Been watching to many conspiracy videos maybe

[bastid]

Originally Posted by TNTramair

you make a valid point.

What you don't want to do is answer any question prior to understanding why you are being asked the question. If you are being questioned about a crime, even though you haven't done anything wrong, you can potentially incriminate yourself by answering questions.

Let's say you are walking by a 7-11 at night and you see 2 cruisers lit up in the parking lot. As you are walking by, you are approached by an officer and asked about your whereabouts as of an hour ago. If you answer "I wasn't anywhere near here, Sir," you may think that you're clear. However, a crazy lady witness comes along while you are being questioned and says someone who was also wearing jeans and a white t-shirt and about your height/weight WAS there. Now you stand the chance of getting into some heat. Now it's a witness AND the officer's word against yours.

However, you could say something to the effect of "I'm just passing through. Am I being detained, or am I free to go?" and keep going on your merry way rather than get held there only to have some crazy lady try to tell the officer that you looked like the person who robbed the place. If the officer says you are being detained, they need to produce a reason. Again, you can be very polite, civil, respectful, and cooperative with police officers yet still be very aware of your rights at the same time.

If you ARE being detained and arrested, shut up and get a lawyer. "You have the right to remain silent." You will have your chance to defend yourself in court. A large majority of in convictions are dealt out where a confession is already documented either at the scene of a crime or during interrogation afterward absent the presence of an attorney. Why deny your right to a trial by judge/jury? If you are innocent, the evidence will point to it. If you are guilty, the evidence will most likely point to that, too.

Usually the justice system is right about who gets convicted, but it isn't 100% certain and is open to human error. Regardless of this fact, getting arrested and going through a criminal trial I would imagine completely sucks because you told someone something that could be used against you.

I'd love to hear some of the perspectives of the law enforcement officers here on TST. I find the topic interesting and would like to hear the opinions from the "other side" of the badge.

PS - Utmost respect to those who risk their lives day in and day out to protect those of us who enjoy our lifestyles in as crime-free an environment as we can get. Beers on me :P