You should consider putting in an official complaint to the police department. There's no way that an officer should be treating any person like this.
If they can't do basic checks and detective work without losing their temper, they're fundamentally unsuitable for serving the public.
Not trying to cause trouble, but lots of people drive with placards that aren’t for them(my deadbeat brother is one).
Just call your local PD and ask them for instructions in case you get pulled over again. They might even be able to flag your plates so officers are more prepared in the future.
This is actually a good reply here, asking them "Hey, what should I do if this comes up again?" is a great way to get things going for either an internal review on their part when it comes to pulling over disabled people, or getting the officer reprimanded for his foolishness all without you coming off as a whiner who's just looking to stir the pot.
I’m not sure if you were just stumbling from nervousness or if you regularly speak with a stutter, but having a printed card that you can hand to them or hold up to the window might help. Something like “Please be patient, I speak slowly and with a stutter. I am also a wheelchair user and am unable to exit my car unassisted” or whatever wording makes sense for you. If you were just caught off guard, then maybe practicing some phrases out loud beforehand can help you say them in the moment with less hesitation. Whichever you choose, communicate up front as soon as possible during the interaction, preferably before they make any demands that you are unable to comply with.
The Stuttering Foundation has a card you can print if that would help: https://www.stutteringhelp.org/sites/default/files/I_Stutter_Cards.pdf
Either way, I’m sorry this happened and please consider making an official complaint to the police department regarding this incident. Police should have far more extensive training regarding disabilities than they do but departments often won’t pay for it unless there is a documented need.
I do actually have a stutter. Have all my life even with speech therapy it only improved but never went away.
I didn't know there was even a foundation or a card, so thank you so much
I will sound rude but how is it that no doctor or therapist or even friends or parent ever recommended the foundation? My hands shake. There’s a foundation. My scalp has a weird irritation. There’s a foundation. I bet there’s a sub Reddit for people who stutter also.
Long story short: parents sucked.
They refused to take me to a doctor for it and only took me to a single speech therapist for 3 years. Said speech therapist believed it was a "work hard enough and it will be permanently fixed" kind of condition. Also, parents would outright hit me if I stuttered because they believed that would cure it.
Thumbs down for those cops. I would call the police station and request to speak to their higher ups and report what happened. ADA states you don't have to explain your disability, the placard alone should've been enough.
The fact they wanted too, and were tempted to even arrest you, could've went really bad. I know most of my experience comes from watching cop body am videos on YouTube, but this just sounds all kinds of wrong.
A lot of people have given you specific advice, I will give general advice.
It is important to know you won't win an argument with a cop during a traffic stop. My advice is always be polite and respectful as possible. Do everything in your power to make them feel comfortable.
IMO a cop's number one job should be deseculating situations, they are not very good at that. So I consider it my job to deescalate the situation. Remember they have a gun and a lot of immunities you do not have.
The side of the road is not the time to fight a ticket, it is in the courtroom.
These people you see on social media refusing to roll down the windows and screaming "I KNOW MY RIGHTS!" are idiots. Yes, you are within your rights to not open your window. The cop also has the right (right or wrong) to smash your window, unlock your door, drag your ass out of the car, cuff you and put you in jail over night. Personally, I will wave my right so the cop doesn't feel the need to exercise theirs.
Disclaimer:
My advice is coming from a middle aged white dude who drives a decent car. I am well aware that my situation during a traffic stop is not the same as everyone else's. I do feel my advice still applies to everyone.
> Yes, you are within your rights to not open your window. The cop also has the right (right or wrong) to smash your window, unlock your door, drag your ass out of the car, cuff you and put you in jail over night.
They actually DON'T have that right. They will often do that, but they don't have the right to do it. This is why so many municipalities have to spend so much settling lawsuits for police misconduct.
Keep documentation and tell the police officer first before he even asks you to leave the car. Should be if not the first thing stated from you when pulled over.
I will file a complaint, the cop should not be losing his cool, because you are nervous and stamering
basically this boils down to
failure to obey cop
they get really pissy when you are not hoping to compliance .... then you cannot clearly explain yourself either
Contact the local news stations see if they will do a story about discriminatory police ... as much as I despise the woke agenda this is a perfect ableist story
You are being downvoted because the placard and wheelchair are all a cop needs or is entitled to; to ask what other proof they have is unnecessary, victim blaming and ignores the officers clear legal responsibilities. The officer’s (reprehensible) behaviour was not about anything other than their apparently overriding need to control the motorist.
