long way. (Unless, of course, you're dealing with Officer O'Reallyidontgiveacr*p.)
If you're in a must inform, then do so, politely and respectfully.
If you're NOT in a must inform, make your choice...and be polite/respectful either way.
If you just think it's a "good idea" to inform as a rule...be polite/respectful about it.
And if you're dealing with Officer McBadattitude...be polite/respectful ANYWAY. He/she may make what you might deem "unreasonable" requests/orders about disarming and such, but your ultimate goal is to get through the traffic stop and on your way again. Not sitting in the back of the cruiser under arrest or leaking life fluids out of holes that shouldn't be there. Save the complaints for another time, under better and more controlled circumstances.
All these are important concepts and require balancing. That balance won't be the same from person to person, encounter to encounter.
What we can't control is how another person may think/act. What we CAN control is how we think and act.
If the luck of the draw has one pulled over by Officer McBadattitude, Officer O'Reallyidontgiveacr*p, or some such, there's not likely to be anything one can do to "put the officer at ease" or "smooth the encounter".
That said, looking back on 4-plus decades of driving experience, it seems to me that all my police encounters were very professional, whether in my teens in my home town or any of the various other states I've lived in, been stationed in, or have driven through.
While we can't CONTROL how the officer may think/act, we CAN exert influence. Being polite and respectful goes a long way. (Unless, of course, you're dealing with Officer O'Reallyidontgiveacr*p.)
If you're in a must inform, then do so, politely and respectfully.
If you're NOT in a must inform, make your choice...and be polite/respectful either way.
If you just think it's a "good idea" to inform as a rule...be polite/respectful about it.
And if you're dealing with Officer McBadattitude...be polite/respectful ANYWAY. He/she may make what you might deem "unreasonable" requests/orders about disarming and such, but your ultimate goal is to get through the traffic stop and on your way again. Not sitting in the back of the cruiser under arrest or leaking life fluids out of holes that shouldn't be there. Save the complaints for another time, under better and more controlled circumstances.