There's way too much being read into this glove box thing.
Does it happen that people get into the glove box before the officer gets to the vehicle? Of course. In my experience, it was not all that common for a person to retrieve his registration before I got to the vehicle. If it happened, I would note it, and give the situation special attention. That's way short of converting things to a felony stop. It's just good situational awareness.
The glove box is where nearly all people keep their registration. That's not unusual at all; it's how things usually work. When a person opened the glove box when I asked for his/her registration, I was watching his/her hands the entire time. It's just good situational awareness.
When I was originally trained in conducting vehicle stops, furtive movement was a major topic. The subject reaching under the seat, or to the glove box, were specifically covered as constituting furtive movement. There's always the issue of the totality of circumstances.
I think it was in my first Criminal Law class that the instructor, himself a full-time police officer or deputy sheriff - I don't remember which - said that, given anything to develop even weak probable cause, he would look under the seats and in the glove box. He noted that he might lose in court, but he would be going home at the end of his shift.
Mind you, this was long ago. I don't remember if it was before or during the Byrd court. Only you really old timers will know what that means. And I haven't done a vehicle stop in over 20 years. I remember clearly the procedures I was trained in. I do not remember what glove boxes were open or closed, only that the overwhelming majority were closed until I asked for the registration, etc. Anything that departed from the norm got some degree of special attention. It's just good situational awareness.
After I left one agency, the guy who replaced me may well have had his life spared by two things. He saw the suspect reach into the glove box, and the BG's girlfriend screamed, "NO!!!" We'll never know for sure what was going on, because the BG got away. What evidence there was, though, suggested, well, you can guess.
Now - can we get off this glove box thing?
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