On traffic stops and during encounters with suspects/violators, I usually ask them to hang up their cell phones during the contact. I don’t want them talking with someone else who may bring weapons to the scene, come to fight with you, instruct the suspect/violator to do anything against you; anything that may jeopardize your safety.
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Just a couple of hours ago, I conducted a traffic stop on a van driven by a mother with kids. The driver didn’t have her DL or any type of ID on/about her person. I asked her to exit her vehicle and we stood on the side of the road. She didn’t have a cell phone on her. Next thing I know, the husband showed up in one vehicle, and then the father-in-law showed up in another after the children in the van called them. I was a one-man unit w/o backup available for at least 5-10 minutes (which could have been very, very long minutes). Everything turned out OK and I held everything under control, but WHAT IF the two men who were called to the scene by the cell phone showed up to hurt me? Should I initially have asked the driver if she had a cell phone in the vehicle and should I have taken it away until the contact was concluded? I have done that before and I think it should be practiced more often. After all, we can never be too safe.