Passenger Disclosure

[twjones]

If you are a passenger and the driver gets stopped, are you required to disclose to the LEO if you are carrying?

I understand and agree if the officer also asks for your ID that I would give them both IDs - but if they don't ask, are you required to tell them?

Thank you in advance.

[jmorris]

Nope.

[thunderarms]

Your not required but you probably should...Being Leo I want to know who and what I'm dealing with during every stop. Lets face it its all about going home at the end of the day. Make the officer at ease an disclose before he finds it himself.

[JALLEN]

I've never had a traffic stop where the police paid any attention to anything but getting a ticket or warning written, or sending me in my way, depending. Of course, I am a dignified, well groomed, inordinately respectable and jovial family man, and so are the folks I'm likely to be in a car with. Moreover, I don't get pulled over very often.

Those few occasions where I have been pulled over, and had passengers in the car, they sat there, not saying a word. There was no need to, and they did not. YMMV if your passengers match wanted posters, or they have suspicious appearance etc. or smell funny.

[Keith B]

Your not required but you probably should...Being Leo I want to know who and what I'm dealing with during every stop. Lets face it its all about going home at the end of the day. Make the officer at ease an disclose before he finds it himself.

As a passenger, I would probably only disclose if asked by the officer for ID under probable cause. I would NOT just up and volunteer that I was carrying without a legitimate request.

[Glockster]

Your not required but you probably should...Being Leo I want to know who and what I'm dealing with during every stop. Lets face it its all about going home at the end of the day. Make the officer at ease an disclose before he finds it himself.

This has me pondering a couple of questions about how an officer would find out for himself. Let's say that for the sake of discussion that we're talking about a routine traffic violation stop - a write a ticket and everyone moves on kind of thing. In your experience, how frequently would an officer in that kind of a situation find it necessary in any way to interact with a passenger? What would be a reason to interact with a passenger - let's say for the sake of discussion, who is just sitting silently in his seat?

I'm asking because although I have never myself been pulled over, I was one time one of two passengers in a car that was pulled over. I sat quietly while the other passenger tried to speak to the officer and was told very bluntly that they were not involved, that it was the driver who needed to speak. I have no personal basis for knowing if that is typical. So I can't help but wonder though if trying to hand over ID/CHL might then be viewed as interference that the officer needs to now be concerned about.

[Swoops1]

May be wrong haven't ask any LEO. Unless specifically ask to produce ID I will not volunteer any information. I've often wondered what the reaction would be. I used to carpool with 2 other guys, we all carried actually think it may make the LEO a little nervous. I think it is better to let the driver do all of the talking.

[Abraham]

By Keith B / THIS:

"As a passenger, I would probably only disclose if asked by the officer for ID under probable cause. I would NOT just up and volunteer that I was carrying without a legitimate request."

[mr1337]

Your not required but you probably should...Being Leo I want to know who and what I'm dealing with during every stop. Lets face it its all about going home at the end of the day. Make the officer at ease an disclose before he finds it himself.

There's no reason for someone who is not driving to ID themselves unless they are under arrest. In Texas, you can only be charged with Failure to Identify if you fail to provide ID or your name, address (and maybe birthdate?) once you have been arrested. If you haven't been arrested, you have no obligation.

Far too many times have I been watching COPS or a video on youtube where the officer asks everyone in the car to ID without probable cause, and one or two of them show up in the system that gives the officer some cause to further detain or arrest the person.

So, I think of it just like consenting to a search - because that's effectively what it is. If you're not required to, I don't think you should do it. It can't hurt you, except the cop might get mad because of the challenge to his/her authority.

[SA_Steve]

Your not required but you probably should...Being Leo I want to know who and what I'm dealing with during every stop. Lets face it its all about going home at the end of the day. Make the officer at ease an disclose before he finds it himself.

As a passenger, I would probably only disclose if asked by the officer for ID under probable cause. I would NOT just up and volunteer that I was carrying without a legitimate request.

What does "under probable cause" mean ? Cop does not have to tell you his probable cause, the DA will help him come up with one before you and he show up in front of the judge, if it gets that far.

[WildBill]

Nope.

100%

[Abraham]

thunderarms wrote:

"Your not required but you probably should...Being Leo I want to know who and what I'm dealing with during every stop"

As an LEO, if you pull someone over for speeding and the vehicle has 3 other passengers, you think all should I.D themselves, though they've done no law breaking?

Are you going to demand I.D. if all don't volunteer to I.D. themselves?

Or, do I misunderstand?

Thanks!

[Jago668]

Sometimes a LEO will ask "Are there any firearms in the car?" Am I correct in assuming a passenger will have to respond. Of course, the driver and any other passengers, if I were that passenger, would probably be in for a major shock as they wouldn't have known that I carry at all.

Why would they have to respond? You are under no legal obligation to talk to the police (excepting certain circumstances when you have to identify yourself). If I'm riding, I'm keeping my mouth closed.

EDIT: Warning it is long, and fairly poor video quality.

[TexasCajun]

I've only been asked for ID as a passenger once. My girlfriend at the time was driving and I was passenger when she got pulled over. She had forgotten to pay a previous speeding ticket so there was a warrant for her. Before the officers would release her car to me, they asked for ran my license. Any other time that I've been passenger, the officers interacted with the driver only.

I imagine that if I was passenger and the driver was asked if there are any weapons in the car, the driver would answer that there are/is and the conversation would proceed from there. If I got any flack for not immediately identifying myself as a licensed carrier, I would go with the "you didn't ask me" route and go from there.