Drop the Pen! What Every Writer Needs to Know About Real Police Work: Police Batons

By David Lane Williams

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One of the most frequently asked questions I get at writer’s events when I speak or sit on discussion panels has to do with police weapons other than firearms. Writers want to understand how and when such tools are utilized, as well as the training involved. Tasers and pepper spray always come up, but occasionally someone wants to get a better grasp on police batons for a scene they're writing. 

One of the early roles in policing in Western Europe and the fledgling American colonies was that of the Night Watchman. Often these people patrolled what we would now call the Red-Light district of his town or city, charged with keeping the peace—or at least keeping the ruckus relatively quiet so that the folks in the swanky part of town weren’t disturbed. There was no training curriculum or written policy manual. The men hired on (often just for a night or two to make enough for a few pints) were almost always from the same neighborhood they patrolled, often just as likely to get into a knife fight, gamble, or hire a lady of the evening as the people they’d been hired to manage. 

A night watchman was usually a large fellow, willing to get into a physical scrape but menacing enough that most people wouldn’t take him on. Just in case, though, night watchmen are always depicted as carrying some type of club. This “billy club,” a name derived from burglar slang for a short bar or length of wood used to pry or bust windows, became a symbol for the long (and potentially brutal) arm of the law. 

Flash forward in history to Rodney King, a man whose assault at the hands of Los Angeles police officers after a high-speed pursuit was filmed on a newfangled device called a handheld video recorder in 1991. The footage of the incident was seen by millions internationally, and a new era of the public documenting and broadcasting actions taken by their government began.

The officers who struck King so relentlessly were using a style of baton called the PR 24. The PR 24 came with a handle jutting out perpendicular from one end of the stick, which allowed for a variety of techniques, such as swinging it with greater speed, using it on body pressure points, and gripping it in a way that allowed for greater protection against a blow from a blunt object or a slashing knife blade. 

The outcry after the Rodney King assault was so loud and angry that police chiefs and sheriffs across the land pulled the PR24 off the streets. That was fine with most patrol officers because the old-style batons were already falling out of use. I suppose they were a reasonable tool back in the days when cops primarily walked a beat, but they were lousy for getting in and out of a car. For that reason, most guys took them out of their belts and laid them on the passenger seat while driving around their districts. This resulted in batons being left behind in the car when the officer got out to address an emergency or chase a suspect on foot.

Enter the expandable baton. This form of “nightstick” is about 9 inches long when collapsed, but some models can extend to nearly 3 feet with the flick of a wrist. This makes them ideal for carrying in a leather holster on one’s duty belt, making it much easier to get into and out of the squad car. They’re also less intimidating than a full-length bat-style or PR24 baton, which is better for officers out there trying to forge positive relationships in the community. 

In my Texas police academy, cadets were expected to take one strike to the outer thigh with the baton. Our academy chief was a sadistic marine with sociopathic tendencies. He was an inch or two over six feet, muscular, Mr. Clean bald with an angry brow line. The only time I ever saw him smile was when I was doing pushups (usually for laughing while standing at attention), or on the day he was hitting us with that damn baton. I remember him raising that nightstick back behind his shoulder and slamming it sideways into my left thigh with all the power in his frame. I collapsed to the ground as I squeezed my throbbing leg and bit my lower lip to keep from wailing like a lost calf. I didn’t walk right for weeks.

Ah, training. 

A police baton falls into the category of “less lethal” on the force continuum, meaning it is not intended to inflict a mortal wound but could if it strikes the head, throat, or neck. Training and policy dictate that a baton strike be aimed at the limbs, and only in a situation that has turned violent. It is not to be utilized as an implement of punishment, and any such use of force should be documented and investigated to ensure the officer wielding the weapon used reasonable force in the moment. 

I only used my baton four times during my career. Two of those were to break and rake a window to gain entry during manhunts. Another time, I cracked the windshield of a guy stoned out of his gourd while driving his pickup through an outdoor concert crowd. I was running alongside his truck, yelling at him to stop, but he was so high he didn’t even know I was there until I started whacking his truck with that metal stick. 

He stopped. 

The only time I struck a human with a baton was on a fellow who had pulled a pair of scissors on his ex-girlfriend. Before he pulled the scissors, the ex was taunting him in front of me with her new boyfriend, saying all manner of cruel things about his manhood. I couldn’t let him stab her with the scissors, but I felt bad for the guy even as I hit him with all I had. I’ll never forget his face: anguish, heartbreak, agony, and surprise all showing at the same time. It was a rough way to learn about toxic relationships. 

