General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Should citizens always be submissive to law enforcement officers? [View all]Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)I was a deputy in rural NC, and we only worked the areas outside city limits for most purposes. On a department so small most patrol shifts had 4 deputies on duty per shift (on paper there were 5 per shift, but you more often than not had one person out for injury, vacation, training, court etc.) covering over around 600 square miles.
If a person refused to put out the cigarette it would depend on circumstances and how I read the person. I personally and very sensitive to smoke, and would explain that. If they became hostile and argumentative I may place them in cuffs for my safety for the remainder of the interview, especially if it was looking like it was going to end in an arrest anyway. In the case I mentioned above a person who was just accused by his wife of striking her, who then becomes argumentative when asked to extinguish a cigarette, can be detained in cuffs for the purposes of officer safety. See Graham v. Connor, Michigan v. Summers, Muehler v. Mena and mnay other cases on the subject.