Officers face uncertainty during stops Traffic Stops

According to a recent report released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation --called the Uniform Crime Report -- roughly 55 percent of police officer in-the-line-of-duty deaths stem from traffic stops going bad. This statistic makes traffic stops one of the most dangerous facets of police work.\n"The initial encounter with the subjects is the most dangerous part of the traffic stop. You don't know who you're stopping," said IU Police Department Officer Rebecca Lucas, an officer with eight years full-time experience on the department. \nShe said the time between the officer leaving a squad car and approaching the stopped car is the most critical.\n"The person you're stopping has a choice to resist or not," Lucas said. "If the person has a criminal background, they may use the time to catch you off guard when you can't react."\nBut while the initial encounter may be the most dangerous part of the traffic stop, all parts of the traffic stop have the potential to be as dangerous, if not more.\n"First, you have to get the vehicle (the car being pulled over) to stop, because it could result in a pursuit," IUPD Officer Brice Boembeke said. "Getting info from the driver is dangerous because drivers have access to what is in their car, and you don't know what's in their car."\nBoembeke also said at the point where a police officer is getting license and registration information from the driver, another danger also becomes the intense focus. He said there is a fear of becoming so focused on the driver the officer loses sight of what is going on around him.\n"That's why we use our cars as shields in case we don't see an oncoming car," Boembeke said. Officers strategically position squad cars at a traffic stop in a manner that forces oncoming traffic to veer to the left giving officers more room to work, he added.\nEven something as seemingly safe as the officer walking back from the stopped car to the squad car can have the potential to be very dangerous.\n"That's a vulnerable point, so you have to keep looking over your shoulder so something isn't happening," Boembeke said.\nBoembeke said there is a correlation between danger and having to divide your attention between tasks. For instance, when an officer is sitting in the squad car and writing out a traffic ticket, he or she has to pay attention to writing the ticket, transferring information from the operator's permit, listening to the radio, watching to make certain traffic isn't backing up or cars imposing an increasing risk to the safety of either the officer or the stopped driver. \nWhile these other variables often come into play, sometimes the unexpected can further complicate things.\nIn its most basic forms, a traffic stop consists of four main factors, said Boembeke. \n"Your car, their car, me and the driver," said Boembeke, referring to the police car, the stopped car, the officer, and the stopped driver.\nIn May, 2003, IUPD made over 200 traffic stops. Boembeke said each one of those traffic stops can be different and has a level of uncertainty in the outcome.\nBecause that uncertainty has the potential to be so dangerous, an IUPD officer's most valuable protection in this case isn't a 9mm Glock. It's the training instilled in the officers through the IUPD Academy. \nThere they are taught several different methods for doing what appear to be simple tasks, such as pulling their squad car up behind a non-moving vehicle and approaching a stopped car.\nBoembeke said he has been taught four different ways to position his squad car in relationship to the offender's vehicle, as well as at least 20 different ways to approach the car he pulled over. \nHis said his favorite method is to pull his squad car within three feet of the subject vehicle and then angle his squad car to the left. By doing so, Boembeke limits danger to himself by turning the squad car into a shield against oncoming traffic. The position of the squad car forces drivers to allow extra room to pass the traffic stop, significantly lowering the chances of Boembeke being hit by an oncoming car.\nIt seems possible traffic stops are so common that police officers may be lured into a false sense of security, but Boembeke said it's important to remember that if an officer makes 200 traffic stops in one month chances are not one of those stops will be the same as another.\n"That's why we train all year. We try to train them [officers] that every time they stop a car, it could be a worst case scenario," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. \nFor things you can do to make a traffic stop go smoother see the IUPD Web site at www.indiana.edu/~iupd.