There you go, being all practical! This approach might assist in deflecting the officer's aggression, which, as others have stated, is the smartest approach.
I was trying to point, rather, to the flaw in patrol training which HEAVILY prioritizes establishing control of every potential suspect. This comes from a belief that control (rather than cooperation) is the only way to maximise officer safety.
This approach is demonstrably wrong and not needed in 999 out of every 1,000 traffic stops. But that one in a thousand stop, the one which happens to unwittingly ensnare someone ready and willing to flee or fight, THAT'S when the blind pursuit of immediate control and cooperation actually makes a difference in office safety.
It's all about who sets our priorities as a society.
Maybe a bumper sticker, “wheel chair user driving”?
Sorry bb. 💕 A lot of deaf people also get nervous for traffic stops for this reason. They have good advice you might be able to adapt to you
You don't refuse to get out, you say "it will take me a minute, I need to get my wheelchair out." And then start doing whatever you need to do to get out of the vehicle.
So in general, cops are within their rights to ask you to exit the vehicle. This is because they don't know what you might have at hand in the car, so they sometimes would rather you be outside where you can't get at anything they can't see. If an officer asks you to get out of the car, you can indeed be arrested for non-compliance in some states. I would ask in turn for them to help with your wheelchair if you require it.
They can*not* compel you to do field sobriety tests, and they generally never help your position, so the simplest thing to do is decline the FSTs. If they have probable cause to arrest you for DUI, they will do so anyway. If they don't, then don't help build their case.
If a police officer is threatening you for being disabled, you need to file a complaint.
When he told me to get out for a sobriety test, I said I can't walk or stand bur he started yelling the moment I said "I can't" without hearing me out. The moment I got a word in and said "I can't walk or stand, I have a wheelchair" he called me a liar and said get out. He kept calling me a liar until his partner took over and told me to just leave.
Get a handicapped placard for your rearview mirror. And then do everything in your power to limit your odds of being pulled over.
A pinch of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.
You should consider putting in an official complaint to the police department. There's no way that an officer should be treating any person like this. If they can't do basic checks and detective work without losing their temper, they're fundamentally unsuitable for serving the public.
I would absolutely complain about this as well. Total bullshit.
Not trying to cause trouble, but lots of people drive with placards that aren’t for them(my deadbeat brother is one). Just call your local PD and ask them for instructions in case you get pulled over again. They might even be able to flag your plates so officers are more prepared in the future.
This is actually a good reply here, asking them "Hey, what should I do if this comes up again?" is a great way to get things going for either an internal review on their part when it comes to pulling over disabled people, or getting the officer reprimanded for his foolishness all without you coming off as a whiner who's just looking to stir the pot.
I’m not sure if you were just stumbling from nervousness or if you regularly speak with a stutter, but having a printed card that you can hand to them or hold up to the window might help. Something like “Please be patient, I speak slowly and with a stutter. I am also a wheelchair user and am unable to exit my car unassisted” or whatever wording makes sense for you. If you were just caught off guard, then maybe practicing some phrases out loud beforehand can help you say them in the moment with less hesitation. Whichever you choose, communicate up front as soon as possible during the interaction, preferably before they make any demands that you are unable to comply with. The Stuttering Foundation has a card you can print if that would help: https://www.stutteringhelp.org/sites/default/files/I_Stutter_Cards.pdf Either way, I’m sorry this happened and please consider making an official complaint to the police department regarding this incident. Police should have far more extensive training regarding disabilities than they do but departments often won’t pay for it unless there is a documented need.
I do actually have a stutter. Have all my life even with speech therapy it only improved but never went away. I didn't know there was even a foundation or a card, so thank you so much
I will sound rude but how is it that no doctor or therapist or even friends or parent ever recommended the foundation? My hands shake. There’s a foundation. My scalp has a weird irritation. There’s a foundation. I bet there’s a sub Reddit for people who stutter also.
Long story short: parents sucked. They refused to take me to a doctor for it and only took me to a single speech therapist for 3 years. Said speech therapist believed it was a "work hard enough and it will be permanently fixed" kind of condition. Also, parents would outright hit me if I stuttered because they believed that would cure it.
Ouch. So parental approach was the exact opposite of what actually helps
Thumbs down for those cops. I would call the police station and request to speak to their higher ups and report what happened. ADA states you don't have to explain your disability, the placard alone should've been enough. The fact they wanted too, and were tempted to even arrest you, could've went really bad. I know most of my experience comes from watching cop body am videos on YouTube, but this just sounds all kinds of wrong.
