Pulled Over by Police in Mexico: What Happened and What I Should Have Done

Getting pulled over by the police can be stressful anywhere. But for some Black Americans, a traffic stop can carry another layer of anxiety based on experiences we've had—or watched happen—in the United States. That's part of what made one particular traffic stop in Mérida, Mexico stand out to me. I had lived in Mexico for about four years at the time. I was driving home with my daughter when a Yucatán state police vehicle came up behind me on the Periférico, Mérida's ring road. The officers turned on their lights. At first, I wasn't even sure I was being pulled over. Then they motioned for me to move over. What happened next surprised me—not because the police let me go. They didn't. I got a ticket. What surprised me was how different I felt during the entire encounter.

Why Police Lights in Mexico Took Some Getting Used To

One thing I noticed after moving to Mexico was how frequently I saw police vehicles driving with their emergency lights on. For somebody coming from the United States, that can take some getting used to. You see the lights behind you and instinctively wonder: Am I being pulled over? During this particular stop, there was eventually no question. The officers directed me to pull over, and I did. They told me I had been traveling considerably over the posted speed limit. I wasn't paying close attention to my speedometer, and I'm not going to pretend I wasn't speeding. I probably was. I wasn't convinced I had been going as fast as they said, but I also wasn't interested in turning a traffic stop into an argument on the side of the road.

What Surprised Me Most Was How Calm I Felt

This was the part of the experience that stayed with me. I didn't feel the anxiety I associated with getting pulled over in the United States. I wasn't thinking about whether I needed to keep my hands positioned a certain way. I wasn't worried about reaching toward my glove box. I wasn't thinking about being ordered out of the vehicle. My daughter was in the car with me, and I didn't have the fear that the situation was about to become something bigger than a traffic violation. That's not a statement about every police officer in Mexico. And it's definitely not a promise about what somebody else's interaction with Mexican police will be like. It's simply what happened to me. For me, it was one of the calmest traffic stops I had experienced.

The Entire Conversation Happened in Spanish

The officer who approached my vehicle didn't speak English. I didn't expect him to. I was in Mexico. We worked through the conversation in Spanish. He asked for my driver's license and vehicle documents. I had what I needed in the glove box and gave them to him. He asked whether I lived in Mérida and how long I had lived there. My Spanish wasn't perfect. At one point, I accidentally told him I had lived there for 40 years instead of four. I corrected myself. Nobody panicked. Nobody became aggressive. We just continued the conversation. That's another practical part of living abroad that doesn't always make it into the relocation videos. Eventually, you have to deal with real life in another language. Sometimes that means ordering dinner. Sometimes it means talking to a police officer on the side of the Periférico.

Then the Officer Pulled Out the Rule Book

The officer eventually returned with what I remember as a thick book of traffic regulations. He went through the rules with me and explained what he believed I had violated. Speed wasn't the only issue. He also brought up the vehicle-registration sticker that came with my Yucatán plates. At the time, I had the sticker in my glove box rather than attached to the vehicle. That became part of the conversation too. This is one place where I would tell someone watching my original video today not to rely on an old YouTube video—including mine—for current traffic requirements. Rules, fines, administrative procedures and payment options can change. If you're driving in Yucatán, check the current requirements with the state rather than assuming something someone told you several years ago still applies.

I Asked Them to Give Me the Ticket

Eventually the officer told me they were going to issue a citation. My response was basically: That's fine. Give me the ticket. And that's one of the biggest lessons I would carry forward from the experience. I wasn't interested in negotiating some unofficial payment on the side of the road. I had been stopped. The officer said I had committed a traffic violation. If they were going to cite me, I wanted the citation. The officers went back to their vehicle, completed the paperwork and eventually returned with the ticket. The process took a while because much of what they were doing appeared to be manual. Then I signed the citation and went home.

What About Being Black and Dealing With Police in Mexico?

This is where I want to be careful. I can tell you what happened to me. I can't tell every Black American what will happen to them. My experience during this stop was dramatically different from the anxiety I associated with police encounters in the United States. The officers I dealt with were professional. They didn't appear threatened by me. I didn't feel threatened by them. They gave me a ticket, and I went home. But one positive traffic stop isn't proof that race never matters in Mexico or that every police encounter here will be positive. That's exactly why I think firsthand experiences are useful when they're presented for what they actually are: one person's experience. If you're considering moving to Mexico, listen to different people. Then separate someone's personal story—including mine—from claims about how an entire country works.

The Part of Moving Abroad Nobody Puts on the Checklist

People spend a lot of time researching the exciting parts of moving to Mexico. Where should I live? How much is rent? What neighborhood should I choose? Where are the beaches? But eventually you're going to encounter normal life. You may get a traffic ticket. You may have to speak Spanish when you're uncomfortable. You may misunderstand a rule. You may have to figure out a government process you've never encountered before. That's part of becoming functional in another country. The goal isn't to eliminate every uncomfortable situation before you move. It's to become prepared enough that an uncomfortable situation doesn't turn into a crisis.

Watch the Original Police Stop Story

I recorded the original video immediately after I got home because I wanted to document the experience while the details were still fresh. Watch: Mexican Police Pulled Me Over: What I Should Have Done In the video, I walk through the stop, the conversation with the officers, the ticket and what surprised me about my own reaction. And if you're considering Mexico as a Black American, I would also read my broader guide to Black Expats in Mexico. My experience with that traffic stop is one small part of a much larger question: What is it actually like to build a life in another country? That's the question worth preparing for.