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Got Pulled Over - Had "Furtive Movement" line pulled on me for a "lunge search"

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captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
I got pulled over today. I've been pulled over a few times in my life, but i have never dealt with such a rude, domineering officer in my life.

Background, im a 32 year old white male driving my wife's audi. Never been arrested, or ever taken into custody for anything. Never given anything other than a traffic citation.

Immediately after pulling over this officer asks my why i took so long to pull over and to step out of the car.
I said I didnt see him with his lights on, nor did i hear as i had the radio on. I then asked why he was asking me to step out of my car, he wouldnt give me a reason other than "furtive movements", but demanded again. I said my furtive movements were me drinking my dp pepper and using the stick shift.

I step out, he immediately starts looking in my driver side window, I said you do not have permission to search my car, nor does he have probable cause to search it.

I instinctively put my hands in my pockets, he flips his lid and says dont do that he's not putting his hands in his pockets. At this point im not sure what happened other than him yelling at me on the side of the road, as i'm so mad and upset. Other than him threatening to take me to jail, of which he did not explain what for.

He then asks for my drivers license, i explain to him that its in my back right pocket and that im going to reach for it and that i don't want to get shot today. He mouths off and says really why would i do that i just asked you for your DL. I give it him and he goes and runs it.

At this point another squad car shows up. its at this point that I ask for both officers badges and names for the first time, and do not receive them.

Officer 1 gets out and explains to me that he's going to search my "lunge area." Its at this point i asked him if he was trained to escalate or de-escalate situations because he's been very rude talking over me, interrupting after asking me a questions. He says his body camera is recording and points to it and says do you know what this is. I said good.

I said I do not consent and that he doesnt have probable cause to search my car. Officer 2 then says the supreme court has ruled that they can in fact search the lunge area because of "furtive movements." I said i still do not consent. They then call their supervisor.

While waiting for him, I then ask again for both officers badges and names, I again do not receive them.

Supervisor shows up and explains that they can search the lunge area because of furtive movements, I still say i do not consent and that there's nothing in there and that my furtive movements were me drinking my dr pepper and using the stick shift.

I tell them i will let them search the lunge area if i can record them doing it. Officer 2 stands behind him recording with his body camera because Officer 1's body camera "stopped working."

I ask them to see the radar recording of my speed, they say that i cannot see it. I sign the ticket and they let me go.


I plan on calling the supervisor and asking for their badge numbers and names again. May file a complaint on Officer 1, out of principle, which will likely amount to nothing. And i plan on doing more research on this "lunge search" ruling, so far i'm not finding much. And of course, out of principle i will delay and fight the speeding ticket.

Before you start quoting anything check my post history, i'm a firm supporter of BLM. And completely recognize that if i were black or brown i may not be posting this right now.
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
The fuck is "furtive movements"?

They never seen someone with a short shifter?

Search Results
A Furtive Movement Can Get You Killed. “Furtive” as defined by many dictionaries is “being shifty; characterized by stealth; surreptitious; sly and underhanded movement; an expression of hidden motives or purposes.”

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...keXv1R40X84sqdrJA&sig2=W00W5n_h0rvxy41Dl1dg8A

from my quick google searching its cop speak for "you look/did something suspicious"
https://blog.simplejustice.us/2012/05/14/an-epidemic-of-furtive-movement/

there's whole google search recommendation for "furtive movment case law"
 

Speevy

Banned
That's a terrible story, though the fact that you aren't dead means you didn't need to tell us you're white.

I hope those officers are reprimanded.
 
Sad shit man, please do leave a complaint and get that bullshit ticket dismissed. Not surprised at all, they just wanted to fuck with you and hopefully find something.

Glad you didn't make it easy though.
 

BigDes

Member
Not that anything will come of this because we'll, America but I am fairly sure those cops broke the law by not providing their names and badge numbers on request.

Hope you have your request and their refusal to give you the information on the recording you took.
 
It's my understanding that if you are pulled over for speeding you have the right to see the speed clocked in the radar gun. This gives hard physical evidence and both parties in witness.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
No offense but you sound like one of those libertarian idiots who record cops and tell them what right they do or do not have. Just do as they say and defuse the situation quick. Why ask so many questions? Why Fuck with these guys?
 
