[Tammy8]

The driver’s right hand is near or reaching into his pocket- how is the officer to know he doesn’t have a weapon in that pocket? This may have been an innocent act on the part of the driver- but driver is not cooperative and then reaches for pocket- dangerous gesture at that point. LEOs have to have situational awareness about movements like that. People need to be aware when dealing with LEOs to not do anything that they might take as a threat. If I am that officer, with an uncooperative driver and he is reaching in his pocket- I would feel threatened and that move would definately have a bearing on my next move- self defense.

[joseph20]

The driver’s right hand is near or reaching into his pocket- how is the officer to know he doesn’t have a weapon in that pocket? This may have been an innocent act on the part of the driver- but driver is not cooperative and then reaches for pocket- dangerous gesture at that point.

It's absurd to argue that a person deserves to have a weapon drawn on them because they have a hand in their pocket. The driver had not done ANYTHING wrong at that point.

If the officer was SO concerned with his safety, why did he turn his back to the driver and walk all the way back to his squad car with his back turned?