Justified or just a bully? Handcuffing a passenger for looking nervous. Well, I'm going to argue that could be either one. If a police officer has a passenger on a traffic stop that he's ordered out of the car and the officer feels like for reasons that he can articulate that the passenger looks nervous or looks suspicious, then he's entitled to handcuff that passenger for his officer safety. So, here's the bottom line. Nervous behavior may not really justify being handcuffed, but a cop is entitled to do it and I can't call him a bully for it. So, at the end of the day, even if you think he's a bully, don't fight with him on the street. Let me fight with him in court.