Newsgroups: alt.society.civil-liberty,misc.legal,talk.politics.drugs
From: [f--s--l] at [netcom.com] (David Feustel)
Subject: If Stopped by the Cops
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1993 19:43:09 GMT

The following is an my amplification of a previously printed article
about what to do if stopped by the cops. I updated the article to give
it to someone who recently had a run-in with some private security guards.
Any comments and/or flames are welcome.

I would particularly appreciate suggestions for what to do when stopped
by airport security and private security guards or when raided by DEA
or BATF agents since these situations were not addressed in the
original article but seem to be occurring more frequently as of late.

--------- WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET STOPPED BY THE POLICE ---------	
 
The legal system in the US is one arm of the octopus we call "The
System." It was designed by and is used for the benefit of those who
control our society.  It was not designed to protect the "rights" of
those who oppose capitalism or business as usual.  Because of various
historical accidents, there are aspect of the law that, at least in
theory, protect individual "liberties." The law presumes, however, that
everyone knows what these protections are and if you don't know what
they are, it is very easy to "waive" these rights.  Therefore, in the
interest of giving us all an equal chance when we're confronted by the
cops, here are some thoughts on the law of police stops and searches.
This article is based on how things are supposed to be "in theory." The
reality is that police can and will do anything they want out on the
street.  And they won't hesitate to lie about it later on.  But some
cops are worse than others and a lot of them may treat you differently
if they think you know your rights.  The police depend on fear and
intimidation to get what they want.  Don't let them get away with more
than they are allowed to because of fear.  If you run into a really bad
cop, talking back to him and standing up for your rights might get you
beaten up or killed, so be careful about the realistic limits of "the
law" and of your rights in America.  Cops are perhaps the most dangerous
members of our society, so be careful when you talk to them.  David
Simon, a reporter for the Baltimore Sun in his book Homicide, p. 204-220,
shows how cops "trick" the ignorant into waiving right after
right.  The basic strategy he rights about involves bombarding the
subject with so many questions that s/he doesn't think to say "I want to
talk to a lawyer and I don't want to answer any questions until I do."
Simon reports that cops follow the letter of the law, ignoring the
spirit.  Thus a subject who says "Maybe I should get a lawyer" is met
with the response, "Maybe you should." Similarly: "Those few with heart
enough to ask whether they are under arrest are often answered with a
question: 'Why?  Do you want to be?' -'No.' - 'Then sit the fuck down.'"
Cops are tricky.  You have to be explicit in invoking your rights,
otherwise you "waive" them.
 
			  Preliminaries
 
First, make absolutely sure that you are in fact dealing with a
bona-fide police officer; Impersonation of Police officers by criminals
is an increasing problem.  Ask for idenfication from any non-uniformed
person purporting to be a law enforcement officer.  If, in a vehicle,
you have any doubts as to whether the people attempting to stop you
really are police (no flashing lightbar, no marked police car and/or no
police uniforms or identification) KEEP DRIVING at a safe speed to the
nearest police or fire station, open gas station or service plaza.  If
it really is police there will be more police cars appearing very
shortly once you don't stop after the initial request to pull over.  You
should stop immediately at the appearance of additional police cars.  If
it is actually the police attempting to stop you, they will not be
pleased that you didn't stop immediately, but they should understand
your behavior and not hold it against you if you then deal with them
correctly.
 
Always keep your hands in plain sight and your arms at your sides when
dealing with a police officer.  Make no sudden moves and speak in a
level, calm voice.  Be very polite and to the point; insults and
invective may feel good, but can only make your situation (much) worse.
If you are stopped in your car at night, pull completely off the road,
turn off your engine, lock your doors, roll up all windows except the
driver's window and turn on the overhead light.  Have your license,
registration and proof of insurance out for the officer when he
arrives at your vehicle.  Your production of those items will be his
first request during a normal traffic stop.  Do not get out of your car
unless told to.

When a police officer stops you on the street, the law
says that the stop will fall into one of 3 categories: consensual
contact, detention and arrest.  Which one you're in determines how badly
they can fuck with you.  At one end is a "consensual contact." This
means that the officer comes up to you and says "can I speak with you?"
If you say "yes," you have consented to have contact with the police.
That is very bad.  The result of such "consent" is that you won't have
various "rights" under the Constitution.
 
