My general approach is to be as polite as can be while saying virtually nothing. If the first words out of your mouth after getting pulled over are "AM I BEING DETAINED?!?" then the police are going to make you have a very bad day. My brother had to learn this the hard way, he learned that 'tactic' from reddit I think, and it got him face down on the pavement for what should have been a speeding ticket. Just stay calm and never say anything more than the most vague pleasantries. If they ask where I'm going then it's either "to home", "to work" or "to the store"; they aren't owed answers to these questions and reddit will tell you to sperg out and start ranting about your rights, but if you stay calm and pleasant albeit distant, then the police will be more inclined to treat you the same. But if you antagonize them within the bounds of the law, they'll step outside the law to get you back. You're just setting yourself up for failure in the common case when you follow popular internet advice about cops.
These are all symptoms of living in a police state. We've normalized this behavior so much while living in a police state that we no longer see it, much in the same way proverbial fish are unaware of water.
I completely agree. In this case, it's about the fish being aware that he's in the water and which direction the currents flow. If you don't know how the water flows, you'll get smashed against the reef.
Exactly the problem, yes. On a societal level it's a problem that we should strive to correct. But on an individual level on a case by case basis, it's the reality you have to protect yourself from.
Very good points. I've used this same strategy for decades and my interactions with the police have been nothing short of overwhelmingly positive. Of course, I remain wary at all times, maintain situational awareness, and always try to remember the police officer's name and badge in case I need to have redress later with their department or the court.
That may be true, but it's not actionable advice on an individual level.
I think there's a tendency, particularly on reddit, to let perfect be the enemy of good in situations like this. Reddit will tell people that if you're not white then there's nothing you can do to get better behavior from cops and that advice such as mine above is therefore invalid. Being black in America changes the baseline interaction you can expect on average, but I think my advice will still do most people more good than harm most of the time.
If you want to have a boring incident free traffic stop, the best you can do is play your role in such an exchange and hope the cop reciprocates. Conform to the pattern of a mundane traffic stop so that the cop falls into the same pattern. If instead you play the role of some sort of agitated sovereign citizen, the cops will almost certainly reciprocate. In the first case, nothing is ever guaranteed but in the second case a negative outcome of some sort is virtually certain.
BTW I think this advice applies generally to almost all encounters with strangers, not just cops. Superficial politeness is a superpower. It works on anyone from troublesome new neighbors, crazy threatening people you encounter on the street at night, even stiff indifferent bureaucrats. Superficial politeness gets better outcomes from almost everybody, most of the time.
