Don't Talk To The Police!

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sholling

New member
Because 99.999% of us are good law abiding citizens that support law enforcement there is a tendency to be a bit too trusting. A tendency to think that all LEOs are our friends and spill our guts to Officer Friendly. This was brought home by a poster that happily rattled off his ammunition inventory to a 'friendly' LEO pumping him for information. Well a couple of days ago a retired LEO posted this link on another site as a service the gun owning public. It's long but I highly recommend sitting down and giving it your undivided attention. This doesn't just apply to official criminal investigations. It also applies to social situations.

"Don't Talk To The Police"

"The Police Point of View"
 
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nate45

New member
Good advice

Never answer questions from the police without a lawyer present. Of course excluding if you called them to file a report or the very basics when being written a ticket or some such.
 
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45Marlin carbine

Moderator
being investigated in the disappearance of and likely murder of an elderly woman by small town cops (a cop's brother was the one who actually commited the murder- he is still walking free) I can tell you this -DO NOT TRUST THE POLICE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE WHAT SOEVER!
 
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HarrySchell

New member
I think it depends on the place, time and issues.

I watched the video and resolved that if, God forbid, I am involved in a self-defense situation I will, at the scene, decline to make a statement. The emotional load will be too high, I expect, to be real coherent, and that is a danger through omission, commison or self-inflicted words which can be twisted, even in all innocence by others.

I lived 29 years with my ex, and at the end I was questioning what was real, what wasn't and what was on her mind. Now, that is about as close as two people can get, and to be so confused...well, 10 minutes with a cop...he could easily take a peculiarity of how I express myself the wrong way...and we haven't slept together or had kids, blah, blah.

As they say "...can and will be used against you...". Sort of excludes exculpatory statements. Cops are faillaible, they're human. Best not to bet on it if you shouldn't.

A traffic stop is pretty easy, being fairly law-abiding except for speed limits-not much to hide or say.
 
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Dearhunter61

New member
WOW!

Outstanding info.

I have an issue with trusting cops as it is. This makes it even more evident that we need to make sure our rights are protected when speaking to them.

Thank YOU!
 
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VonFireball

New member
I'll talk to a police officer, why not?

"Hey officer, can I try shooting your pistol?"

"Hey officer, can I handle your shotgun?"

:D:D:D
 
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Dust Monkey

New member
Dont talk to them, at all. They are not there to be your friend. Provide them with ID (if you are required to) and then shut up and lawyer up.

Also, when a cop asks you if he can enter your house, treat him like a vampire. Do not let him enter, walk outside, lock the door behind you if you have to or ask if he has a warrant. If he does not, ask him to leave. If he has a warrant, be nice, obey his instructions, but by all that is holy, shut the hell up until you talk to a lawyer.
 
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sholling

New member
Also, when a cop asks you if he can enter your house, treat him like a vampire. Do not let him enter, walk outside, lock the door behind you if you have to or ask if he has a warrant. If he does not, ask him to leave. If he has a warrant, be nice, obey his instructions, but by all that is holy, shut the hell up until you talk to a lawyer.
Click to expand...
Adding to your point. The best advice I've heard on this (I'm not a lawyer) is to ask one and only one question... may I leave? If you are not being detained I'm told that it's best to leave ASAP because the temptation to help becomes overwhelming.
 
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zukiphile

New member
A couple of different themes are mingled here.

It is true that there is no net advantage to most criminal defendants in talking to the police, even where the police threaten to or actually do abuse your person or property.

The OP brings up a different issue though.

This was brought home by a poster that happily rattled off his ammunition inventory to a 'friendly' LEO pumping him for information.
Click to expand...

Rattling off your extensive ammunition inventory isn't normal. Bragging about your own personal armory will be construed by non-gun people, of which many policemen are, as a sign of an imbalance that combined with your now obvious ability to cause harm logically merits some investigation.
 
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jakeswensonmt

New member
Check out the show "First 48" on A&E, documentary-type show about homicide detectives working cases.
About 90% of the time they bring in a suspect, they have no hard evidence against them. The police work the old good cop/bad cop standby, and amazingly it still works. Instead of lawyering up, the suspects operate their mouths until they are in deep trouble. If they are smart enough to say nothing, or just lawyer up, the police stay at square zero.
A lot of these people on the show are guilty and usually break down and give full confessions, but sometimes they bring in someone who was merely present at a homicide, and they too operate their mouths unncessarily until police have evidence to "put them at the scene" at which point the "felony murder charge" is brought against them (which means that a person can be charged with a murder that they didn't actually commit.)

I'm not trying to advocate advice on how to get away with murder, but police can be like prosecuting attorneys, casting a wide net in order to get as many arrests and press as many charges as possible, and aren't particularly worried about whether or not their arrestees deserve to be prosecuted, just so long as they can be prosecuted.
 
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nate45

New member
Right you are jakeswensonmt

Like for instance the term 'lawyering up' itself invented by the police to make it seem like you are doing something wrong or that makes you look guilty. Instead of the smart thing. Only the foolish would under go police interrogation without the presence of a lawyer. Of course most people in jail aren't known for being overly intelligent.
 
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