Getting Pulled Over

What should you do if you see emergency lights in your rear-view mirror? First, PULL OVER! Many drivers see police lights in the mirror and continue to drive until a safe place to pull over. While we appreciate your thoughtfulness, many times a police officer may be trying to get past you and to another emergency or catch another vehicle.

If the officer is trying to pull your vehicle over and they feel you pulled over in an unsafe location they will just ask you to move your vehicle.

If you get stopped by an Officer of the Central Point Police Department you can expect the following:

• A courteous and professional officer who treats you with respect

• You will be told their name and the reason you have been stopped

• If you are issued a citation, you will be told how to resolve the citation

IF YOU ARE STOPPED BY THE CENTRAL POINT POLICE DEPARTMENT

1. As soon as you see emergency lights, pull over to the right and stop.

2. Turn on your interior dome light if at night

3. Keep you hands visible. We ask that you place both hands on your steering wheel

4. Give the officer your driver's license, registration and insurance. Oregon law requires you give this information to a uniformed officer or a plain clothes officer who displays proper identification. Failure to carry or present these items could result in citations or your arrest.

5. Answer all questions honestly and be respectful.

6. Touching or threatening a police officer or acting disorderly may result in your arrest. If an officer asks you to step out of your car, please do so slowly and carefully while avoiding any sudden movements. Provide the officer 6 to 8 feet for personal safety.

PLEASE DON'T BE OFFENDED - SAFETY IS OUR #1 PRIORITY

Both your safety and the safety of the Police Officer is extremely important. Most people already realize that law enforcement can be a very dangerous profession. Each year, Police Officers are injured and killed in the line of duty and many of those happen during traffic stops.

Please don't take our officer safety skills as being rude or standoffish. Officers are trained to keep their distance from people and to maintain vigilance at all times. Police Officers don't know who you are, your background, or what's in the vehicle until several minutes into a traffic stop. Until the Officer is confident that the risk of confrontation or injury is low they will maintain a defensive posture. You may know that you won't cause the officer any harm, but the officer has no idea what you are planning.