Pulled Over? What To Say!
How you proceed and the words and actions you take will determine how much you can hold the LEO and the state accountable for their invasion of your privacy. This is taken from B-Freely’s telegram channel and actual incident in Texas – Speeding Ticket – Texas State Trooper (part 1).
Before you say anything turn on the recorder on your phone, turn on your video and just lay it on the dashboard at your steering wheel so that it picks up the officer’s answer. Be sure YOU speak loudly and clearly! Open your window only 1/4th of the way, no more. If you have to ask the officer to please speak up so that he can be heard as well.
Keep in mind that your rights are currently being violated. So you don’t have to do what the officer says, but to keep things from escalating you should be cooperative while simultaneously getting your point across.
Your point will be that the transportation code in Maryland (or your state) is ADOPTED from the US Transportation Code. And that the enactment of much of the federal level code has been incomplete or ignored. Read more about this as it applies to Maryland in my post – Resolving the Transportation Code In Maryland.
Your goal is to inform the LEO (officer) that there is a discrepancy that he/she may not have learned in their training but that you will be fighting the violation and the illegal detaining. Sometimes this makes the effort too much for the LEO and they only give you a warning. But not often.
You could start pretending that there is an emergency that he needs help with. Yes, him! You need to be totally dumbfounded as to why the lights are flashing and he stopped behind you when you merely pulled over to let him go by.
Being congenial start with the who, what, where, when and get those into your recording. You can notice his/her badge without being confrontational by asking for it. Just mention it loud enough for it to be recorded. Look in your rear view mirror and get the tag of the cruiser. And note the time as part of the recording.
Once you get over the initial shock that your are being detained, you need to ask if he/she had some indication that you were operating in commerce. The answer will probably be confusion, but get them to answer it yes or no.
They will probably ask if you have a drivers license. Answer this honestly, but follow up with, but I’m not using it at this time. Meaning you aren’t operating under commerce and therefore it did not need to be invoked.
If you have other ID to provide offer it instead. (I’m going to get a church ID and carry that. But for now I use Hillsdale College’s Imprimis id, because it is respectable!) The LEO probably won’t like or accept this, but try, making sure to flash it in front of them so that they see you do have it. All they really need is your first and last name to determine if there is a warrant for you. But they really shouldn’t have stopped you unless they knew they had a warrant and that some other identifying factor connected you to that warrant.
Also when ever he asks you a question, ask if that information can be used against you in court.
Eventually you will have to cough up the driver’s license or go to jail and let’s face it they have guns. Remember in God’s perspective this is not just as our defense according to the scriptures is to be equal to theirs. And when you are in a traffic stop, they treat you like a criminal and bring their firearm to the table. But you can’t bring yours. (I’ll get the scripture for this.)
Be cautious how long your withhold the DL so that it doesn’t escalate that far.
And in Maryland you will have to show proof of insurance, and hopefully you have that easily available on your phone or on another piece of paper.
From B-Freely:
he’s like, look do you have a driver’s license?
i say sure i do but i wasn’t using it right now.
he insists on seeing it.
i asked him again if that’s something he could use against me in court. again he dodged the question by saying he’s got to identify me, blah blah.
i see deadly weapons hanging all over him and i don’t say a word; i just figure i’ll address that in a court doc, and i handed him my out-of-state DL. (my passport expired and i haven’t renewed it yet, or else i would have preferred to give him that, as i usually do)
So now you’ve given in to the coercion and the LEO has now:
- illegally and with coercion striped you of your liberty by illegally detaining you (detainment is defined to be voluntary, yet there is no way you volunteered to stay and many times asked to be released.)
- coerced you into arrest without justification (only 2 states – detainment or arrest, it didn’t qualify as detainment, therefore it was arrest.) This is basically seizure or arrest, you will argue both.
- illegally obtained your private information since he did not have just cause in the first place to stop you (regardless of operating in commerce or not, there was no evidence of a crime being committed)
- misused your private information by using it to perform a warrant lookup
- performed illegal search of your private information in the many existing database of information accessible by LEOs.
When the LEO returns he/she will have some document that he wants you to sign. Decline to sign it and ask to see the district commissioner right now (I don’t think MD has magistrates, but I’m not sure. TODO – check this out!)
Be creative and request a zoom or facetime or something on his expensive equipment in his cruiser. Need to check this as well – does MD law require the LEO to take the violator before a magistrate immediately. If this traffic is treated like criminal this could be the case. TODO – check this.)
But indicate you will be bringing all these issues up to the supervisors.
Don’t sign the citation.
And Don’t lose it. Check for the appearance date and make note of it.
Done! A successfully established lawsuit against the state for violating many of your God given rights!
Next up – Steps Following Traffic Violation