Don't Talk to Cops

[veremchuka]

I watched both of these (part 1 and part 2) and was surprised by what was said! None of us would think saying "anything" could work against us. part 1 is from a lawyer so maybe you won't be all that surprised but he says some things that show how you can get into trouble but part 2 is from a cop and not what you might think. This isn't about getting stopped for speeding as much as criminal offenses.

Don't Talk to Cops, Part 1 - YouTube

Don't Talk to Cops, Part 2 - YouTube

 

[braumeister]

There is definitely some truth to

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

 

[Richard4444]

When I saw it was ~45 minutes, I knew I wasn't going to watch the whole thing - - - - until I began. How interesting !! I watch Investigation Discovery TV a lot (the 'whodunnit' channel) and the impression is that the cops can tell who is innocent and let them be. These were very enlightening - Thanks !

 

[Brdofpray]

When I saw it was ~45 minutes, I knew I wasn't going to watch the whole thing - - - - until I began. How interesting !! I watch Investigation Discovery TV a lot (the 'whodunnit' channel) and the impression is that the cops can tell who is innocent and let them be. These were very enlightening - Thanks !

+1

 

[MichaelB]

If I had only seen that presentation before my last conviction.

 

[Nords]

If I had only seen that presentation before my last conviction.

Well, at least you've seen it before your next one...

 

[Dreamer]

Very interesting. I hope never to be stopped, but if I am, I need to remember to keep my big mouth shut.

 

[Bram]

Very interesting! Hope I'm never in a position to have to heed that advice. I think I'd find it very difficult to resist the temptation to "help" the police, or otherwise trying to convince them of my innocence. I've read a few books whose themes were the wrongly convicted... 2 that come to mind were true stories involving men who were imprisoned because of a over zealous DA in Ada, OK. However, the men had actually confessed (under duress) to murder. Much later they were exonerated.

 

[MichaelB]

Well, at least you've seen it before your next one...

No kidding, what with that "three strikes and you're out" thing I really need to stay on the straight and narrow...

 

[Mulligan]

This was geared more for committing crimes, but I have been pulled over at least 15 times for various minor traffic offenses, and have only received one ticket, and that was the first time back in around 1986. I haven't feed them any lies, or half lies, and just told the truth. I believe, that may have been the reason why I didn't get the ticket. Or maybe I just think that, and real truth is they had already met their quota for the day.

 

[Original Wally]

WOW. Two take-aways...

1) Exculpatory comments to police **CANNOT** be used in court. WOW
2) FIRST THING the cop said was that everything the law professor said was true. WOW

NEVER talk to a cop. Period.

 

[Ally]

Very enlightening. I hope never to have to use the info, but it's very good.

 

[Onward]

Very interesting and potentially helpful. Thanks for posting.

So what happens if you refuse to talk to a cop who pulls you over for, say, a speeding violation?

 

[Original Wally]

Nobody said to not comply... if s/he asks the "do you know how fast you were going" question - you can honestly say that you are choosing to exercise your rights under the US Constitution. You WILL get a ticket AND a closer look in general. Probably ask if it is ok to search your car. AGAIN, you can refuse. That, too, is your right. Which WILL cause them to roll the canine unit. So it all rolls downhill. Depends on how much of a stand YOU want to take.

I most always set the cruise on the truck ... whether on the freeway OR in town. It really does help. Have not had the opportunity to speak with a law enforcement officer in an official capacity for YEARS. And hope to continue that tradition.

 

[eridanus]

Nobody said to not comply... if s/he asks the "do you know how fast you were going" question - you can honestly say that you are choosing to exercise your rights under the US Constitution.

One video ("Know Your Rights"?) suggests to answer the question with another question: "How may I help you, officer?"

 

[Nords]

Over a dozen posts into the discussion... have we heard from an actual police officer yet?

 

[Koolau]

Fans of "Law and Order" already know not to speak to the police. We've seen the consequences hundreds of times. It's NEVER to your advantage in any situation you MIGHT be or MIGHT BECOME a suspect. Period. Police never believe you and they will lie to you. Not a good way to establish rapport.

I must have taken this to heart very well. A few years ago, I got a phone call from "Sgt. so-n-so" of "such-n-such" police dept. He stated that a car with my license number had been seen in an area and that someone had been stealing mail. He kept attempting to elicit statements. "Have you ever been in that area?" "Is this your license number?" On and on. I basically changed the subject, asked a question or didn't answer (though never "invoking" my right to silence). Finally, he seemed exasperated and simply said all he needed was a statement that I had not stolen any mail. I almost didn't give him that, but figured after 10 minutes I would comply. Had he asked even one more question, I would have invoked privilege. Never heard another word about it.

