Deputy Frank Sloup of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona is back at it again with yet another lesson when it comes to routine traffic stops and officer requests. This time, it’s all about why you should listen if an officer is asking you to step out of your vehicle.
It isn’t exactly clear as to when the video was originally taken, though it’s come back around on Facebook due to Sloup’s video. There is a moment where you can see that the video was taken by the Seymour Police Department in Connecticut. You can quite literally see what the problem is from the very start, as the officer has to ask the woman sitting inside the vehicle various times to step out.
It’s also unclear what warranted the stop, though even I know that if a cop asks you to get out of the car, you get out of the car. While there aren’t any details concerning what happened once the woman officially got out of the vehicle, everything she did before that proves it wasn’t likely to be good.
Sloup uses this video as a teaching moment about the laws of Pennsylvania and what the woman should have done instead. He even takes a moment to praise the way that the officer handled the whole situation from beginning to end.
The Situation Went Exactly Where You’d Expect
As I explained above, the video starts off very strong, as you can hear the officer in question asking the woman he pulled over to step out of her vehicle. I don’t know about you, but when an officer asks me to do something, especially when they have reason to, I do it.
Unfortunately, for this woman, she thought she could just outwait the officer’s patience. Clearly, he wasn’t having any of this and instead only continued to ask the woman to step out of her vehicle, each time with a bit more force.
The video ends shortly after this, with the officer being able to get to the driver’s side door to open it and continue to ask the woman again. Just before the video cuts back to Sloupe, the officer reminds the female driver that she is resisting law enforcement.
Interestingly, to this, she replies that she isn’t resisting. It sure looks like resisting to me.
Sloup Says Many Drivers Get This Wrong
When Sloup jumps in, he starts off by saying that he’s going to “beat this dead horse one more time” and says, “When law enforcement stops you during a traffic stop, you are considered seized under the Fourth Amendment.” He then goes on to explain exactly what this sort of seizure entails.
According to Sloup, this means that the officers can dictate where they need you to be, whether that be inside your car or outside. He then goes on to also explain what the law is in Pennsylvania, and points out the Pennsylvania vs Mimms law, which is what helped dictate this law to begin with.
It seems as though this opinion isn’t just limited to Sloup and the law. Tons of people took to the comments of the viral Facebook video to share their own opinions, with many agreeing with the two.
The Comment Section Didn’t Hold Back
One of the very top comments goes over when Sloup pointed out the way that the officer spoke, which he praised. The comment reads, “First you ask. Then, you tell. Then, you make.”
Others pointed to the level of disrespect that this driver must have for the officer, with another comment reading, “Being respectful goes a long way. And btw, the place to argue is court, not on the traffic stop.” Some even focused on the fact that the officer had to yell at all.
While the date and time of this specific video were not made available within this particular clip, it has gone viral due to Frank Sloup’s Facebook post, using it as a cautionary tale about what could happen if you choose not to listen to law enforcement. The video does appear to have been taken by officers at the Seymour Police Department in Connecticut.