Quote:
Originally Posted by zx10guy
From what I understand about traffic stops, I seem to recall many officers stating it's one of the most dangerous situations they deal with on a daily basis. Not from possibly being hit by some numbnuts idiot driver on their cell phone not paying attention. But not knowing if the occupant in the car is going to start shooting once the officer gets next to the car.
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Traffic stops are literally like rolling dice in a game of Craps. You never know what's going to happen and when your number is up. Add to that the fact that we lose officers due to being hit by passing cars on the freeway, so that's an entirely different animal to deal with (....
and whenever possible, we direct vehicles off of the freeway during a stop).
Let me paint a picture.....
...Imagine that 20-30 times a day (...
or more), you have to enter into a room at your place of employment with a gun pointed at you, not knowing if opening that door will trigger that gun to go off. Some days it never goes off and everybody goes home, but other days it does and one of your co-workers dies or is injured. That is the game we play. Sure, we chose to play by entering into the profession, but that doesn't nullify that reality. Somebody has to do the job, and it's important to consider what an officer might have dealt with before making police contact with you (...
or what that officer might have dealt with the shift before that he/she is still trying to process; i.e....maybe they worked a traffic collision where all of the children in the car died or maybe an officer was shot the night before). Hyper-vigilance is a necessary part of policing, and it's understandable why officers might be on edge any given day. That's part of the reason why psychological evaluations and behavioral analysis is such a big part of the hiring process (...
despite the approach having its flaws; psychologists are just people too, and they aren't perfect either, but are extremely judgmental).