Editor’s Note: This week’s essay comes from PoliceOne Member Robert Smith. In PoliceOne “First Person” essays, our Members and Columnists candidly share their own unique view of the world. This is a platform from which individual officers can share their own personal insights on issues confronting cops today, as well as opinions, observations, and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. If you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members, simply send us an e-mail with your story.
By Robert Smith
Police1 Member
“Sir, keeping your hands where I can see them, please exit the vehicle.”
How many times do you give a command like this to a suspect? Maybe you keep it even simpler. Maybe you just say something like, “Step out of the car.”
Has it ever occurred to you the amount of control you give a suspect when you allow them to choose how quickly they exit the vehicle, the manner in which they exit the vehicle, and what they do when they exit?
Without doing any real statistical research I feel confident in saying that 90 percent of the time I ask someone to exit their vehicle it’s because they are suspected of a crime or under arrest and about to be searched and handcuffed. Based on that I have worked over the years to refine a less dangerous way of removing people from a vehicle.
What I teach my coworkers and new officers is a simple game of Simon Says. Using a technique very similar to the felony traffic stop I use specific commands to slowly remove a seemingly compliant suspect from a vehicle under as controlled circumstances as possible.
The first thing you need to do is establish security. If you have two or more suspects in the vehicle, you need someone performing the cover role while you work to remove the target suspect. The cover officer should do nothing but watch the other occupants of the vehicle. If you have more than one officer available it is best to have at least two officers on the target suspect and one officer per additional occupant. If the target suspect begins to fight, the cover officers should do nothing but watch their suspects.
The West Memphis, Arkansas murder of two police officers by a father and son is a deadly reminder of what can happen when you allow yourself to focus on one suspect and disregard the second.
After establishing contact and cover officers, you now need to advise the suspect that you are going to ask them to exit the vehicle and that you do not want them to do anything until you tell them to. I always begin by having the suspect place his/her hands on top of their head and interlace their fingers. It’s amazing how many suspects will show some lack of real compliance at this early stage. This is a good time to start evaluating the suspect to see if they are truly going to follow your orders.
Next, I open the vehicle door and give specific commands for the suspect to remove items from their lap or undo a seatbelt. I have found it helpful to tell a suspect that they are not to try and retrieve anything they may fall from their person to the ground. Many suspect step from a vehicle and immediately reach to their waistband to recover a cell phone or adjust their pants. I specifically tell them NOT to do anything like that and ensure they understand that I will assume they are reaching for a weapon if they remove their hands from their head at any point.
With the rules established for reaching, I now give the suspect a command to not stand up, but swing their feet slowly out of the vehicle.
Again, the idea is to force the suspect to listen to my commands and then show compliance by following my specific orders. If the suspect turns and starts to stand, I immediately stop them and remind them to not do anything until I tell them to.
With the suspects feet now outside the vehicle I tell them again to keep their hands on top of their head and to slowly stand, turn away from me and place their elbows against the vehicle. Once this is complete I generally give the suspect commands to side step out of the doorway and then, one hand at a time, have the suspect position his/her hands for handcuffing or a frisk.
How ever you chose to position a suspect for your search, frisk, or interview... the idea is to move very slowly.
Give one specific command and ask if the suspect has any questions before asking them to comply. Treat each new command as a new and separate test of voluntary compliance. Be prepared for the suspect to feign compliance right up to the handcuffing or frisk in an attempt to lull you into complacency.
Working with rookies as an FTO, fellow patrol officers, and these days a team of veteran officers who deal with major offenders, I have seen the results of this technique first hand.
I have talked with suspects who later said they planned to run or fight, but realized we were serious based on the way we had them exit the car. I have talked with prosecutors/solicitors, judges, and defense lawyers who admit that the videos of use of force during these types of encounters are easier to review because the suspect’s non compliance becomes more overt when the officer is giving clear and precise instructions to the suspect.
Recently, I and three other officers used this technique to remove four suspects from vehicle one at a time. The first suspect complied and was arrested for driving under suspension. The second suspect complied and was arrested when I discovered a loaded pistol in his pocket during a frisk. The third suspect complied right up to the point where he was asked to place his elbows on the car. He placed his hands on the car and when the cover officers stepped in to place his hands back on his head it became obvious that he made the error because he was not listening to the commands. He began to fight and attempted to gain control of a .22 cal pistol in his right pocket.
Because of our training, three of us where able to gain control of the suspect and secure him while the forth officer kept the fourth suspect under observation.
Stay safe.
