Curtis Klingle

Play Stupid Games; Win Stupid Prizes

Play Stupid Games; Win Stupid Prizes

Over the past couple of decades, we have witnessed an increase in acts of defiance directed at law enforcement officers (LEOs). I suspect the root of this is found in people being exasperated and at their wits end with the many problems with our government’s actions or inactions. Rather than expressing their frustration and disappointment to their elected officials, it is instead being projected onto the government official that the public encounters most, the LEO. These acts, though the actor(s) may think they are practicing civil disobedience, they are not. In civil disobedience one is seeking to effect changes in laws or practices that are deemed unjust and are typically acts of refusal for certain laws for moral reasons. However, what we are witnessing is something different. This defiance is the practice of stupidly willful acts of the ignorant variety; they are just being plain ole obstinate.

A Texas Peace Officer swears to uphold and defend the Constitution, and we are among the most ardent defenders of that venerated document. We are also sworn to enforce the law. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) Subchapter B, Article 2A.051 elucidates that our duty as peace officers is to “preserve the peace within our jurisdiction using all lawful means; and in every case … interfere without a warrant to prevent or suppress a crime.” To simplify, we are mandated to not only enforce the law, but to also make every effort to prevent the occurrence of criminal activity. If we have probable cause or reasonable suspicion that you have violated the law or intend to do so, we are not only authorized but mandated to, shall we say, get right in the middle of your business.

Contrary to the way law enforcement is depicted in the film industry, on the news, or by social media, we don’t run around violating people’s rights. We are people too, and most of us do live by the whole “do unto others” theme. The basic problem with most defiant persons we encounter is they do not know the law, but they think they do. They attend training at the University of YouTube and ingest the opinions of people who could no more find their backsides with both hands and a flashlight than they could instruct anyone on the law. They then go out into the public actually believing this fallacious tripe, and no matter how hard we try to explain the law, even going so far as actually showing them the law, it is almost always an act in futility. We find ourselves on an all too regular basis, expending exorbitant amounts of energy trying to dissuade people from being stupid. Pardon my crudeness, it is a classic case of having one’s head inserted in the posterior portion of one’s anatomy.

There are a couple of rules I live by in this profession. Rule #1- Be nice, until its time not to be nice.  This is a paraphrase of a line from the 1989 Patrick Swayze/Sam Elliot film, “Road House.” It is a very simple philosophy, but yet I believe those words are the key to all human interaction. If we were kind and considerate of one another there would be far fewer times where we would need “…to not be nice.”  

I am also cognizant that I may be the only LEO a person interacts with in their lifetime. My goal is to leave every person with a good impression, even if that encounter ultimately results in a citation or an arrest. Of course, whether that situation is pleasant is largely up to them, which brings me to my second rule: “Ask (rule 2a), Tell (rule 2b), Make (rule 2c).”

Where most people encounter a LEO is in a traffic stop setting. So, it isn’t just happenstance that this is also where we have seen this significant increase in defiance, and in many instances unwarranted aggressive resistance. That being the case, I believe using a traffic stop scenario will explain how these rules are applied while enforcing the law and demonstrate the great lengths we will go in attempt to avoid unpleasantries.

The first step in a traffic stop encounter is identifying myself. Even though I will be in uniform, once the stop is made, I will still inform the driver of who I am. In most instances, I will provide my first and last name and my place of employment, which is the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Contrary to popular belief, there is no law which mandates that I provide the driver with the reason for the stop at this stage. Providing the reason for the stop may be offered during my initial contact, or it may be postponed until I obtain their identification. Again, it is my prerogative. Typically, though, once my introduction is complete, I will give them the reason for the stop. I will then ask the driver for identification. Please understand that while I may be asking for identification, it is merely a polite way of reminding them of something they are required by law to produce. That identification should be in the form of a driver’s license, which in Texas you must possess in order to legally operate a motor vehicle. If they do not have their license with them, another option is providing their full name, date of birth, and address. Again, the driver is mandated by law to provide one or the other. During this interaction I am asking for identification (rule #2a) while employing rule #1, being nice.

