It seems to me that he would rather step out of his vehicle than to give an officer a reason to stick his head into it.
And this is fine -- but if you choose to go this route, you shouldn't be surprised if you get treated differently than the hundreds of others who don't go this route. Like it or not, legal or not, the person who sticks out from the crowd is going to garner more attention -- every time.
All the civil rights and defense lawyers say the same thing. Don't roll down the window any more than is necessary to provide documentation.
I guess they are all just causing trouble and making waves, too?
They suggest this for a specific reason -- to not provide the state with any evidence that could, or would, be used against you. They don't suggest this to keep you from being arrested, or to keep you from being harassed at the road side -- they do this so that later on, in court, your lawyer has more avenues to obtain an acquittal, or negotiate a better deal.
There are two issues here that are being confused -- what one might do to speed things up and avoid confrontation at a checkpoint, or after a traffic stop, and what one might do to ensure that the state has the hardest time convicting you in court. One is a short-term issue, the other is a long-term issue. And they really can't coexist -- what preserves your rights in court isn't what is going to speed you through a traffic checkpoint, as the OP found.
Most people take a middle ground -- if they feel that they have nothing to hide, they cooperate at the checkpoint or traffic stop, and then go on their merry way. If they are smart, and they have done something wrong, they shut up, and trade off an attempt to get out of the situation quickly in order to preserve defenses down the road.
Many people, in the second circumstance, are not smart, and talk themselves into a worse position than they would have been in if they shut up. And some people treat every interaction with the police as if they have to preserve all of their defenses -- which is what the OP did here.
I have seen the videos posted numerous times, and completely agree with the sentiment "never talk to the police" -- but I don't follow the advice all of the time myself, because (a) I've got better things to do most of the time than take the extra harassment than comes with such a plan, and (b) the chances of a truly innocent person talking themselves into trouble is pretty remote, even though it
can happen. And I am not going to spend a lot of time and effort worrying about remote possibilities -- if you are one of those people who do, I would ask if you also wear a helmet when you drive, because that is also protection against a remote possibility.
And for those who are of the "use your rights or lose your rights" crowd, this sort of thing as described by the OP doesn't advance that cause in any way. Unless he complains, or sues, or does something that causes the officer, or the police force, or the state or the government to pay money, or reevaluate their position, etc., this does nothing to advance any cause. Civil disobedience works when it becomes more trouble for the state to keep arresting people than it does to change the law -- so long as the "disobedience" is limited to bitching about something on a message board with no follow-up, it doesn't do anything.
