To have refused to get out of my car for the police in the middle of the night?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Was driving home from work at just after 2 a.m last night when I was pulled over by a pair of male coppers in a squad car after I swerved in the road to avoid a pothole.

I stopped, lowered my window a crack and then turned the engine off and made sure all the doors were locked. They both got out of the car and came over, asked about where I was going, where I’d been etc etc and then asked about the swerve- I explained about the pothole, and that I didn’t consider the move to have been dangerous as there were no other vehicles or anywhere near me (they had been some distance in front of me at the time and on the other side of the road but there was absolutely no chance of a collision) and no pedestrians anywhere around.
Then they asked if I would get out of the car and take a breathalyser test. I refused- I said I’d happily drive to the police station (maybe a mile- mile and a half away) and take a breathalyser there, but that I didn’t feel safe getting out of my car and being alone with two massive blokes in the middle of the night with no other people around, and them being in a uniform didn’t change that for me.

They asked a few more questions about my work, if they needed to would anyone be able to verify that I’d been working, gave me a lecture about driving safely and in the end let me go home with no further action taken - but I’ve just had a phonecall from another police officer basically telling me off for not just doing as I was told.

Was I BU?

Sure but that’s not the same as them going round in pairs, in a marked car and wearing uniform, raping and beating up random women they pull over.

This specific situation, which the OP asked about, would not have worried me.

No. Not unreasonable in the slightest.

Where do all these posters live that have police stations with answering telephone lines.
I'm in a very busy part of London but this has been impossible for years!

OP you acted very sensibly, you didn't decline, you offered safer alternatives. Well done.

Wow so what we have is a police who essentially don't have the power to police its citizens. What a society we live in. I personally think you absolutely should have done as asked. How utterly disrepectful imo.

In fact, the new officer phoning you after they sent you on your way with no further action feels like harassment and I'd be raising a complaint.

Same.

Yes you would. If they really thought OP was a risk on the road they would have (correctly) forcibly removed her/prevented her from driving as necessary.

However I'm not entirely convinced about the phonecall. Who was the call made by and what did they say when you explained why you acted as you did OP?

100% I would have done the same as OP. And I would have had something to say to the officer who phoned the following day - followed up with a complaint.

DH recently complained after being harrassed and humiliated by a couple of officers after he broke down on the slip road off a motorway. The complaint was upheld and the police apologised for the "unprofessional attitude that fell far below the standard expected"

Absolutely in the right

ehen I was 11 my mum parked on double yellow lines (wrong I know!) she left me in the car to go get some food for 5-7 mins really. During that time 2 plain clothed officers came over and tried to get me to get out of the car. I wouldn’t open my door and they started hammering with their batons and trying to break the car window. I was obviously terrified that I was going to get kidnapped! My father was an actual police officer and had told me to never open the door if I was alone

they actually got into real trouble at the time because they didn’t show me identification or even tell me their names. Just tried to force me out of the car. Remember they weren’t in uniform so I just thought it was random men. They told me they were police but they just went a bit nuts!

since then I would get out in the middle of the night on my own.

Thinking about this some more, some options are:

In line with my previous post, perhaps you could have asked for a female officer to attend.

You could have took their collar number and phoned through to the station or control room to check their ID

Opened the window slightly and undertaken a breath test in the car

Just because you came out of an industrial estate doesn't mean you hadn't been drinking! If they had let you go, after seeing you swerve, and you went on and had an accident because you'd be drinking, then they'd be negligent of duty.

@FOJN I'm not inclined to find solutions to a problem of their making.

This. Surely all forces should have a strategy in place for male officers stopping lone females especially at night? Offer a female officer, contact control room, whatever. Okay, obviously not practical in every scenario, but it really is down to them to sort themselves out, not us.

The none white population of this country has been fucked for many, many years. Welcome to our world.

I wonder if you have this same level of mistrust towards every member of the medical profession? After all, the local GP was part of the conversation …

This is the most ridiculous thread I've ever seen. Males of every profession commit crime. Would you never go to a doctor again because there are plenty of doctors who have been convicted of sexual and violent offences. Use your common sense. For every police officer who would cause harm there are 100 who wouldnt. This is the kind of nonsense that causes real damage.

There was also stories of fake police in unmarked cars (but blue lights) stopping high performance cars to steal them.

you were advised to drive to a police station and stop there. Completely impractical advice as they were stopping you on the motorway.

We have a system which relies on policing by consent, which relies on integrity and accountability of the police. The loss of confidence in the police has been driven by lack of integrity and lack of accountability, and it will take some time for trust to be restored.

You’re right, it is absolutely appalling that the police have so comprehensively lost the trust of (the significantly more law-abiding) half of the population. The situation is not of our making, though, and the solution is not within our gift.

If in that situation you can if you want call 101 to verify their details and confirm they're on duty. You can also ask them to contact the control room on their radio to confirm they are genuine & on duty

I've been asked on a couple of occasions been asked to verify details via the radio. The officer has given the person their name & callsign. I've then confirmed their details on the radio & said where they were showing as being on my mapping system which the member of the public then confirmed

No officer should object to that being checked. They wouldn't allow someone they suspected of possible drink driving to continue driving but they could certainly ask for another crew to meet them or request a female officer.

Also anything said via the radio or the phone to the control room is recorded & can't be lost or tampered with or deleted

Yanbu

My son is a police officer, (and completely professional of course!). Nevertheless I would do the same as OP in that situation. The fact that they let her go shows that she did nothing wrong. They subsequent phone call was probably just someone being a bit arsy.

@Milamight what sort of damage?

I probably would have got out but I’d be more annoyed about the fact that I was being pulled over for trying to avoid one of the many potholes that haven’t been repaired.

Absolutely the right decision OP.
I'd do exactly the same in those circumstances.
Maybe all lone Women should do exactly the same.

Sends a clear message to the Male Police........I don't feel safe with you.

I would have done the same as you OP.

I was pulled over late at night on a country road by a single police officer on a motorbike. He didn't ask me to get out of the car, thank goodness. As it was, I still felt really worried, because I found I simply couldn't be sure that he WAS a police officer. And there was no-one else around. Ugh

I'd have let them go the test through the window. But I still trust the police.