Let’s say that they refuse to comply with my request for identification. This action immediately provides me with probable cause for their arrest. Remember, they are required to produce identification. Because refusal is out of the norm, I will also begin wondering why they are refusing. “Is this person armed?” “Do they have something illegal on their person or in the vehicle?” However, even with suspicions arising I will usually ask for identification again, applying rule #2a, and I will perform this step in most instances for a minimum of one more time, all the while using rule #1, being nice. If they fail to comply on my third attempt, they will have made a conscious decision to defy State law. This requires me to move to rule #2b, tell, and in most instances, I will still employ rule #1, be nice.

To tell someone in this situation is the same as giving them a direct order. I will inform the driver that I am no longer asking but telling/ordering them to provide me with identification. I will further inform them that failure to do so will result in their arrest for failure to identify. Remember, it is State law that they must provide identification, and I already have probable cause to arrest them but, in most cases, I will repeat rule #2b, and tell them a total of three times, while maintaining rule #1, being nice. There is no mandate to provide three opportunities. Failing to comply with rule #2b, tell, requires that I move to rule #2c, make, which could simultaneously require me to move into the second half of rule #1, to not be nice.

At this stage I inform the person that they are under arrest for failure to identify and instruct them to get out of the vehicle. (A quick side note, understand that we can tell/order you out of the vehicle at any time, even at the very beginning of the encounter and we do not have to provide a reason. FYI: this is typically done though for our safety.) I will employ rule #2b again, tell/order them to exit the vehicle three times, even though we are now in the realm of rule #2c, make. A brief pause here will reveal that at the end of this series of events, I will have given the driver a minimum of nine (9) opportunities to comply. I don’t know a single parent who is that patient with a three-year-old, but of course, the similitude between our driver and a three-year-old cannot go unnoticed.

Again, the driver has been informed that they are under arrest for failing to identify. Because they have failed to comply with an order to step out of the vehicle as well, I will inform them of the new charge: resisting arrest, and I will then proceed to remove any barriers between them and I. If the vehicle is unlocked, I will open the door and remove them from the vehicle. However, if they have locked the doors and refused to unlock them, the next step is to break out a side window in order to gain access to them. We are now in rule #2c, make, and they are refusing to comply. Also, they now have two charges: fail to identify and resisting arrest. Bear in mind that I still have no idea if they are armed or concealing something illegal. Also, if at any time during this incident they physically harm me in any way, they will receive yet another charge, that being Aggravated Assault of a Public Servant.

If we go back to the very beginning of this encounter, we can see how all of this could have been easily avoided. Instead, they are now facing three very serious criminal charges, incarceration, and all of the associated costs including: impounding of their vehicle, attorney costs, court fees, and a plethora of other factors simply because they wanted to be defiant.  

Understand, we do end up having to go hands on with people from time to time, and as for myself, I can honestly say that I have never put hands on a person that didn’t earn it. That proclamation can be extended to virtually all LEOs I have worked with. What I mean by that is, we are going to make every effort to avoid an escalation of things, but if you willfully go out looking for a fight with the police you are going to find one; I will further add that you will also lose. To clarify, you may beat me down in an encounter (been there and got the t-shirt), you may even seriously injure me (lost 50% of mobility in my left hand) or attempt to kill me (been shot at and though it is exhilarating, it ain’t much fun) you are not going to win. Oh, you may win the initial battle, but you will lose the war. You see, when you choose the defiance route we will request back up to our location and like reciting a fairy tale incantation, it will almost magically begin raining police.

Should we end up meeting at some point in the future, you can count on me being nice, until its time not to be nice, but the direction our interaction takes during application of the phases of rule #2 Ask, Tell, Make, is entirely up to you. Just remember what we learned in this scenario, if you play stupid games, you will win stupid prizes.

C. Klingle