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Why Cops Tap Your Car's Tail Lights During a Traffic Stop

The reasons have changed with the years, but the practice has stuck around

Reader’s Digest spoke with experts who said that the practice marked a car in case the stop went wrong — leaving evidence that the officer had been there: Criminal defense attorney Joe Hoelscher says that this routine maneuver serves as a sort of breadcrumb left to prove that the police officer had approached that particular vehicle. “Leaving a thumbprint on the brake light is an old-school way to tag a car with a fingerprint, so it can be identified conclusively as the vehicle involved in a stop should the officer become incapacitated,” explains Hoelscher.

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