Your Rights and What Cops Can and Can’t Do

Recently, in Rochester, New York, a traffic stop escalated when Marvin Taylor, a 22-year-old black driver, refused to get out of the car when a police officer asked him to do so. Rochester police broke Taylor’s window and forced him out, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.

Now people are wondering whether a driver should comply with a police request to exit the vehicle. Here are the rules for New Jersey.

First, as provided in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a police officer in New Jersey and any other state may arrest a driver only if he or she has reasonable and explicit suspicion that a driver has committed a crime or violation of the Traffic Laws. Once stopped, a New Jersey officer can request a license, registration and insurance card.