It is possible that some of you might want to incorporate a police baton into the story of a future work in progress. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have more questions on the topic (or others related to authentic police work for writers). Happy to get you squared away in that regard, and I won’t even make you take a baton strike to the leg. 

Carry on. 

Drop the Pen! What Every Writer Should Know About Real Police Work: Traffic Stops, Part Two

By David Lane Williams

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Last month, we discussed traffic stops, focusing primarily on how police officers stopping vehicles based on relatively minor offenses can lead to the detection and arrest of violent criminals. Even if you’re writing a detective procedural, it’s important that you understand the constitutional and tactical considerations of a legal and safe stop in the grand scheme of policing. This month, I want to continue with the traffic stop concept, expanding on best practices. Traffic stops are performed thousands of times each day, and writers of crime fiction and true crime need to have a solid understanding of how they are performed to show they’ve done the research and know this subject better than the average Joe Citizen. There is a procedure taught at most academies nowadays, and I think it is enlightening to understand the way these things should be done. Let’s take it step by step. 

Determine Reasonable Suspicion or Probable Cause

Let’s say your fictional officer needs to stop a car because the driver matches the description of a bank robber from the previous shift. Your officer needs to make the stop in a legal and safe manner. The first thing he must decide (and be ready to defend) is the legal reason for the stop. Officers in the U.S. can’t just go around stopping every car they pass. We’ve all seen the awful ramifications of such an approach. There are basically two ways to make a legal, constitutionally sound traffic stop: Reasonable Suspicion or Probable Cause. 

Reasonable suspicion that a driver or occupant of a moving vehicle has committed a crime or is about to commit one is an acceptable reason for stopping a vehicle. It is, however, the least resilient tactic to the scrutiny of a defense attorney, judge, and/or jury. The officer must be able to swear under oath that, based on his training and experience, he suspected the occupants of a vehicle of doing or about to do a crime. Reasonable suspicion stops are done with less frequency than even a decade ago, because of the inevitable attack it will receive from the person’s attorney if the case ever goes to trial. Most officers will wait until they notice an infraction, such as making a turn without a signal or weaving in and out of lanes. Delaying a stop for actual probable cause—AKA evidence— instead of relying solely on suspicion, puts the officer in a better position to defend his actions if the case goes to trial.

Thus, you may opt to have your fictional officer stop a car based on a “gut feeling,” but you’ve placed him in a legally precarious situation that most veteran officers wouldn’t actually choose. It can still work, but your character is in a better position if he is patient and waits to spot an actual infraction about which he can testify under oath. (Go back and read the previous month’s article if you need more detail on the difference between a Reasonable Suspicion stop and one based on Probable Cause.)

Prepare for the Stop

Preparing for the stop means calling the license plate, description, and location to the Dispatch Center so other officers will know where you are and what kind of vehicle they should look for if the officer making the stop gets attacked. The Hollywood version of a cop stopping a car in a dark alley and not letting anyone know is macho hooey and should never happen in real life (or your fiction unless you want to show a police character performing at a level of incompetence or recklessness).

Parking the Patrol Vehicle

Safe parking of the patrol vehicle calls for turning on the emergency lights and pulling in behind the stopped vehicle. At night, a patrol officer will also use a car-mounted beacon-style light in such a way that it reflects in the side mirror of the stopped car. This adds an additional layer of protection because the other driver has limited visibility due to the glare. Officers know the glare is irritating, but it is designed to give them an edge if the occupants are intent on doing them harm.

The officer will then park the squad car at a slight angle with the engine block canted to the left. This has two advantages. First, the officer can cover behind the engine block if the occupants of the other vehicle come out shooting. Second, the parked squad car will careen to the left instead of straight into the officer if another car hits it from behind. 

Approaching the Vehicle

Approaching the vehicle can be done by either stepping up to the driver’s door or around the back of the stopped vehicle just behind the passenger door. I preferred the second method when I worked at night. Most people will be watching for the officer to approach from their left. Coming up on the right side of their car allowed me to be beside the vehicle and use my flashlight to see if the occupants were holding a weapon before they even knew I was close. 

