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Interacting with law enforcement is probably not a situation that anyone really wants to experience. However, it will happen to you at some point, even if you haven’t broken any laws. In this article, we’ll tell you about the tricks that the police use to increase their chances of charging you with something, as well as the tricks that you can use to get yourself out of trouble.
Requests Are Not Orders
Contrary to popular belief, a request from a police officer is not the same as an order. For example, you do not have to roll down your window completely unless specifically ordered to do so. You can also film the officers while they are on duty, which could prevent any sort of legal subterfuge since you would have the evidence in hand. Additionally, you do not have to consent to a search unless the officer has a warrant. You have every right to ask, “Am I being detained or am I free to go?”
Police officers casually seek information
When you are pulled over, the officer will ask for your driver’s license and vehicle registration. You should assume that everything that happens after that is an attempt to gather information under the guise of casual conversation, so that you are not on your guard. Anything you say could potentially incriminate you and be used against you in court, even if it seems like a normal conversation. You should only tell the officers what they ask to know, with as short answers as possible. This does not mean you should be rude, only that you should answer questions about the offense itself and nothing else.
The Police Can Legally Lie to You
Imagine an officer telling you that they have your fingerprints or DNA, proving that you are responsible for the crime in question. Don’t necessarily believe them. The police can legally lie to you. Forensic labs are often crowded, so if you were arrested for a recent crime, it’s unlikely that the police will have your fingerprints or DNA when they question you.
Cops Can Use Fake Tests
Not only can cops legally lie to you, they can also use fake tests to try to deceive you. In the 2009 case of People v. Mays, cops hooked up their suspect to a fake lie detector and showed him a fake graph that proved he was lying. The suspect then confessed to being at the crime scene, and the court ruled that this was admissible. So cops can also use other methods, such as washing the suspect’s hands before applying a cocaine test kit to claim that the color change proves he recently fired a gun.
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