Sad shit man, please do leave a complaint and get that bullshit ticket dismissed. Not surprised at all, they just wanted to fuck with you and hopefully find something.

Glad you didn't make it easy though.

Why is it a bullshit ticket? OP didn't bother to even admit or deny that he was... I guess speeding because he mentioned wanting to see the radar reading at the very end. And he didn't really challenge the assertion that he didn't pull over in a timely manner.
 
No offense but you sound like one of those libertarian idiots who record cops and tell them what right they do or do not have. Just do as they say and defuse the situation quick. Why ask so many questions? Why Fuck with these guys?

Because we have rights? And if people don't stand up for them, we're liable to lose them
 

sk3

Banned
Congratulations OP on doing just about everything wrong. Good thing you're a white dude.

Protip: Don't give them a reason to hate you. Do whatever you can to end the encounter as quickly as possible.
 
No offense but you sound like one of those libertarian idiots who record cops and tell them what right they do or do not have. Just do as they say and defuse the situation quick. Why ask so many questions? Why Fuck with these guys?

Because he's a US citizen with rights that allow him to ask for a fair display of evidence, probably cause, and is owed a respectful and professional interaction by law enforcement?

Oh wait, this is America. Don't question authority.

Congratulations OP on doing just about everything wrong. Good thing you're a white dude.

Protip: Don't give them a reason to hate you. Do whatever you can to end the encounter as quickly as possible.

This is why the cops act the way they do. No oversight and no willingness by the people they swear to protect to actually hold them accountable.
 

Acorn

Member
What a bunch of bullshit. Power mad little men trying to bully law abiding citizens.

Fuck these guys.
 
That sounds illegal to me, but there are some crazy laws out there so idk.

Please report it and follow up 🙏

To the people saying you should have shut up and followed I say fuck that. Policeman need to be held accountable for their actions. They should not be above the law
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
No offense but you sound like one of those libertarian idiots who record cops and tell them what right they do or do not have. Just do as they say and defuse the situation quick. Why ask so many questions? Why Fuck with these guys?


I think the op certainly did stuff that exacerbated the bad behavior of a couple of power tripping cops and I certainly wouldn't have behaved the way he did, but he behaved lawfully and calmly and that should be enough. So if the op was my kid I'd tell him how to behave but he ain't and he was within his rights.
 

HeySeuss

Member
Ok I'm going to attempt to explain what the officers did and why from my 15 years as a police officer. You can feel free to disagree, and I'm not going to say the officers handled it in the best possible way, but hear me out. I don't normally post in these threads anymore because of the overwhelming anti-cop sentiment (often justifiable, often not) on this board.

A furtive movement is something that appears to a trained officer to be movements that are suspicious and can possibly believed to be trying to conceal something which may be dangerous. You admit that it took you longer to pull over than it should have because you didn't see or hear the officer behind you. Look at this through the eyes of the officer. Most good drivers check their rearview and side mirrors every 5-10 seconds. Couple that with moving to take a drink (which the officer obviously can't see) and you shifting your transmission (again can't see from behind), give the impression that you may be intentionally hiding something before you pull over. That's furtive movement.

Now he asked you to step out of the car because a) the movement could indicate that you were hiding a weapon under your seat (a reasonable assumption based on you not pulling over and your body movement) and b) the officer doesn't need a reason to ask you to step out of the vehicle. We can have ever person get out of the vehicle on every traffic stop if we so choose.

After stepping out of the car, when the officer looked in your window, he was looking at the seat and center console area for anything dangerous or in plain view. He does not need your permission to look in your window. If you were still sitting in your car, would he not be looking in the window to talk to you? Dropping your "I don't consent to any searches" that you learned on YouTube doesn't earn you any points with police.

Now add the fact that you put your hands in your pockets. Officers are trained to watch people's hands very closely. He already believed you might have a weapon in the vehicle, it wouldn't be unreasonable to make the connection that instead of putting a weapon under your seat, you could have also put it in your pants, which is why he yelled at you to not do that. The smartass comment about not wanting to be shot didn't help your case.

