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Dropping Your Father’s Name on a Traffic Stop
Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?
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Dropping someone’s name used to work when you got pulled over by a police officer. Many law enforcement agencies have something called professional courtesy where you give a break to a person who knows the violator on a traffic stop. Dropping someone’s name or trying to use personal connections in an attempt to get out of a traffic stop or avoid consequences is generally considered an unethical and inappropriate practice. Here are a few key points on this topic:
- Abuse of Position/Privilege Most people would view this as an abuse of position, status or connections to try circumventing the normal procedures that anyone else would face. It provides an unfair advantage.
- Undermines Law Enforcement Asking an officer to give you special treatment undermines their ability to enforce laws impartially and objectively. It seeks to improperly influence the situation.
- Perception of Favoritism/Corruption Even if no actual favoritism occurs, the attempt itself can look like you’re seeking preferential treatment or engaging in some form of improper influence or corruption.
- Unequal Application of Law Seeking to get out of a violation that others would be cited for simply due to who you know goes against the principle of equal application and respect for the law.
- Professional Ethics For police officers, succumbing to such attempts may violate their department’s code of ethics and be grounds for disciplinary action if discovered.
While some may attempt this tactic, most ethics experts advise against it. The just course is to accept responsibility for one’s violation and be accountable to the same procedures as any other citizen when lawfully stopped. Using connections improperly erodes public trust in evenhanded law enforcement.