Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

i was recently pulled over by anaheim police and told that i was pulled over for "a traffic stop". then asked to show drivers license registration insurance asked if i had any outstanding warrants. everything was up to date and my record is clean as a whistle never had a ticket or been in trouble with the law EVER! Was asked to get out of car and asked to be searched for weapons i consented asked to search car i consented. my passenger was the owner of car and had a slight bit of an attitude about not being told exactly what it was that i did to be pulled over. we were detained almost a half hour and still not ever told any specific reason for the stop. is there such a thing as a general "traffic stop" that allows police to pull people over who haven't broken any laws or made any moving violations whatsoever? just randomly pull anyone over ? i had co-operated consented to being searched hoping that i could get on my way to go pick up my daughter sooner but ended up with the cop saying i had been very co-operative and he was going to just let me go, but since my passenger had an attitude i was going to get a ticket. then he searched all over the outside of the car up and down and under and ended up giving me a fix it ticket for a very small crack in the windshield. Was he really legally allowed to pull me over just under the pretense of a "traffic stop"? i thought there had to be a legitimate reason like speeding or weaving or not using signals correctly or something specific. i was pulled over in anaheim california. are cops allowed to do that ? im not asking if they can get away with it i want to know if they have the right to do it.

Yes. Any moving violations or equipment violations are all we need to effect a traffic stop. This includes cracked windshields.

i was recently pulled over by anaheim police and told that i was pulled over for "a traffic stop". then asked to show drivers license registration insurance asked if i had any outstanding warrants. everything was up to date and my record is clean as a whistle never had a ticket or been in trouble with the law EVER! Was asked to get out of car and asked to be searched for weapons i consented asked to search car i consented. my passenger was the owner of car and had a slight bit of an attitude about not being told exactly what it was that i did to be pulled over. we were detained almost a half hour and still not ever told any specific reason for the stop. is there such a thing as a general "traffic stop" that allows police to pull people over who haven't broken any laws or made any moving violations whatsoever? just randomly pull anyone over ? i had co-operated consented to being searched hoping that i could get on my way to go pick up my daughter sooner but ended up with the cop saying i had been very co-operative and he was going to just let me go, but since my passenger had an attitude i was going to get a ticket. then he searched all over the outside of the car up and down and under and ended up giving me a fix it ticket for a very small crack in the windshield. Was he really legally allowed to pull me over just under the pretense of a "traffic stop"? i thought there had to be a legitimate reason like speeding or weaving or not using signals correctly or something specific. i was pulled over in anaheim california. are cops allowed to do that ? im not asking if they can get away with it i want to know if they have the right to do it.

Yes, they have the right to pull you over and cite you for a damaged windshield.

there is no way he saw the crack in the windshield prior to being pulled over . it is very small and he came up from behind me and it is not visible from the rear . that was not why i was stopped. i am absolutely sure of this.

So long as there is reasonable suspicion that you violated equipment or traffic codes, you can be stopped. If you were speeding at all - you can be stopped. You have no clue what the officer saw. Don't even presume to.

If you don't like getting stopped and being let go with a warning, then go complain somewhere else. You won't get any sympathy here.

im not looking for sympathy i would like to know if the police have the right to pull someone over without a legitimate reason can they just randomly pull someone over than look for infractions or evidence to arrest or cite them?

We are not allowed to pull people over without having a pre-established reason.

You never said you asked the officer specifically why you were pulled over. There are TONS of vehicle code violations the public has never even heard of. It could have been a moving violation, or a mechanical violation (Like the broken windshield you admittedly had.)

Be happy you only got cited for an equipment violation, because a mover will give ya points on your license.

You have no evidence that the officer didn't have a good reason to stop you.

All you know is that he didn't TELL you what it was.

That's not the same thing as not having a reason.

While I almost always do tell people why I stopped them, I am not obligated to do so.

-Citicop.

Vehicle and Equipment Inspection

2806. Any regularly employed and salaried police officer or deputy sheriff, or any reserve police officer or reserve deputy sheriff listed in Section 830.6 of the Penal Code, having reasonable cause to believe that any vehicle or combination of vehicles is not equipped as required by this code or is in any unsafe condition as to endanger any person, may require the driver to stop and submit the vehicle or combination of vehicles to an inspection and those tests as may be appropriate to determine the safety to persons and compliance with the code.


Amended Sec. 5, Ch. 292, Stats. 2003. Effective January 1, 2004


Any further questions?

Thanks Sgt. Next question.

Be Safe.

In addition to the above (CVC related), perhaps they had reasonable cause (which is less substantial than PC) to believe criminal acts were afoot. An LEO can also have RC based on recent crimes, physical descriptions, BOLO's, certain geographic areas known for criminal activity, etc....the list goes on. An officer also may order the occupants of a vehicle out at any time for no other reason than officer safety. T-stop 101...lol

Sorry for posting on an old thread.