There is supreme Court case law on exactly what the officer told you. Just like Terry v Ohio allows pat downs for weapons without probable cause, there is another case that does the same for vehicles. I've never heard of the term "lunge area" but it's more commonly referred to as areas of immediate control. Which from the seat where the person in question was sitting, is anything that is within reach. Typically under the driver's seat, front floor, glove box, center console, and under passenger seat. No warrant or probable cause is needed for these searches for weapons.

The second officer was there because that often happens if another officer happens by during a traffic stop of another officer. Or he could have called for backup since he thought you might have a gun.

So the not pulling over and your body movement from the officers perspective from behind you made him believe you were hiding a weapon. This is called reasonable articulable suspicion and can be used to pat you down or do a protective sweep of your vehicle without your consent.

The key is that the officer has to be able to articulate it. And in this case based on what you admitted to, the officers did meet that threshold of reasonableness.

Now you can argue that they were rude or whatever, but that's secondary to everything else.

Hope that helps
 

Quick

Banned
No offense but you sound like one of those libertarian idiots who record cops and tell them what right they do or do not have. Just do as they say and defuse the situation quick. Why ask so many questions? Why Fuck with these guys?

Dude's got rights.
 
Because he's a US citizen with rights that allow him to ask for a fair display of evidence, probably cause, and is owed a respectful and professional interaction by law enforcement?

Oh wait, this is America. Don't question authority.

You put it so much better than I did. Can't believe how so many think we should just submit to an authority figure without question
 
No offense but you sound like one of those libertarian idiots who record cops and tell them what right they do or do not have. Just do as they say and defuse the situation quick. Why ask so many questions? Why Fuck with these guys?


i got a sovereign citizen vibe as well.

the fact that you took a while to pull over (how does your radio keep you from noticing lights and sirens?), and the fact that you don't understand why a cop wouldn't want you to put your hands in your pockets make me wonder what other kind of body language you're either oblivious of, or doing on purpose. sounds like you were acting sketchy, and it amounted to getting your car searched. big deal.

cops are a real problem in this country, but i don't think it helps to create problems to try and prove a point.
 

norm9

Member
I said you do not have permission to search my car, nor does he have probable cause to search it.
...
He then asks for my drivers license, i explain to him that its in my back right pocket and that im going to reach for it and that i don't want to get shot today.
...
At this point another squad car shows up. its at this point that I ask for both officers badges and names for the first time, and do not receive them.
...
Its at this point i asked him if he was trained to escalate or de-escalate situations
...
While waiting for him, I then ask again for both officers badges and names, I again do not receive them.

Glad you're okay, but you went about quite a few things wrong imo. And I absolutely hate cops.
 

Raticus79

Seek victory, not fairness

Yeah, I had to look that up. Thought it referred to a body region. Sounds like furtive movements are the justification to search the area around where you were at the time, to discover anything you could have reached (by lunging).

Edit: see what HeySeuss said above.
 

wilsonda

Member
Ok I'm going to attempt to explain what the officers did and why from my 15 years as a police officer. You can feel free to disagree, and I'm not going to say the officers handled it in the best possible way, but hear me out. I don't normally post in these threads anymore because of the overwhelming anti-cop sentiment (often justifiable, often not) on this board.

A furtive movement is something that appears to a trained officer to be movements that are suspicious and can possibly believed to be trying to conceal something which may be dangerous. You admit that it took you longer to pull over than it should have because you didn't see or hear the officer behind you. Look at this through the eyes of the officer. Most good drivers check their rearview and side mirrors every 5-10 seconds. Couple that with moving to take a drink (which the officer obviously can't see) and you shifting your transmission (again can't see from behind), give the impression that you may be intentionally hiding something before you pull over. That's furtive movement.

Now he asked you to step out of the car because a) the movement could indicate that you were hiding a weapon under your seat (a reasonable assumption based on you not pulling over and your body movement) and b) the officer doesn't need a reason to ask you to step out of the vehicle. We can have ever person get out of the vehicle on every traffic stop if we so choose.

