During a traffic stop do the state trooper have to be in full uniform including his hat

In the state of Ohio, yes. In the state of Florida, yes. In the state of Georgia, yes.

But it does not make any ticket invalid if they are not, They can get reported and their supervisor will talk to them for not being in full uniform. But for example if they were in a high speed chase and they had to jump out to do a high risk stop, often their hats will be still in the car, no time to grab them.

As a general rule, the authority of a police officer to take action in accordance with the powers granted him does not depend on things like how the officer is dressed. In my state, the state police and most local jurisdictions allow the officer to take their cruiser home due to the deterrent value on the street and their authority to act at any time, on or off duty. Of course they have to carry and display proper identification.

Once when I was a police officer I ticketed a person for cutting in front of a whole line of traffic and causing others to take evasive action to avoid an accident. All I was wearing was shorts and sandals. And, of course, a gun!

As a general rule, the authority of a police officer to take action in accordance with the powers granted him does not depend on things like how the officer is dressed. In my state, the state police and most local jurisdictions allow the officer to take their cruiser home due to the deterrent value on the street and their authority to act at any time, on or off duty. Of course they have to carry and display proper identification.

Once when I was a police officer I ticketed a person for cutting in front of a whole line of traffic and causing others to take evasive action to avoid an accident. All I was wearing was shorts and sandals. And, of course, a gun!



Maybe this should be a new thread but if it is, I don't know how to make it make sense. I'll leave that to the handsome monitor(s).

As a citizen, if you are approached by someone in shorts and sandals, with a gun, what are you obligated to do? As a woman often driving alone, in a sports car, I would be quite concerned. I very well may have felt threatened. There have certainly been many occasions when a person has impersonated a Police Officer. I am aware of a situation where a pretend Police Officer pulled over a woman - who really was an off duty Police Officer. First she roughed him up, then she called for assistance.

Not doubting that this happened - just wondering what a citizen is obligated to do under those circumstances.

I have been pulled over by an unmarked car and said I would go to the Barracks and he followed me there - ended up to be a license plate check of some sort and there was no problem but he was in unform (which I saw later), just not in a marked car.

I also dated Police Officers and I know when out of uniform on occasion they called and asked for an Officer and then followed the offending driver.

So - what is a citizen obliged to do?

A citizen is obliged to read the information on the badge and identification and act accordingly. Most of the arrests I made in my life were in plain clothes. Any police officer who intends to take official action while in plain clothes should be well aware of the fact that they have an obligation to demonstrate exactly who they are.