Examples in the mainstream media of individuals being detained during a routine traffic stop can be polarizing. Take the recent incident that occurred in Florida with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, for example. In today’s world, circumstances surrounding these incidents are not left to speculation, as officers must be equipped with working body cameras and have them activated during any traffic stop. Whether or not Tyreek Hill should have been forcibly removed from his vehicle during the incident involving himself and Miami police is a question for a Florida attorney, but there are laws in place in New Jersey that all residents of the state should be aware of so that they do not find themselves in a similar predicament.
Most are familiar with the initial song and dance that accompanies a traffic stop. Officers activate their lights, a driver pulls over, and the officer approaches and asks for their license, registration, and proof of insurance. So long as the traffic stop is “lawful”, meaning that the officer has “reasonable and articulable suspicion that an offense, including a minor traffic offense, has been or is being committed,” they may “’inquire’ into matters unrelated to the justification for the traffic stop,” as well as make “ordinary inquiries incident to [the traffic] stop.” State v. Nelson, 237 N.J. 540, 552 (2019). An officer may only proceed with further, broader questioning if the circumstances surrounding the stop “give rise to suspicions unrelated to the traffic offense.” Id.
Generally, more issues tend to occur when officers begin ordering drivers and passengers to exit their vehicles. Often, this will be done during traffic stops where the driver is suspected of driving under the influence and the officer wants to conduct Standard Field Sobriety Tests. In that case, as a driver, you must exit the car. In fact, in New Jersey, a police officer “may routinely ask a driver stopped for a traffic violation to get out of the car[.]” State v. Boston, 469 N.J. Super. 223, 247 (App. Div. 2021). Not complying with officer directions to exit a vehicle may result in criminal charges, such as obstruction or resisting arrest, depending on the surrounding circumstances. As a passenger, however, you may only be ordered out of a vehicle if an officer can “point to specific and articulable facts that would warrant heightened caution,” which would warrant the request. Id. One example of a fact that could give rise to such “heightened caution” is if the passenger in question is making “furtive movements” while waiting in the car, as this could lead an officer to believe that the passenger is in possession of a weapon. State v. Bacome, 228 N.J. 94, 107-08 (2017).
