Do drivers have the right to know why they are being stopped by police?

Question

Motorists have little or no rights, but I thought they had the right to know why being stopped. I was stopped by police not given a ticket, not given a reason just had my back ground checked along with two passengers.

Answer 1

uhhh....yeah......

Answer 2

yes, because it would violate your right of not being subject to unreasonable search and seisure.

Answer 3

Yes...

Answer 4

yes they are suppos to tell you what you did wrong.  report the cop that pulled you over.

Answer 5

yesssss

Answer 6

YES - I have never heard of people being stopped and not knowing why stopped ( I always thought the police told them ).  I have not been stopped often, but I have always been told why.

Do you own the car and plates ? - Do you have a record ? - A computer check would take the plates back to the owner before they stopped you - Is this the reason why they stopped you ?

You still have a right to know why you were stopped !!!

Answer 7

yep. im pretty sure they have to have some reason to pull you over. and if they didnt give you one, you should call the dept and report the officer for not giving you a reason, or at least ask if someone there knows why you were pulled over. It could have been for something as simple as they were looking for a suspect in a car that was similar to yours, so they pulled you  over and interogated you for a bit to determine if you were the suspect in question or not (the reports for wanted cars/suspects are pretty vague, so the officers have to do a little reasearch on their own behalf to make the correct decision)

Answer 8

If asked, the Officer must tell you why he stopped you. He is not, however, required to do so if you don't ask.

Answer 9

They need to have a reason to pull you over...

It's in the bill of rights (Fourth Amendment):

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/...

You just had your civil rights violated. Contact a lawyer and give him all the information.

The day we start ignoring the bill of rights is the day we become the people this country was founded against.

Answer 10

I say, Heck yea, Unless it's obvious, Like, idk say drunk or reckless driving. But i see your point. If your stopped for no reason in particualr you can think of, i say yes. Not to mention i'd like to know why i was being stopped, if i can't think of a reason. Such as your pulling out of mcdonalds and your suddundly stopped. you look around. theres no cars and theres a big arrow on the ground and to the right of you theres a EXIT have a nice day sign. That should be understandable

Answer 11

they don't check your background...they check the car tags and the licenses of the people in the car...the police/sheriff's don't have the info on their computers for a background check.

so get the info correct before you start in on the police/sheriff's dept.

actually they DON'T have to tell you anything.

I was followed by a helicopter and police for 2 wks, I found out after 2 wks that someone in a car just like mine had commited a robbery. But the police didn't tell me that. They didn't have to.

Answer 12

I love all the wanna be lawyers on here.

Yes, they need a "reason" to stop you.

I can follow a car for 1.2 seconds a find a "reason".

There will always be a "reason"

No, there is no rule, law, ammendment etc that says you must be told the reason.

Answer 13

yes...the police office HAS to tell you why you were stopped...but what cops actually follow the rules??

Answer 14

You have absolutly all the right to know why you are being stopped by the police. If they are taking timeaway from you and arent giving you a legit reason to be stopped that isnt right. So of coarse you have every right to know why you are being stopped. Expecially if they arent going to give you a ticket.

Answer 15

Yes

Answer 16

yup...did you ask?

Answer 17

You are correct. Driving is not a right. It is a privilege granted to you by the state.

An officer needs a reason to stop you "reasonable suspicion" to see if you are licensed etc. The officer does not have to tell you why you were suspicious. It is good practice to tell people why you are doing what you are doing but it is not the law.

An officer does not have to tell a pedestrian why he was stopped for questioning either, it is just good practice.

If a physical arrest is made the officer must be able to articulate why he felt you were suspicious for the original stop.

For the person that said police can't do a mobile background check. I don't know where you live but I have been able to get all kinds of criminal background information on my mobile data terminal in my squad for the last 28 years.

Answer 18

Traditionally there's been a rule (not exactly a law) that a cop had to tell you why he stopped you.  It was related to the Bill of Rights, that you couldn't be searched or questioned without due cause.  

Over the last 30 year cops have gotten more and more power, and they don't have to respect these rights.  Constitutional protections have steadily deteriorated during all this time until there is hardly anything left.  Cops can tap your phone now, break down your door, stop you and search your car, just on a hunch, or just to hassle people they don't want in their neighborhood.

This began with Nixon's War on Drugs.  Before the War on Drugs a cop couldn't stop a guy on the sidewalk and ask to see his ID without some good reason.  Cops couldn't break down doors with or without a warrant.  Today, they can do just about whatever they like.  They can even arrest you and put you in jail indefinitely without charges.