LAWYER: If Cops Say "Step Out of the Car" - Say THESE WORDS

You're driving home from work. The red

and blue lights come on. A cop pulls you

over for driving 5 miles over the speed

limit. He walks up to your window, takes

your license, goes back to his cruiser,

and then comes back with a suspicious

look on his face. Because instead of

just handing you a ticket, he looks at

you and says the four words that makes

your stomach drop. Step out of the

vehicle. Now, here's what happens. In

the next 60 seconds, you're either going

to get back in your car and drive away

free, or you're going to hand that

officer everything he needs to search

you, test you, and maybe even arrest

you. And the crazy part, most people

don't even realize they're giving all

their rights away. Because there's a

massive difference between what you have

to do and what the cops want you to do.

And very few people know the line that

makes the difference. I'm Jeff Hampton,

the people's lawyer. And in this video,

I'm going to give you the exact words to

say to the cop when he stares back at

you and says, "Step out of the vehicle."

Here's what most people don't

understand. When a cop asks you to step

out of the car, it's not about your

safety. It's about access. Getting you

out of that vehicle is the single most

important move in their playbook, and

I'm going to show you why. The moment

you step out, four things happen. Number

one, the officer now has a clear line of

sight into your entire vehicle. Anything

he can see through your window, a bag, a

container, something suspicious sitting

on the top of your seat, now becomes

fair game for him to search under the

plain view doctrine. He didn't need a

warrant, and he didn't need your

permission. You merely standing up and

getting out gave him a line of sight he

didn't have before. Number two, now that

you're standing outside, nervous, with

cars whizzing by, and cops eyeballing

you, he may ask you to now perform some

field sobriety tests because he might

think he smells alcohol on your breath.

He'll want you to walk a straight line,

stand on one leg, follow a pen with your

eyes. And most people just follow along

and do it because they think they have

to. Number three, even if you pass those

field sobriety tests, the officer will

now say that he needs to do a quick pat

down of you for officer safety sake.

This is known as a Terry Frisk, and once

his hands are on you, he's feeling you

up for a lot more than weapons. And

finally, number four, and this is the

big one, he's planning on you to start

talking. Cops know this. Once you're

standing outside, uncomfortable and

anxious, they know most people start

running their mouth. "Officer, I didn't

do anything wrong. I'm just coming from

a friend's house. I I mean, that odor?

Maybe I just had one drink hours ago. I

swear I'm fine, officer." Every single

one of your statements is evidence. And

not only is the officer recording it, he

could choose to misinterpret it or

manipulate it to mean something you

never meant. So, here's where people go

wrong. The first person, they panic, and

they just do everything the officer

says. "Step out? Sure. Walk a line?

Absolutely. Search my car? Go right

ahead." They think cooperating will get

them home faster, but it won't. The

second person refuses everything. "I'm

not getting out of my car, and I don't

have to. You can't make me do anything.

I know my rights." And now the officer

writes down, "Suspect was aggressive,

confrontational, and uncooperative."

These all go straight into the police

report, and if you say it strong enough

and fast enough, sometimes the officers

might claim you made furtive movements

or acted in a way that was suspicious

enough that now maybe they can perform a

search without your consent. But think

about this from the officer's

perspective. He does this every single

day. It's routine for him. He's trained

to get you out of the car because a

standing person is easier to observe,

easier to test, easier to search, and

definitely easier to arrest. He knows

that once you're out and on your feet,

your nerves will definitely kick in. The

talking starts, and once the talking

starts, the case builds itself. He's not

going to tell you that everything you

say is going to be used against you. In

fact, he'll probably be very friendly

with you and want to spur more

conversation because he doesn't want to

make you aware that your mistakes will

help him do what he wants to do, which

is to keep you outside and ultimately

get you in the back of his patrol car.

Now, here's the part nobody tells you.

Under the Supreme Court case of

Pennsylvania versus Mims, a police

officer can order you out of the car as

long as he's performing a lawful traffic

stop. Why? Because the court said the

officer's safety interests outweigh your

constitutional rights inside your

vehicle. And a few years later, the

Supreme Court extended this ruling to

allow cops to pull out passengers of

your car, also. So, let me be crystal

clear. You do have to get out of the car

if the cops demand it. It's settled law.

But, here's what most people now get

completely wrong. They think stepping

out means giving up. They think that now

they're standing on the side of the

road, they have to basically do whatever

the cop say. That is not true. Stepping

out of your vehicle never gives cops

consent to search your vehicle. You

certainly don't have to answer

questions, and you never have to perform

field sobriety tests. Your

constitutional rights don't disappear

just because your feet have to hit the

pavement. And here's the other thing,

cuz nobody talks about this. Under Terry

versus Ohio, an officer can only perform

that pat down search if he has a

reasonable articulable suspicion that

you are armed and dangerous. He can't

just pat you down because you're

standing there, or because he wants to.

He must have a specific reason to

believe you have a weapon. But now,

you're in an impossible position. You

have to step out of your car because the

law requires it, but you don't have to

talk. You don't have to consent to a

search. You certainly don't have to blow

into a breathalyzer. The problem is that

nobody knows exactly what to say in this

moment. How do you comply with the law

while making it crystal clear you're

standing up for your rights? Here are

the exact words you use. Memorize them.

"Officer, I'm stepping out as you've

requested. I do not consent to any

searches. Am I free to go, or am I being

detained?" That's it, and let me break

down why every part of what I just said

works. "I'm stepping out as you've

requested." This shows you are clearly

complying with the law. No argument, no

resistance, and the cop cannot write

down that you were uncooperative or

acting weird that would allow him to do

more. "I'm stepping out as you've

requested. I do not consent to any

searches." This is critical. You're

drawing the line clearly, and you're

putting it on camera. If the officer

searches you or your vehicle after

you've said this, and he doesn't have

very clear probable cause to do so,

everything that he gathers can be thrown

out in court. "I'm stepping out as

you've requested. I do not consent to

any searches. Am I free to go, or am I

being detained?" These magic words force

the officer's hand. He now has to make a

choice. If you're free to go, the stop

is over. If you're being detained, he's

going to now have to articulate why.

Either way, you've put the legal burden

back on him. But what do you do when the

officer pushes back? Because you know he

will. If the officer looks at you and

says, "Okay, man, look, I'm going to let

you go, but only if you perform these

tests real quick." This is when you look

back at him and say, "Officer, I