Jonathan Vilma Arrested - Confirmed

Scenario:
Individual is driving a vehicle and an unmarked car pulls up behind it with it's lights on. The individual pulls over and the unmarked car pulls behind it. The plain clothes officer approaches the vehicle, but cannot see through the tinted glass.

Officer: "Sir I need you to step out of the vehicle" - the first words coming from an officer when he approaches a car and is unable to determine who is in the vehicle, how many people are in the vehicle and the intent of the occupants.

Occupant's response: "Why what's going on?"

Officer responds: "sir just step out of the vehicle."

--- would you be willing to step out of a vehicle with no clue as to why you got pulled over?

Officer: "Step out of the vehicle now"

Occupant complies, steps out of the vehicle and is ordered to put his hands on the hood of the vehicle. The officer has yet to tell the occupant why he has pulled him over, and got immediately defensive when the occupant didn't get out of the vehicle and the officer was already nervous for his/her own safety. The occupant finally complies and puts his hands on the hood - there's a little pulling away from the officer as the officer tries to restrain the occupant to perform what would appear to be a warranted search of the vehicle.

Who is in the wrong?

I don't blame the officer for being nervous about the situation, nor do I blame the occupant of the vehicle for being apprehensive about the plain clothes officer who had not made his intent clear. Poor communication and probably an exaggerated situation. I've been the passenger in a vehicle which was pulled over for making a right turn just as a light turned red, the driver was ticketed for wreckless driving and "nearly hitting pedestrians" who hadn't even considered stepping into the roadway at the time.