1/16 1:39pm Hi there - just to weigh in on the traffic stop... [nhtsa.dot.gov link] The Facts Traffic stops regularly result in criminal arrests, drug interdiction, and criminal investigations. Some traffic stops are world renowned. For example, the Oklahoma City bombing suspect, Timothy McVeigh, was apprehended by an Oklahoma State Trooper while making a "routine" traffic stop. Serial murderer Ted Bundy, who killed over 22 women, and the Atlanta child killer, Wayne Williams, who killed 28, were also apprehended because of traffic stops. "Son of Sam," David Berkowitz, who killed 6 and wounded 7, was captured because of a parking ticket. While not necessarily making national news, police officers and sheriff's deputies make hundreds of traffic stops every day that result in criminal apprehensions, directly affecting the security and safety of communities across the country. There are many examples of the agencies and officers who make this a regular part of their job. The following illustrate some examples. California Highway Patrol Officer Les Knapp stopped a truck for an expired Arizona registration. The female driver and male passenger were unable to produce current registration information for the vehicle. A vehicle identification number check revealed the truck had been taken in Arizona during a homicide three days prior to the stop. Descriptions of a couple wanted in connection with the murder matched the descriptions of the vehicle occupants Officer Knapp had stopped. Officer Knapp placed both subjects under arrest for auto theft, receiving stolen property, and homicide. After questioning, the couple eventually admitted involvement in the homicide. Arizona authorities extradited them to face charges. Officer Knapp has made other "looking beyond the ticket" stops and says catching criminals is simply "part of his job." Colorado State Patrol Trooper Timothy Marnell stopped a vehicle for a speeding violation. The driver, who did not have any identification, was later identified as a wanted and extremely dangerous fugitive. The subject was looking for papers in the vehicle when Trooper Marnell noticed he was reaching under his jacket. Trooper Marnell felt he was in danger, drew his weapon and directed the occupant from the vehicle. Without backup, Marnell took the subject into custody. The subject was carrying a semi-automatic handgun in a shoulder holster under his jacket and two illegal knives. He had a sawed-off shotgun under a sleeping bag on the front seat of the vehicle. The subject was an escaped felon from a Utah correctional facility with convictions for murder, armed robbery, and attempted murder of a police officer. Trooper Marnell had no idea how this speeding violation would turn out when he decided to stop the vehicle. His initiative and attention to cues "beyond the ticket" resulted in a significant arrest and contributed to his own personal safety. "Vehicles are involved to some degree in virtually every crime and traffic law enforcement regularly identifies those who have perpetrated-or who are planning to commit-serious criminal acts. For example, four of the September 11 terrorists were issued speeding tickets just before that infamous day, [ref1] and those 19 terrorists had obtained a total of 34 driver's licenses and identity cards. [ref2] Competent and dedicated police officers legitimately detect irregularities during traffic stops and alertly connect the dots to solve more significant crimes. Registration irregularities contributed to Timothy J. McVeigh's apprehension just 75 minutes after the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. Other examples are the 2002 arrest of a Utah driver discovered with two corpses in his vehicle's trunk as he was en route to commit a third murder, and the 2002 seizure of Washington, D.C., snipers John A. Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. ...more police officers in the United States have died accidentally than have been killed feloniously each year beginning in 1998, [ref4] and being struck by vehicles has ranked as the number two cause of accidental police officer deaths...for at least the last decade. [ref5] " [ref5] From The Police Chief, vol. 72, no. 7, July 2005. Copyright held by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 515 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA. - LB Norfolknet.com your community, on-line