Everyone who comes in contact with the police must “pay attention” and “cooperate” with the lawful orders the officer is giving. That is the law! Let’s not make the encounter about anything else. Realistically, it could be about a lot of other factors, but for the citizen, they must understand paying attention, and cooperating is what “all law enforcement officers need to continue on with their investigation.” The citizen should not involve ego within the stop. By bringing ego into the situation, the citizen may become emotional, and take things personal, as if they are being picked on. Before one knows it by making things emotional, they may put themselves in a situation where they fail the “attitude test.” When a person does this, they put themselves at risk of how the officer perceives them and their behavior. Cooperating means there is less of a chance an officer can perceive a citizen’s behavior as threating, negative, or …show more content…
In order to cooperate, one must actively listen, meaning one can't be talking or yelling, making a call on a cell phone, or talking on the cell phone when the police are in the process of attempting to communicate with the citizen. Whether the citizen likes what's being said or not, they must put aside the thoughts of negativity towards the officer, and handle their law enforcement encounter with a “business like” demeanor. Just think for a second; have you ever attempted to communicate with someone that talked over you and wouldn’t listen to you as you attempted to talk with them? How did that make you feel? It’s not a pleasant experience, primarily because it’s nearly impossible to communicate with someone who is not listening. The words “listen” and “cooperate” are powerful during law enforcement encounters and the citizens should take every single word relayed by law enforcement officers seriously. “Why?” Some may ask. The answer is, “There is so much the officer is trying to process in a short period of time while making these stops and contacting citizens. Initially, they must determine if they are contacting a person who poses a threat to them. That thought alone brings an officers mentality to straight-up “No-Nonsense.” I’ve been there