"Talking to the police"

[Archangel M]

Of course the point should be to not be a law breaker in the first place. And give the whole "victim of circumstance" thing a rest. The VAST majority of arrest situations are either stupid people doing stupid things or emotional people doing things they later regret. Either way...the world would be a better place if people didnt break the law in the first place, and if they did, own up to it instead of worrying about how to get out of it.

 

[allenjp]

But in this particular arena what is, and what is not against the law is open to so much debate because of the way the laws on the subject are written. And those of us who affirm our right to defend ourselves instead of waiting for the police to do it, need to know what we are looking at, and need to know what can be considered breaking the law...

 

[Archangel M]

Well all I have to say is that you should realize that if YOU dont talk, the police are going to then have to go with what witnesses and/or the other party says. Then your odds of being arrested may have just gone up. Not that Im recommending running your mouth, but just be aware...I would say that you should be prepared to make a general statement about the event but save any "blow by blow" details till you talk to an attorney, especially if you are asked to go back to the station to give a statement.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[jks9199]

Of course the point should be to not be a law breaker in the first place. And give the whole "victim of circumstance" thing a rest. The VAST majority of arrest situations are either stupid people doing stupid things or emotional people doing things they later regret. Either way...the world would be a better place if people didnt break the law in the first place, and if they did, own up to it instead of worrying about how to get out of it.

The question at hand isn't really for the banger/criminal crowd. It's for the folks who end up defending themselves and find themselves having to explain what happened. They're not trying to explain how they just mysteriously ended up in someone else's pants which just happened to have several dime bags of weed in the pockets, or how they wouldn't have stolen whatever it was, except that they were overcharging so much... or any of the other bs we've heard.

 

[allenjp]

The question at hand isn't really for the banger/criminal crowd. It's for the folks who end up defending themselves and find themselves having to explain what happened. They're not trying to explain how they just mysteriously ended up in someone else's pants which just happened to have several dime bags of weed in the pockets, or how they wouldn't have stolen whatever it was, except that they were overcharging so much... or any of the other bs we've heard.

HAHAHAHA, ROFLMAO. I guess this epedemic of people borrowing other people's pants isn't exclusive to Socal...

The real funny thing is how they can never remember the last name of the guy they got the pants from or where he lives, even though they've known him for twenty years...

But invariably in the cases I deal with, the guys' first name is "Juan"...

Of course here it's always meth instead of weed that's in said pockets who belong to someone else.

 

[allenjp]

I should clarify something here that I think didn't really come through in my other posts. Sorry for the long posts, but there's just so much detail involved here.

Anyway, the reason that I feel you may want to at least make a short statement, is that when the police arrive, and ask you what happened, if you immediately invoke your right to silence, and ask for an attorney, you may be kinda intimating to the police that you think you've done something wrong. People tell them they won't talk to them without an attorney all the time, and they say that when they are being arrested.

They also know that there are defense attorneys out there telling their clients not to talk to the police next time, and so if you start out with that they have good reason to think you may have been in trouble before.

My advice would be to say "that guy attacked me, and I defended myself because I was afraid he would kill me", and then shut yer yap and don't say any more. It may be a good idea though, instead of saying you want to talk to an attorney, to say that you're shaken up, and you need time to calm down before you can talk about details. But don't say any more until you have talked to an attorney.

And especially if you end up being arrested, don't say a freakin' word.

 

[Archangel M]

Thats more along the lines of what I was thinkin.

 

[punisher73]

I think one of the keys to this is you have to give them SOMETHING to let them know you are the victim. Like has been previously said, if you say nothing at all the police will put that in their report and they will also put the other person's story in there also. When you make your statement it will seem less credible and more like you are "making it up" to justify what you did.

I had a domestic situation where the girl had a bruise on her ribs which would have been consitant with being punched. I attempted to talk with the boyfriend and he wouldn't say ANYTHING! I mean not even something along the lines of "I don't know why she is saying this" or "I didn't do anything". NOTHING, guess who got arrested because all I had was one person's story and a bruise that would give me probably cause that he did do it. The reason I point out this story is, let's say it wasn't a boyfriend/girlfriend but it was at a bar. He thinks your somebody else and yells something at you while he takes a swing. You block his punch and then punch him dead on the button. He gets knocked out and has a huge bruise and fat lip. He gives his side of the story and says you punched him and he has the bruise, you say nothing at all. What do you think the cops are going to do? They kind of have their hands tied with the information given.

Also, all of this talk about lawyers and wanting to talk to them. How many of you actually HAVE an attorney on retainer and have previously discussed this matter with them and KNOW that they will answer your call late at night to help you out? Also, you have gotten the specifics of what they would like you to do/say when giving a brief statement to the police for if they defend you later in court?

All of this debate is kind of like talking about how to punch/kick and then never going out and practicing it. It's a mental exercise that will never help you unless you actually put the plan in ahead of time.

 

[KenpoTex]

Just curious...have you guys actually watched the video or read through the thread I linked?

 

[Archangel M]

Yup..goes back to my earlier post upthread. The video was pretty much about keeping the client who (even the professor said this) is many times guilty, from incriminating himself. With some mention about how innocent people also confess. Which as a defense attorney I guess is an admirable goal. Im somewhat less sympathetic about keeping the guilty out of jail. Thats not my job.

Didnt hear anything explicitly about self-defense. But Im still of the mind that you better have something to say if the cops show up and the other guy has holes in him and you are holding the weapon.

 

[Sukerkin]

Chaps, I've just read through this thread and I just want to say "thanks" to all of you for your contributions. Excellent insights being given by people who know what they're talking about.

:rei:.

 

[jks9199]

I should clarify something here that I think didn't really come through in my other posts. Sorry for the long posts, but there's just so much detail involved here.

