Civilians Act Like Cops

by Mona Mahadevan

Mayor Justin Elicker gets ready to conduct a traffic stop…

…and comes across Alder Carmen Rodriguez, who played the part of an argumentative driver.

Rodriguez had a Trump hat on the dashboard…

…and a pile of (fake) cash in the backseat.

Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez was caught with a knife and a pile of cash in her car’s backseat after Mayor Justin Elicker pulled her over for speeding on Friday. It would have been quite the scandal, had the traffic stop not been entirely simulated.

Rodriguez and Elicker played parts in a mock motor vehicle stop for a program organized by the New Haven Guardians — a fraternal organization for Black city cops — and the New Haven Police Department. The simulations took place in the parking lot of Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ, which is located at 217 Dixwell Ave.

The goal of Friday’s event was to help people understand a cop’s perspective during a traffic stop, said Guardians President Ismail Abdussabur.

Abdussabur, a city police officer, instructed Rodriguez and Elicker on what to say and do. He began by having Rodriguez sit behind the wheel of a white Nissan next to Sarah McIver, the chair of the Hill South Community Management Team. Rodriguez drove forward a few feet. In an NHPD SUV, Elicker followed, flashing the car’s lights and sirens.

“Can you tell me why you pulled me over?” Rodriguez asked Elicker through the window.

You were speeding, ma’am, he responded. Through the windows, Elicker could see a Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat on the dashboard and a (fake) pile of cash in the backseat. He asked for Rodriguez’s license and registration.

“I got somewhere to be, so I’d appreciate it if you get this done quickly,” Rodriguez scolded. “I’m gonna have to call up the mayor because you should be out fighting crime!”

“I wouldn’t try to call that guy,” responded the mayor.

He eventually asked Rodriguez to step out of the car. She complied, with many complaints. “I don’t know what the problem is here!” she said.

Elicker then noticed a (fake) firearm in the car’s front console. Abdussabur asked whether he had any concerns about the gun.

“My level of suspicion was raised when I saw a huge pile of cash” in the backseat, replied Elicker. Abdussabur confirmed that the gun was “registered” in Rodriguez’s name. But because the car’s registration was expired, Elicker told Rodriguez that her car would have to be towed.

The scene ended with McIver, Rodriguez, and Elicker all laughing together.

Chief David Zannelli: Put yourself in cops’ shoes. During a motor vehicle stop, officers “don’t know what they don’t know.”

According to Police Chief David Zannelli, the department plans to step up motor vehicle enforcement. The impetus for the workshop was to prepare people for the change. Plus, he said, the city is overdue for a “Swap and Stop” event.

“We are not here to trick the community. We want them to understand and to know what to anticipate in these situations,” Zannelli told the Independent.

He thinks role-playing can help people feel “more sympathetic” to the officers pulling them over, since it involves a more controlled version of the stress that cops face during motor vehicle stops.

If you are pulled over, Zannelli recommends not escalating the situation.

“If it comes to a point where you want to fight with the officer, now you’re risking the charge going from a simple motor vehicle violation or infraction to a potential arrest,” he said.

Abdussabur shared similar advice. In Connecticut, cops can legally pull people over for more than 100 different reasons, he said. Rather than arguing about why you were pulled over, he suggests staying calm and disputing any problems in court.

“It is your right to tape record,” he added. At the same time, “Remember that we are all human,” he said, so it’s best to not wave a phone six inches away from a cop’s face.

Zannelli said city police officers are required to record traffic stops with their body cameras, and people can request the footage through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

Abdussabur also stressed not making sudden movements and only reaching for things, including your license, with express permission from the officer.

If you feel unsafe rolling down the window, asked one woman, can you hold your license up to the window?

Abdussabur replied that it might be allowed under the law, but doing so could escalate the situation or create unnecessary problems.

Abdussabur with the masked occupants of the car.

In another mock traffic stop Friday, four people — including two of Abdussabur’s friends from high school — were pulled over by Kyle Jones, a news anchor for NBC Connecticut. They exited the car in balaclavas. Jones stepped back in surprise.

“It may appear that there may be more than a motor vehicle violation,” but there is nothing illegal about wearing a ski mask, said Abdussabur.

Jones ended up giving them a ticket for running a stop sign.

After peeling off her mask, the driver, Zhane Bunting, told the Independent about her actual experiences with traffic stops. “It wasn’t that scary,” she said. Everyone was nice, and the officer let her go with a warning.

By contrast, in the mock scenario, she reflected on how scared she would have felt if four masked people stepped out of a car.

Bunting said, “If I was the cop, I would’ve hopped right back into my car.”

Zhane and Jordan Bunting (happily unmasked).