OC Sheriff’s Office offers Tips regarding Traffic Stops

With much discussion concerning traffic stops and what the conduct of officers and citizens should be, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is offering these tips to ensure safety and courtesy on both sides. The basic definition of a traffic stop, according to the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, is a temporary detention to conduct an investigation or to conduct an enforcement action. A traffic stop normally occurs because of a violation of traffic law or the observance by an officer of suspicious or criminal activity. However, the officer must be able to articulate the reason for the stop. Considering that most individuals, including those involved in criminal activities, travel from point A to point B and beyond via vehicles on the roadways, traffic stops are some of the most dangerous duties that officers conduct on a daily basis. “Considering that traffic stops are anything but routine and can present danger to our officers, the Sheriff’s Office trains our officers to be cautious but remain courteous and professional,” says Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw. “Some of our citizens never interact with law enforcement unless they are involved in a traffic stop. We want our deputies’ interaction to be as professional as possible. We encourage our citizens to remain calm, be honest, and simply comply with the information needed. If there is an issue with how you were treated, feel free to follow up with the deputy’s supervisor.” If a citizen has a concealed weapon due to having a concealed weapon permit, let the officer know upfront. Citizens are allowed to carry a firearm in the glove compartment without a CWP permit and should inform the officer as well if this is the case. The only exception to this would apply to citizens having been convicted of a crime prohibiting them from possessing a firearm. Sheriff Crenshaw goes on to say, “We encourage our deputies to build relationships with our citizens on a daily basis. Getting to know the citizens we serve makes situations such as traffic stops less stressful for all of us. If you see a law enforcement officer out in public, I encourage you to introduce yourself. I tell our deputies to do the same and have included this interaction in our mission statement. We want to build those partnerships to make our county a safer place.” Captain Jeff Underwood of the Uniform Patrol Division of the Sheriff’s Office discusses some tips and things to remember in regards to an officer initiating a traffic stop. “From start to finish, once an officer has initiated a traffic stop via blue lights, citizens should pull over immediately in a safe area and obey the original signals as quickly as they are able to. If someone is not hitting their brakes or operating a turn signal, that puts the officer on guard immediately, so the quicker the person pulls over, the officer is less likely to think something suspicious is going on. While the citizen is waiting for the officer to make contact with them, the person should remain in the vehicle and keep their hands visible at all times. This is due to safety reasons. The person who has been pulled over should obey officer directions. When requested for personal information, such as a driver’s license, registration or proof of insurance, the driver is required by law to provide that to the officer. The officer has to tell them why they were stopped when asked, and should be doing that even if the citizen does not ask what the reason for the stop is. The citizen may dispute why they were stopped but the time to argue any charges that may be issued is in court. Any confrontation does not aid either the officer or the person being pulled over. From a safety aspect as a passenger, keep your hands visible at all times. By law, an officer can have the occupants of a vehicle exit that vehicle at any time. If that is done, they should comply but only should exit the vehicle after being asked to do so. If a citizen has a complaint in regards to a traffic stop, those issues should be brought to the attention of the officer’s supervisor. All Uniform Patrol Officers at the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office wear body cameras and all interactions are recorded and that video cannot be altered by the deputies. We have reviewed traffic stops and other interactions between officers and citizens and the video has helped in the past to resolve complaints about officer actions, and verify the officer’s reporting of the incident,” says Captain Underwood. South Carolina law also requires officers who initiate traffic stops to record certain information, such as the age, gender and race of individuals that they pull over. Below are statistics and a breakdown of information on Sheriff’s Office traffic stops in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office initiated 1,770 vehicle stops in 2015 compared to 1,979 in 2014 and 1,371 in 2013. The following is a breakdown of the ethnicity for males and females:
2013 – Female – 13 Hispanic, 85 African American, 366 Caucasian, 13 Other
2013 – Male – 44 Hispanic, 129 African American, 710 Caucasian, 11 Other
2014 – Female – 24 Hispanic, 106 African American, 535 Caucasian, 13 Other
2014 – Male – 82 Hispanic, 216 African American, 988 Caucasian, 15 Other
2015 – Female – 21 Hispanic, 59 African American, 465 Caucasian, 4 other
2015 – Male – 67 Hispanic, 146 African American, 971 Caucasian, 16 other
Deputy’s with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office should identify themselves along with the agency and explain the reason for the traffic stop. On average, the Sheriff’s Office has stopped less than five vehicles per day over the past three years. Traffic stops are not routine for the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office but sometimes necessary for the safety of citizens.