“I want to speak with your supervisor” might work when you’re arguing over a restaurant bill or trying to get a refund. According to police in Newport, Oregon, though, saying it during a traffic stop doesn’t automatically summon a sergeant to your location.
The Newport Oregon Police Department recently addressed the surprisingly common demand in a social media post accompanied by a clip from Fridays with Frank. According to the department, patrol officers regularly encounter people who disagree with a citation or refuse to cooperate until they get to speak with someone higher up.
There is nothing stopping someone from asking for a supervisor. However, Newport Police explained that, in most circumstances, officers aren’t required to call one to the scene simply because someone demands it.
More importantly, asking for the officer’s supervisor doesn’t put the rest of the traffic stop on hold. You still have to follow lawful commands while waiting to see whether the sergeant you requested is ever going to show up.
Asking for a Supervisor Doesn’t Mean You’re Getting One
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According to Newport Police, there is no general constitutional or federal right requiring a police supervisor to respond simply because someone requests one. The department says its own policy doesn’t require officers to summon a supervisor on demand, either.
Honestly, I don’t blame them. I’m sure that a supervisor isn’t warranted in many cases.
Instead, whether a supervisor needs to respond generally depends on the circumstances and the officer’s discretion. As the department put it, policy determines when a supervisor needs to be notified or respond, not simply the person making the demand.
That’s not to say a sergeant won’t eventually appear. Supervisors might respond because an incident has become more complicated, an officer needs backup, or they’re already nearby and decide to check on what’s happening.
An increasingly contentious interaction could also convince an officer that having a supervisor present would be useful. That’s considerably different, however, from someone effectively getting to request the manager during a traffic stop.
Demanding a Sergeant Doesn’t Put the Traffic Stop on Pause
Newport Police also addressed another potentially important misconception. Asking to speak with a supervisor doesn’t give someone permission to stop cooperating with the officer already standing in front of them.
The department says drivers must comply with lawful commands while the encounter continues. Depending on the circumstances and applicable state law, refusing those commands could potentially result in additional enforcement action, including an obstruction charge.
In other words, demanding a supervisor isn’t some sort of legal pause button. The officer doesn’t have to freeze the traffic stop while everyone waits around for a sergeant to settle the disagreement.
If anything, refusing to cooperate until a supervisor arrives could make an already unpleasant encounter considerably more complicated. That’s probably not the escalation most people have in mind when asking to speak with the person in charge.
Commenters Think the “Supervisor Card” Isn’t Quite the Power Move People Think
Commenters largely seemed amused by how often drivers apparently believe asking for a supervisor will change the situation. One person called it a “stall tactic” used by people who simply want to make an officer’s job more difficult.
Another blamed social media for convincing people they can pull what they called the “sovereign citizen or supervisor card” during encounters with law enforcement. Others joked about some of the other familiar lines officers probably hear, including the classic, “I pay your salary! You work for me!”
One commenter even imagined an officer happily agreeing to the request, only to explain that the supervisor was back at the station and they could head there together after the person was placed in handcuffs. A self-described former supervisor offered an even less promising version of what might happen when the boss actually arrives, recalling that his first question to the deputy would sometimes be why the person wasn’t already in jail.
So, yes, you can apparently ask to speak with the manager during a traffic stop. Just don’t expect the police version of customer service to work quite like returning something without a receipt.