Anyway, the reason that I feel you may want to at least make a short statement, is that when the police arrive, and ask you what happened, if you immediately invoke your right to silence, and ask for an attorney, you may be kinda intimating to the police that you think you've done something wrong. People tell them they won't talk to them without an attorney all the time, and they say that when they are being arrested.

They also know that there are defense attorneys out there telling their clients not to talk to the police next time, and so if you start out with that they have good reason to think you may have been in trouble before.

My advice would be to say "that guy attacked me, and I defended myself because I was afraid he would kill me", and then shut yer yap and don't say any more. It may be a good idea though, instead of saying you want to talk to an attorney, to say that you're shaken up, and you need time to calm down before you can talk about details. But don't say any more until you have talked to an attorney.

And especially if you end up being arrested, don't say a freakin' word.

There's no length of post limit, at least as far as I know. Some things require more words to say than others, so use 'em! And this is definitely one of those topics...

If you don't give the responding officer anything to work with, then he or she is going to have to go by what other people tell them and what they observe. There's an infamous sequence to cops... the "eyewitness" who saw "everything." Much more often than not, this is an EYEWITLESS, because they're statement is going to begin "I heard a crash/commotion/uproar and then I turned around and saw..." Very seldom did they actually see what they think they did... because they only saw the aftermath. So, if you've just defended yourself from a violent attack, do you want the only thing for the cop to work with is one guy on the ground, out for the count, and an eyewitless who's statement will amount to seeing you hit the guy?

I'm not suggesting you give a detailed statement in the heat of the moment; see earlier posts for exactly what my opinion is on how much detail you need to go into. It's not a lot -- but it's more than nothing.

 

[chinto]

All I can say is if I am ever in a self defense situation I will say NOTHING to the cops except that I was attacked! every thing else will be after an attorney is involved representing me!!
this is in fact the thing that 3 cops told me they would do too!!

 

[allenjp]

All I can say is if I am ever in a self defense situation I will say NOTHING to the cops except that I was attacked! every thing else will be after an attorney is involved representing me!!
this is in fact the thing that 3 cops told me they would do too!!

Cops? Don't you mean Law Enforcement Officers? lol

 

[chinto]

Cops? Don't you mean Law Enforcement Officers? lol

yes COPS constables on patrol is where that came from.. yes LEO's..one is a state police officer, the other is a city cop and the last is a city detective.... COP covers all the different flavors..LOL, besides as their employer, i figure if I wish to use cop that is fine. hell they call themselves cops too! LOL

 

[allenjp]

yes COPS constables on patrol is where that came from.. yes LEO's..one is a state police officer, the other is a city cop and the last is a city detective.... COP covers all the different flavors..LOL, besides as their employer, i figure if I wish to use cop that is fine. hell they call themselves cops too! LOL

very well, cops it is!!!

 

[jks9199]

yes COPS constables on patrol is where that came from.. yes LEO's..one is a state police officer, the other is a city cop and the last is a city detective.... COP covers all the different flavors..LOL, besides as their employer, i figure if I wish to use cop that is fine. hell they call themselves cops too! LOL

No, it's not.

I don't have access to the very well researched piece a friend of mine did on it -- but Snopes covers it pretty well: http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/cop.asp

Bottom line -- it's from a verb meaning to take or capture. It predates the existence of British Constables, and has nothing to do with buttons.

 

[chinto]

No, it's not.

I don't have access to the very well researched piece a friend of mine did on it -- but Snopes covers it pretty well: http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/cop.asp

Bottom line -- it's from a verb meaning to take or capture. It predates the existence of British Constables, and has nothing to do with buttons.

ok.. we can call them peelers then! ( original name for the London bobbies and came from the man who came up with the idea of a police force instead of a knight watch of soldiers.) but like I said most of the cops I know call themselves and other LEO types cops

 

[sgtmac_46]

LFI-1 Massad Ayoob.

1. When the cops arive tell them the dynamics of the situation.
That is:
a. you are the victim
b. the ones on the ground (hopefully) are the suspects
c. point out any evidence (like clubs, knives, guns, etc.. before someone in the crowed walks off with them.) Same goes for any other evidence.
d. point out any bruise, cuts, tears, etc.. done to you or others.
e. tell the cops you will co-operate 100 percent, totaly, but.... you are upset and would like to take to your lawyer first!
Then shut up! If they try to ask even make talk questions, be firm, be polite, but tell them you still want to talk to a lawyer first.

There are many reasons for the above.

1. After such an encounter you may very well not remember everything, nor even remember it in the order it happened. You can easly say something that can be taken many different ways by the cops, the same cops that use just their memory and a note pad, and what was supposed to sound like self defense, sounds to them like murder.

2. You can be pressured to say something as fact when you really are not sure it is fact. Like how many shots were fired? Did you count?

3. Being upset, you can actually feel remose even if you did fight for your life and blurt out how you are sorry it happened or you might say maybe I didnt need to shoot, or other things at the heat of the moment.

Anyway, yes you do co-operate with the police, but only have a good long talk with your lawyer to get the facts right in your head.

Deaf

That is the best advice.....keep the story simple, concise and don't expound with a lawyer.

Believe me, if i'm involved in a police involved shooting, i'm going to be invoking my rights as well........

 

[allenjp]

No, it's not.

I don't have access to the very well researched piece a friend of mine did on it -- but Snopes covers it pretty well: http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/cop.asp

Bottom line -- it's from a verb meaning to take or capture. It predates the existence of British Constables, and has nothing to do with buttons.

Oh for the love of pete!!! Do you like to be called that or not?!

By the definition in that article something like the following would make sense: My friend was once copped by a copper who was copping several others at the time.