Callagy Law: What to Do If You Get Pulled Over By the Police, Part 3

This blog is the third and final part of this three-part series; What to Do if You Get Pulled Over by the Police.  Part 1 described the approach of one brother, The Rebel.  We saw how his approach was a formula for receiving the maximum penalty from the police when stopped.  Part 2 described a second approach; employed by the brother we call The Comic.  His approach is fun and entertaining, and could succeed fairly often in avoiding a ticket, but would most likely elicit more laughter than leniency.

The third brother took a third approach.  We shall call him The Apologist.  Whenever this brother would get into trouble, he would readily admit his wrongdoing, and apologize for getting out of control or not listening.  He would explain his temporary lack of adherence to the rules as a strange, inexplicable anomaly, completely out of character, but an anomaly for which he and he alone was responsible.  He had no excuse.  He was sorry, and could only explain it as a loose moment.

And so, later, when stopped by the police, he would readily agree with the officer that the officer’s perspective was indeed the correct one.   He was guilty of making the illegal turn, but realized it a bit too late and could not avoid it by then, or he was thinking about some problems at home and therefore did not realize how fast he was going, but must have been speeding, since the officer stopped him, or he had the taillight fixed several times, but there must be some sort of electrical short his mechanic is just unable to trace, and he now knows he needs to bring the car to the dealership where he purchased the car.  None of these are “lies,” but are understandable explications of otherwise inexplicable anomalies.

One time he made a left-hand turn after coming to a stop at a red light.  It was late, with no one on the road, so he made the left while the light was still red, and was very soon pulled over.  He apologized to the officer and explained how tired he was from a very difficult week at work.  He understands he deserves the ticket, but wants the officer to know he was just trying to arrive home safely.

While none of the three approaches can be a guarantee for receiving leniency when stopped by the police, surely the approach of The Rebel is the least likely to be affective, and the approach of The Comic is better than The Rebel’s technique but still not the best.  The Apologist seems to employ the approach most likely to be met with leniency.  It is respectful and non-confrontational, empathetic to the inconvenience caused to the police officer, and maturely assumes responsibility for an act of personal misbehavior.

Whichever approach you choose good luck.

Original Post: http://callagylaw.com/callagy-law-get-pulled-police-part-3/