After stepping out of the car, when the officer looked in your window, he was looking at the seat and center console area for anything dangerous or in plain view. He does not need your permission to look in your window. If you were still sitting in your car, would he not be looking in the window to talk to you? Dropping your "I don't consent to any searches" that you learned on YouTube doesn't earn you any points with police.

Now add the fact that you put your hands in your pockets. Officers are trained to watch people's hands very closely. He already believed you might have a weapon in the vehicle, it wouldn't be unreasonable to make the connection that instead of putting a weapon under your seat, you could have also put it in your pants, which is why he yelled at you to not do that. The smartass comment about not wanting to be shot didn't help your case.

There is supreme Court case law on exactly what the officer told you. Just like Terry v Ohio allows pat downs for weapons without probable cause, there is another case that does the same for vehicles. I've never heard of the term "lunge area" but it's more commonly referred to as areas of immediate control. Which from the seat where the person in question was sitting, is anything that is within reach. Typically under the driver's seat, front floor, glove box, center console, and under passenger seat. No warrant or probable cause is needed for these searches for weapons.

The second officer was there because that often happens if another officer happens by during a traffic stop of another officer. Or he could have called for backup since he thought you might have a gun.

So the not pulling over and your body movement from the officers perspective from behind you made him believe you were hiding a weapon. This is called reasonable articulable suspicion and can be used to pat you down or do a protective sweep of your vehicle without your consent.

The key is that the officer has to be able to articulate it. And in this case based on what you admitted to, the officers did meet that threshold of reasonableness.

Now you can argue that they were rude or whatever, but that's secondary to everything else.

Hope that helps

Well stated. Secondly what did they write a ticket for?
 
I just wouldn't suggest hands moving especially in pockets. I just wouldn't do it. getting shot isn't worthe the lapse in thinking


I was asked to get out of my car once for being pulled over. It's annoying but just do it then get away. The faster I can get through the better.

I've had a cop walk to my window very visibly scared, just isn't worth the Chance.


The other stuff is bad but maybe he followed you for longer than you think but a lot of cops won't do that still. He's just a bad attitude dude I think
 

Bronx-Man

Banned
No offense but you sound like one of those libertarian idiots who record cops and tell them what right they do or do not have. Just do as they say and defuse the situation quick. Why ask so many questions? Why Fuck with these guys?

There's this thing in America we have called the bill of rights.
 

HeySeuss

Member
Can you explain why they wouldn't give their names or badge numbers?

It's written on the ticket, but maybe their policy doesn't make them do that. It's not any kind of law that a police officer gives you that information when you ask it. It's typically something we do, but I can't really say why they didn't. Probably not the best thing for them to do, but they probably knew you were going to complain either way.

And out of all that I wrote, that was your most pressing question?
 

commedieu

Banned
Man. I'd pay good money to experience his in a virtual simulator. Some folks usually die at the hands in pocket qte. Or just sitting in the car.
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
Not that anything will come of this because we'll, America but I am fairly sure those cops broke the law by not providing their names and badge numbers on request.

Hope you have your request and their refusal to give you the information on the recording you took.
i just checked the ticket officers name or badge is not on it either., edit, just found it at the very bottom.

No offense but you sound like one of those libertarian idiots who record cops and tell them what right they do or do not have. Just do as they say and defuse the situation quick. Why ask so many questions? Why Fuck with these guys?

A) i am someone that almost always says yes sir no sir, yes ma'am no ma'am to police. This guy was rude straight form the start and didnt give me any opportunity. Why did i need to exit my car for a speeding ticket? Because he said so? and thats it? fuck that.
B) he continued to escalate the situation, not me.
C) as americans we have rights, contrary to popular belief. Yes police are in a position of power, but they are not above the law, I as an American have the right to ask him questions as to why i was pulled over, why he asked me to get out of my car, why he wanted to search my car.
D) im not just going to roll over and do what i'm told because someone is an authority figure.
 

Alavard

Member
It's written on the ticket, but maybe their policy doesn't make them do that. It's not any kind of law that a police officer gives you that information when you ask it. It's typically something we do, but I can't really say why they didn't. Probably not the best thing for them to do, but they probably knew you were going to complain either way.

