Stop and Arrest

The blue lights come on in your rear window, followed by a short burst of siren signaling to you the police officer wants to you to pull over, stop and "chat for a while."

This is where your evening turns REAL BAD! What happens next and what you do and say in the following 10-15 minutes will have a great bearing on how well even the best of experienced attorneys can help you. You either know what to expect and make plans for it or you "wing it." If you choose to prepare yourself you may decide to employ some of the common knowledge regarding what you can expect from the police. In Georgia there are 159 counties along with several hundred cities and towns, so I won't try to inform you what approach any individual officer may employ.

My experience has taught me that even many Georgia State Patrol troopers don't follow their own training. They, like many other officers, ignore and often disregard the approved methods or standards they are taught, expected and PRESUMED to follow. You can imagine how such bad behavior on the part of the elite police forces of Georgia can "filter down" and degrade to something none of us would recognize as appropriate, legal or even ethical. So, I would instead refer you to a reading and understanding of the document below.

Here are the five phases of a "stop" recognized by the National Highway and Safety Administration (NHTSA). These practices, policies and standards are what are expected. The standards are what police are trained to do and trained to look for. After completing these steps the officer must make a decision whether to arrest a driver or let him go.