Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Hello, all! Thank you, law enforcement officers, for all that you do. I spent 5 years in the military and am now out, so I certainly understand the reluctance to trust outsiders or to discuss tactics. I don't want to be controversial in any way by posing this question, and please feel free to ignore if this question is overstepping. This is for an incident for a story that I am writing. My character is a passenger in this car.
The scenario:
- Deputy is sitting in a darkened car along the side of a dark rural road at about 0200 on a Saturday night watching traffic
- Passenger car blows the four way stop sign 1/4 mile down the road at 90+
- Deputy immediately pulls the car over, notes that it is occupied x5 and requests another unit before exiting the vehicle
- Prior to the other unit arriving, the teenage male front seat passenger exits the vehicle and starts running towards the patrol car yelling, "help him!" and motioning the deputy towards the car. A female passenger screams at the male to keep his hands up, and 4 of the 5 people in the vehicle exit the car.

What would you do at this point?

The scenario inside the car: they are high school students. A 16 year old male got drunk and overdosed on opiates at a remote campsite. Rather than call 911 and risk the police busting the party, this group decides to drive him to a hospital as fast as possible. When the deputy pulls them over, they are panicked by the delay and want him to come help them.

What about at this point? Do they get arrested or put in handcuffs?

And no, he definitely doesn't shoot them in the story.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Someone exits a vehicle and starts running at me on a traffic stop and a bunch of additional people suddenly exit the same vehicle? Everyone, especially the guy running towards me, is going to be immediately detained at gunpoint and proned out. If people do not immediately comply, as robocop said, there's going to be trouble. (around here, exiting a vehicle without being asked/told is a definite No-No and you running up on me is likely going to end up with you getting hit with something - a fist, elbow, knee, boot, spray, taser, baton, or maybe even a bullet)

Umm. The only tactic I will discuss is, teenagers or not 4-5 people start running at me after 90+ and reckless driving. There is a good chance 1 or more could would get a bullet ot 2 in them. Sure I carry a tazer, but I have 1 shot with it and thats if it makes contact. I have more than eneogh bullets and I know they will make contact.

After all the nut jobs killing eachother and LEO's if your scenario happened in reality there is a VERY good chance it would end in a tradgic but
justified shooting.

Thanks to those who replied.
Having all the characters shot on a traffic stop in the first part of the book, while it would definitely be an unexpected twist, would take the story in a direction I did not intend.
They'd probably be OK if they immediately complied with directions to stop, put their hands up, etc. right?
Thanks again for the help!

Thanks to those who replied.
Having all the characters shot on a traffic stop in the first part of the book, while it would definitely be an unexpected twist, would take the story in a direction I did not intend.
They'd probably be OK if they immediately complied with directions to stop, put their hands up, etc. right?
Thanks again for the help!

I was being a little dramatic, but realistic also.

Every traffic stop or citizen contact/encounter is going to be different so no one can give you a answer, there are to many "what if's".

If the were obviously "kids" and immediatly complied with orders amd made no sudden or "furtive" movements an experienced Officer would most likely determine why they were behaving like they were.

With that said, medical emergency or not, the driver would still
be held acountable for the driving infractions.

Our general response the a situation like this is, "if it was bad eneough to drive that way then you should have called a ambulance".

EVERYONE I contact is a potential threat - regardless of age, gender, size/shape, sexual preference, dress, speech, etc. I don't let my guard down one bit for teens/juvies.

Extremely Violent Shooting of Police Officer by Teen Criminals | Wild Police vids (http://www.wildpolicevids.com/media/134/Extremely-Violent-Shooting-of-Police-Officer-by-Teen-Criminals.html)