And out of all that I wrote, that was your most pressing question?

Yeah, cause the rest of what you wrote was very informative, and answers a lot of my questions. It just seemed like the one gap from your explanation - that's all. Guess I should have said thanks earlier, but thank you.
 
It's written on the ticket, but maybe their policy doesn't make them do that. It's not any kind of law that a police officer gives you that information when you ask it. It's typically something we do, but I can't really say why they didn't. Probably not the best thing for them to do, but they probably knew you were going to complain either way.

And out of all that I wrote, that was your most pressing question?

Everything you said is reasonable except for that part I wanted to know as well.
 
Sounds like you were being difficult/confrontational, which would make the cops more suspicious. They probably have pulled tons of people over for erratic movements only to find an impaired driver or drugs.
 

Savitar

Member
Sounded like you had an attitude which didn't help your situation at all.

Also yeah really did remind me of those crazy sovereign citizens you see on youtube too.
 

L Thammy

Member
I feel like getting confrontational to towards police officers is something you should reserve for when they go past the minor inconvenience stage. But I've never had the bad luck of being pulled over before so what do I know.
 

Oppo

Member
Ok I'm going to attempt to explain what the officers did and why from my 15 years as a police officer. You can feel free to disagree, and I'm not going to say the officers handled it in the best possible way, but hear me out. I don't normally post in these threads anymore because of the overwhelming anti-cop sentiment (often justifiable, often not) on this board....
Hope that helps

I appreciate that you took the time to go through this - thanks. I don't even live in the USA (Canada) but context always helps.
 
Ok I'm going to attempt to explain what the officers did and why from my 15 years as a police officer.

Hope that helps

Great post, pretty much from the OPs description of what the cops were doing I figured it was procedural. OP's attitude to the cops certainly didn't help. I was told "Never argue the law with the police".
 

HeySeuss

Member
Because he's a US citizen with rights that allow him to ask for a fair display of evidence, probably cause, and is owed a respectful and professional interaction by law enforcement?

Oh wait, this is America. Don't question authority.



This is why the cops act the way they do. No oversight and no willingness by the people they swear to protect to actually hold them accountable.

Dude's got rights.

You put it so much better than I did. Can't believe how so many think we should just submit to an authority figure without question

There's a huge difference between knowing your rights and THINKING you know your rights. Most people don't know what police can and can't do. Outside of potentially being assholes (probably as a result of the ops actions), they didn't do anything to violate his rights here. Should they have not had the attitude they did? Sure that's easy to say. But that's a minor complaint as opposed to a rights violation here which did not happen.
 

Phased

Member
what's a lunge area?

An area around the driver they can lunge to, like to hide stuff.

It's reasonable if the cop saw him reaching down to shift and drink a soda it looked like he was trying to ditch something under the seat.

Sounds like they were assholes, but didn't really do anything wrong.
 

HeySeuss

Member
Yeah, cause the rest of what you wrote was very informative, and answers a lot of my questions. It just seemed like the one gap from your explanation - that's all. Guess I should have said thanks earlier, but thank you.

My bad didn't mean to sound like a dick. Glad I could help.
 

Brakke

Banned
Yeah I'mma take you at your word that dude was rude or aggressive or intimidating, but the actual rundown of events is pretty reasonable on the police end.
 
There's a huge difference between knowing your rights and THINKING you know your rights. Most people don't know what police can and can't do. Outside of potentially being assholes (probably as a result of the ops actions), they didn't do anything to violate his rights here. Should they have not had the attitude they did? Sure that's easy to say. But that's a minor complaint as opposed to a rights violation here which did not happen.

No lie I would like to see a thread made about the ins and outs of what is/is not within our rights and what a cop can and cannot do.
 

milkham

Member
An area around the driver they can lunge to, like to hide stuff.

It's reasonable if the cop saw him reaching down to shift and drink a soda it looked like he was trying to ditch something under the seat.

Sounds like they were assholes, but didn't really do anything wrong.

thanks, i was thinking he wanted to search OP's crotch. I was picturing that lunge exercise where you stick one leg forward and sort of crouch/dip your body down
 
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