I was stopped by a police officer because he wasn't able to read my the temporary tag through the tinted window of my new car.When he first ...

Question

I was stopped by a police officer because he wasn't able to read my the temporary tag through the tinted window of my new car.

When he first approached my car after I had pulled over I had my window rolled down between 1/3 and 1/2 way, at least 4 inches open, perhaps more. The first thing he said to me was to roll my window down. I responded that it was rolled down and that I'd rather not roll it down any farther. He insisted again and then said that I could either roll it down the rest of the way or be arrested for disobeying a lawful order from a police officer. At that point I decided to roll the window down the rest of the way as I was already running late to pick up the baby sitter because of this stop.

After the stop was over and he gave me his card which I had requested, I asked him to clarify why he wanted me to roll the window down all the way. He said that it was a matter of safety so that he could see my hands, see into the vehicle and see if there was anyone else in the vehicle. He also said that I was "this close" to being arrested for failure to obey a lawful order from a peace officer and that in the future I should obey all orders and that if I felt they were unlawful that I would have recourse afterward.

My questions are:

1- How far do I legally have to roll my window down if I am stopped for a traffic infraction?

2- If I have my window rolled down only a portion of the way, as long as it is sufficient to pass documents through, is the order of an officer to roll my window down more a lawful order to which disobeying would be grounds for arrest?

3- Does the presence of tinted windows change these situations at all?

I would love to be able to believe the officer, but sadly since it is legal for police to lie to citizens I wanted to check with you to clarify what the law actually says.

If any local statutes matter, the traffic stop happened in Aurora, Colorado.

Thank you for your help.

Answer

He can order you out of the car if he so chooses, so all the way down if he orders you to, and as a practical matter the tinted windows matters.