Either way, officers will touch the trunk compartment door as they pass the rear fender. This action marks the suspect vehicle with the officer’s fingerprints and DNA. Should the suspect “rabbit” (flee), his car will carry definitive evidence of the encounter. It also lets the officer make sure the trunk is fully closed in case there is anyone in the trunk intent on doing him harm. 

Once the officer is near the car, he should identify himself and his agency right away. This has a proven effect of calming concerns from the driver that the officer might be corrupt. Corrupt cops don’t tend to give their names, and this small detail can make all the difference in terms of keeping the tone polite and professional. 

I am also a big believer that officers should clearly state why they pulled the car over, e.g., “I pulled you over because you were speeding through a school zone.” Again, this has a dampening effect on any driver revving up to argue. The officer should be clear, forthright, and professional, which is what it will sound like to jurors listening to the officer’s body camera recording if this thing ever goes to trial. 

Positioning At the Vehicle

I roll my eyes at cop shows where the police officer is talking straight down into the window of the suspect vehicle. The problem with standing right beside the driver’s window is that this position puts you in the line of fire should he turn homicidal. Bullets go through car doors like toothpicks through those little Christmas party sausages. Don’t let your fictional officer stand right by the door. I’ll surmise he was poorly trained or that he is about to get shot in the groin.

Instead, officers are taught to stand adjacent to the thick metal door frame behind the driver’s seat. This space has the tactical advantage of keeping the driver in sight while also making it more difficult for him to accurately fire a weapon backward and over his left shoulder. Try it next time you’re in the driver’s seat. Point your finger like you’re a kid playing with a pretend space phaser and see if you can “photon blast” someone standing back there. You can, but it’s slow and clumsy—the advantage in a split-second attack goes to the officer.

Remember: Officer survival is part tactics and part practice, but all mindset. A well-trained police officer will be thinking about these concepts as he approaches the car. 

Background Check

By now, your officer has collected pertinent paperwork, including the vehicle registration (not all states require this), proof of insurance, and the driver’s license. The officer has conversed with the occupants, determined what, if any, violations have occurred, and retreated toward his own car to increase the safety distance. Now the officer will either type in the occupants’ identification into a mobile computer or call it out to the Dispatch Center. 

I preferred to keep my eyes on the car by calling Dispatch on the radio. Oftentimes, I would do this while standing behind the trunk of my own car, again so that I would have the protection of my vehicle should occupants in the stopped car come out firing. The last place I would want to be in that event would be sitting comfy—and trapped—in my driver’s seat.

Once the cop has determined there are no outstanding arrest warrants for the people in the car, he’ll decide whether to issue a warning or a citation. Once this is done, the officer needs to make a formal announcement along the lines of, “You’re free to go.” 

This is where things might get tricky. Once the person who was detained has been informed he is free to go, he is…free to go. But, this is also when the officer may ask if there is anything illegal in the car. If the driver says, “No,” but he does it in a less-than-credible manner, the officer might follow up with, “So, you wouldn’t mind if I did a quick search, then?” 

Why then? Why not ask to search before the officer has lifted the detention? Here’s the thing: any search of a vehicle (or anywhere considered private from the prying eyes of government) done while a person is in custody is likely to get thrown out of court. In simplest terms, a person in custody may not feel they have a choice but to let that government agent search their car. Thus, any search during the stop could, and probably should, be considered involuntary. You can’t volunteer to allow a search if you don’t believe you have an option. The case is likely to be dismissed, even if you were to find a severed head and a bloody axe in the trunk. 

Officers who are looking to make lots of drug-related arrests use this tactic often. Mentioning to the driver that he is free to leave, but following up with a request to search the car is a workaround, and defense attorneys everywhere just groaned. I can’t say I blame them. This strategy pushes the limits of the Fourth Amendment, and I’m not an advocate for using it during most traffic stops. That said, this is a standard drug interdiction technique, and you may decide to use it to propel your storyline forward. 

Bloody axe, anyone?

A Word on “Do you know who I am?” 

I don’t care if you’re a minister taking her family out for a picnic after church, Senator So & So’s aide, or a rookie attorney who just passed the bar; cops don’t know “who you are,” and they don’t particularly care. They know they’ve stopped you for a reason, and they expect to speak with you and investigate further. 

You wanna make a cop mock you long after the traffic stop? Say, “Do you know who I am?” when he approaches the car. You’ll be the belle of the squad room when he tells his buddies about it later. 

That’s it for this month. Until then, be safe…just not too safe. You’ve got a job to do, after all. Onward.