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[Switchback]

I'd HIGHLY reccomend that you not get out of your car unless instructed to. In most places with which I am familiar, this will really get the LEO excited.

Also, because of our unmarked vehicles and the fact we are in plain clothes, we are intimately familiar with the proper ways to ID ourselves (emergency equipment, raid jackets, bagdes, etc). No one wants to avoid us being misidentified as carjackers more than us. Another difference is, we rarely approach the car, we bring the occupants out to us. Keep in mind that in my case, the stop would not be a traffic stop.

And as I already mentioned, for us, this would be a last ditch thing. We avoid vehicle stops if at all possible. The fact that we do not use your "typical" unmarked vehicles (unless you consider pick-ups, cadillacs, and expeditions typical) is precisely the reason for this.

Also, I know some departments are instating policies, mandating the use of marked cars for traffic stops. However, this does not address other stops that may arise.

[Norm357]

In Georgia the police are not allowed to do "pull overs" in unmarked cars. I wouldnt pull over either, but I would be on the phone to 911 to report some yahoo in a POV was trying to pull me over and wait for the locals to find me.
Stay safe
Norm

[rare21]

we had a couple of guys around this area in ford explorers pulling people over and taking their money. now i'd rather explain to a judge that i wasn't pulling over for someone in a unrecognizable police car (caddie? what kind of cop has a caddie with lights? not any normal traffic cop that i've seen) if it was a crown with wig wags, siren, push bumper, a mass load of lights then maybe i'd pull over but still be cautious but a caddie or a truck (unmarked mind you) with that? thats suspicious to me and I'm a guy. If i was a female there'd be a gun in my car 24-7 and any unmarked car pulling me over would have to show a badge AND ID (which could be bought off the web, and id card easily made on a computer) and have a marked car come over to talk to me.

Trust no one, they're all human.

[rare21]

Hey ya'll i'm rereading my last post and i just want to let you all know that i dont wanna come off as a cop hater or anything like that. I really dont believe in unmarked cars EVEN though i have a old one that i bought off a constable but just because i need something that is reliable to get me across the country every few months (a cop car with 22000 miles how great is that). about the trapping thing I guess if I was a fedreal fugitive any lights behind me would make me pucker up (through the backside) but i really meant regular traffic stops that occur here where i live by unmarked cars. I see them all the time on my way to flight school. but good luck to all and there has been some progress at least locally in this matter. the local police and news (after pseudo cops were pulling people over) showed on tv the different aspects of the local unmarked police cars. The locations and actions of the red and blue lights, the wig wags, etc. Still it didn't go past the local cops to the many other law enforcement agencies that are in this city, (Sheriff's Dept, TABC, DPS, Constables, etc.) Good Luck and Fly Navy

[Swat1]

I completely understand being wary of an unmarked car and pulling over for an unmarked car, especially in a dark, low traffic area, however, fleeing at a high speed will only get you in BIG BIG trouble. Some very good advice was given above, regarding continuing to drive at a legal speed without speeding up, to a well lit area with witnesses. The other thing you can do, which I highly recommend, is call 911 on your' cell phone and report the traffic stop. They will know by your' plate if your' stop is legitimate.

I drive an unmarked Ford Expedition, which does not look like a police vehicle at all, however, when I turn on my emergency equipment, it leaves little doubt. I have wig-wags, red and blue corner strobes and a siren with wail, yelp and hyperyelp to choose from for the front, and red and blue strobes for the rear (brake lights strobe red and reverse lights strobe blue).

I pull vehicles over from time to time and have not had a problem. Fleeing at high speeds is NEVER going to get you any sympathy from anyone. As a matter of fact, if you are perceived as fleeing from a traffic stop, when we do get you stopped, your' comin' out at gunpoint via felony car stop. Trust me, you will have no doubt we are the police at that point.

Swat1*

[Stump]

I don't think that comment about the high speed pursuit was directed at me, because I said I wouldn't.
The best choice would be for me to call 911 on my cell phone, but since I was describing what I would do, I wouldn't do that because I don't have a cell phone. I also don't own a gun, by the way, rare).
Like I said before, it wouldn't happen to me anyway. My car is VERY distinct, and I'd say about 90% of the cops in my county know it as mine. Besides, it depends on where I am too, on a dark road, or in the middle of the city.
I understand what you are saying, but understand what I am saying. I am not going to pull over if I am not convinced it is a cop. I have to protect myself too.

[MaddMaxx]

I had a woman make me follow her for more than 5 miles one night, I got her for speeding and she slowed to the speed limit, but made me follow her until she got to a well lit place. She stopped and told me that "Oprah said I could stop when I felt safe". Welcome to Texas baby, you may beat the rap but you wont beat the ride. She went to jail for fleeing. I bet Oprah never offered to pay for her bail or her ticket.