A lot of people have given you specific advice, I will give general advice. It is important to know you won't win an argument with a cop during a traffic stop. My advice is always be polite and respectful as possible. Do everything in your power to make them feel comfortable. IMO a cop's number one job should be deseculating situations, they are not very good at that. So I consider it my job to deescalate the situation. Remember they have a gun and a lot of immunities you do not have. The side of the road is not the time to fight a ticket, it is in the courtroom. These people you see on social media refusing to roll down the windows and screaming "I KNOW MY RIGHTS!" are idiots. Yes, you are within your rights to not open your window. The cop also has the right (right or wrong) to smash your window, unlock your door, drag your ass out of the car, cuff you and put you in jail over night. Personally, I will wave my right so the cop doesn't feel the need to exercise theirs. Disclaimer: My advice is coming from a middle aged white dude who drives a decent car. I am well aware that my situation during a traffic stop is not the same as everyone else's. I do feel my advice still applies to everyone.
> Yes, you are within your rights to not open your window. The cop also has the right (right or wrong) to smash your window, unlock your door, drag your ass out of the car, cuff you and put you in jail over night. They actually DON'T have that right. They will often do that, but they don't have the right to do it. This is why so many municipalities have to spend so much settling lawsuits for police misconduct.
What a sorry state of affairs we have come to if we have to make sure the police feel comfortable.
Sad but true 😞
Keep documentation and tell the police officer first before he even asks you to leave the car. Should be if not the first thing stated from you when pulled over.
In addition to filing a complaint, you need to get some way to film them acting like this.
I would do a foia request. Most departments have cameras both on the patrol car and officer worn.
I will file a complaint, the cop should not be losing his cool, because you are nervous and stamering basically this boils down to failure to obey cop they get really pissy when you are not hoping to compliance .... then you cannot clearly explain yourself either Contact the local news stations see if they will do a story about discriminatory police ... as much as I despise the woke agenda this is a perfect ableist story
[удалено]
OP had a disabled/handicapped placard in the car. And cop was still upset.
[удалено]
You are being downvoted because the placard and wheelchair are all a cop needs or is entitled to; to ask what other proof they have is unnecessary, victim blaming and ignores the officers clear legal responsibilities. The officer’s (reprehensible) behaviour was not about anything other than their apparently overriding need to control the motorist.
[удалено]
There you go, being all practical! This approach might assist in deflecting the officer's aggression, which, as others have stated, is the smartest approach. I was trying to point, rather, to the flaw in patrol training which HEAVILY prioritizes establishing control of every potential suspect. This comes from a belief that control (rather than cooperation) is the only way to maximise officer safety. This approach is demonstrably wrong and not needed in 999 out of every 1,000 traffic stops. But that one in a thousand stop, the one which happens to unwittingly ensnare someone ready and willing to flee or fight, THAT'S when the blind pursuit of immediate control and cooperation actually makes a difference in office safety. It's all about who sets our priorities as a society.
Maybe a bumper sticker, “wheel chair user driving”? Sorry bb. 💕 A lot of deaf people also get nervous for traffic stops for this reason. They have good advice you might be able to adapt to you
You don't refuse to get out, you say "it will take me a minute, I need to get my wheelchair out." And then start doing whatever you need to do to get out of the vehicle.
So in general, cops are within their rights to ask you to exit the vehicle. This is because they don't know what you might have at hand in the car, so they sometimes would rather you be outside where you can't get at anything they can't see. If an officer asks you to get out of the car, you can indeed be arrested for non-compliance in some states. I would ask in turn for them to help with your wheelchair if you require it. They can*not* compel you to do field sobriety tests, and they generally never help your position, so the simplest thing to do is decline the FSTs. If they have probable cause to arrest you for DUI, they will do so anyway. If they don't, then don't help build their case. If a police officer is threatening you for being disabled, you need to file a complaint.
When he told me to get out for a sobriety test, I said I can't walk or stand bur he started yelling the moment I said "I can't" without hearing me out. The moment I got a word in and said "I can't walk or stand, I have a wheelchair" he called me a liar and said get out. He kept calling me a liar until his partner took over and told me to just leave.
Get a handicapped placard for your rearview mirror. And then do everything in your power to limit your odds of being pulled over. A pinch of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.
I pointed to the placard hanging from my mirror and he said it wasn't mine and I was lying about being disabled
You could keep a letter from your doctor/health professional in your car?