 

[Alan]

I enjoyed watching those videos, thanks for posting them.

I was a jury member in August on a family assault case and I was impressed that everything that the arresting police officer stated could be, and was, verified by actual voice recordings of the events. While the officer was in the ER talking with the victim and admitting nurse, and while he was at the house of the defendant you could hear all the dialog captured using the patrol car's video recording system. (the web cam was simply showing the view out of the front of the car, but the wireless microphone was with the officer when he was out of the vehicle). On the journey to station the defendant could be seen in the rear seat while he continued to talk to the officer. (The defendant was as drunk as a skunk)

 

[Bram]

Remember the JonBenet Ramsey murder? Didn't the parents refuse to talk to the police for a long time? I think that refusal led to them being tried & convicted in the court of public opinion.

Cases like that ... it would be very difficult *not* to talk to the police, but is an example of what the 2 men in the videos were addressing: family is high on the list of suspects & are most @ risk to having something they say come back to haunt them.

 

[Khufu]

I thought the info that 25% of people exonerated by DNA testing had confessed to crimes they hadn't committed was pretty striking. Shows what cops will do when under the pressure of a major crime.

Although the cop in the video was frank and provided valuable knowledge from his experience, he also appears never to have had any doubt but that he knew who was guilty and who was innocent. This is a Bad Thing.

 

[Malcolm2]

Wow, how to get away with committing a crime. This guy from a small town PD will be a good defense attorney, if you call 'good' someone who cares more about getting off a guy who is guilty. How about the victims? It is not a game to be a victim of a violent crime, but it is to the defense atty paid to get the the guilty guy off. How about the truth, do they teach that?
Don't commit a felony, how about that advice?

 

[BigNick]

I didn't like the throwaway comment from the cop that most police interviews in "Italy, Spain, etc" start with the police beating the suspect up. I doubt if he has any evidence for that. The biggest LE problem in those countries is finding a cop during the the extensive lunch "hour" that they take.

 

[frank]

Most people would talk to avoid paying the defense attorney fees. I don't know if what you see on tv is true about what they charge to go to court, but if it is the average guy would be in bankruptcy after the first week.

frank

 

[utrecht]

Over a dozen posts into the discussion... have we heard from an actual police officer yet?

Ask and you shall receive. I real life police officer here.

This guy is a typical slick talking shyster who would probably make a killing selling used cars. He said he would give the cop there with him equal time to contradict anything he said. I wish I was there because there would be plenty of that going on. Just for starters, he said nothing you can ever say to a cop can help you. Wrong. There have been plenty of times when I was leaning towards a certain suspect and would've spent a lot more time investigating him which would caused him a lot of problems both emotionally and monetarily, until I talked to him and he gave me an alibi. The alibi checked out and I was able to clear him and move on.

The lawyer is giving ridiculous examples of why not to talk to cops like the one where he insinuates that you could be arrested for being in possession of a small lobster and not even know you were committing a crime. Does anyone really think a normal person would be prosecuted for having one small lobster? That law is for fishermen who have a boat full of illegal lobster and full well know what they are doing is illegal.

What about the guy who was convicted of choking the lady in the hallway because he talked to the cops? Guess what? Sounds like he was guilty. Basically the lawyer is telling you that you can get away with your crimes if you don't talk to the cops. That's great if its you, but what it you are the victim and the bad guy got away with robbing you, or raping your wife because he didn't talk?

Lawyers should be there to protect their clients from unscrupulous cops and prosecutors, of which there are some....not to figure out a way to get guilty people off. Yes, its true that people do get convicted after they talked to the cops when they probably would have gotten away with it if they had kept their mouth shut. But its because they were guilty. Do we really want to be giving seminars on how to get away with murder? I don't think so.

This lawyer and cop are both making a lot of money going around giving seminars. They wouldn't be able to do that unless their subject matter was controversial. They are scum of the earth in my opinion. They are making money by taking advantage of future victims

Basically it boils down to this. If you are guilty you should keep your mouth shut but if you keep your mouth shut the cops know there's a good chance you are guilty and they are going to spend a lot more time on you.

 

[Nodak]

The lawyer is giving ridiculous examples of why not to talk to cops like the one where he insinuates that you could be arrested for being in possession of a small lobster and not even know you were committing a crime. Does anyone really think a normal person would be prosecuted for having one small lobster?

A few years ago a friend of mine picked up an eagle feather from the ground while he was hiking. A couple of days later he had federal agents at his door asking why he was in possession of an eagle feather. They were seriously talking about prosecuting him.