			     Contact
 
ESPECIALLY if you think you may be guilty of something (you have a
warrant out on you, you are carrying drugs, you just did something
illegal), NEVER consent to talk to a police officer.  This sounds
backward.  The normal impulse when confronted with a cop is to be polite
and try to convince them that you aren't doing anything.  If you follow
such an impulse, you are unlikely to actually convince the officer and
if the cop gets you on something, you won't be able to get out of it
later on in court.  Never voluntarily talk to the police!  If you don't
think you are guilty of anything, it still isn't a good idea to
consensually talk to the cop.  You never know how the conversation will
end up.  And if people figure "well, I'm not guilty of anything so I'll
let the police stop me and ask me a few questions now and then" the
police state will be on the march.  Further, it will encourage the idea
that people who don't want to talk to the police have something to hide.
How do I avoid a consensual contact?  If the cop asks, "Can I talk to
you" say something like "I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry and I don't have time
to talk to you right now." If the cop insists, ask him "Are you
detaining me?  Am I free to leave?" Ask this several times to make sure
the cop will have a hard time lying and saying you didn't mention it
later on if you get to court.  If it is really a consensual contact, the
officer ought to let you go on your way if you ask to go.  If you don't
actually verbally ask to leave, the court will presume that you
consented to whatever follows.
 
			   Detentions
 
The next category of citizen/police contact is called a detention.  The
police are only allowed to detain a citizen when there are "specific and
articulable facts supporting suspicion" that you are involved in
criminal activity.  This means that they can't detain you on a "hunch."
"Specific and articulable facts" (SAF) means that the police must have
observed something about your behavior and character that links you with
specific criminal activity.  If the police detain you without SAF, the
detention is illegal and whatever they obtain as a result of the
detention (evidence or arrest) cannot be used against you in court.  How
does this all work in practice?  Suppose the police stop you because it
is late at night, you are walking around the city, "you look at them
funny", look  "strange" or are homeless or the wrong color.  The
officer says "Excuse me, may I talk to you?" You say alright.  You have
just consented to talk to the police.  If the officer notices after
talking to you for a while that you have spray paint on your finger or
wheatpaste on you clothing, or notices a bulge in your coat, the officer
can find cause to detain you and could eventually arrest you.  If,
however, you said "no, I have to go" the officer is supposed to let you
go because he or she doesn't have SAF that you are involved in criminal
activity just because you look funny and it is nighttime.  The courts
have found all of the facts mentioned above insufficient to justify a
detention.  If the cop says, "well, you can't go" or otherwise detains
you, then if they do find reason to arrest you, you may be able to avoid
the penalty because the original detention was illegal.  If the officer
detains you and finds nothing, you should complain to the city, the
"police review commission" in your town (if there is one) and you should
let COPWATCH know about what happened.  (510-548-0425).  Often (except
as noted below), when you start throwing around terms like "detention"
and "specific and articulable facts" the cop is going to lay off.  A lot
of the police's power is intimidation and the public's ignorance.  It is
crucial that you let the officer know that you are not "consenting" to
talk to him and that the only way you will talk to him is if he detains
you.  There may be SAF in some circumstances.  If you rob a bank wearing
red pants and a string tie and are spotted 15 minutes later in those
same clothes carrying a white money bag reported missing by the bank,
the police will probably have SAF.  There is nothing illegal about a
police detention if they have SAF, but not just anything is a "specific
and articulable fact" supporting suspicion that you are involved in
criminal activity.  The facts have to be very specific.  A lot of
"police harassment" situations involve the police stopping people
because they "look wrong" and then going on "fishing expeditions"
looking for a valid reason to arrest which they didn't have at the
beginning of the stop.  Don't give the officer a chance to find anything
out - Just Say "No". What if the officer asks to search?  More serious
than consensual contact and detention is an arrest.  For an arrest, the
police need a high level of suspicion of your involvement in criminal
activity.  If you are arrested, the police can search you as part of the
arrest.
 
			    Searches
 
If the officer asks to search you without arresting you, you can say
"no." The police have the right to search for weapons if they feel in
danger of being attacked.  They are not allowed to search people for
other items.  In a lot of cases the police ask to search someone and
obtain "consent" to search.  Even though the search isn't justified, it
will be legal because the citizen didn't object and therefore "consent"
is presumed.  If the officer asks to search you or any of your property,
say no and ask if you are under arrest or if they have a warrant.  If
you aren't and they don't, tell them "I would rather not let you
search." They may ask many times and seem to be acting with complete
authority.  Just Say No.  You will not let them search you unless they
arrest you or have a warrant, and you don't have a weapon.  If they and
search anyway and find something, you may be able to escape the penalty
later in court.  If the cop is obeying the law, they should leave you
alone.  The fact that you refused to be searched does not make you more
"suspicious" and give them an excuse to search.  Of course as stated
above, the police may ignore all of these laws and they may be less than
polite and non-violent.  When a cop gets out of control, deal with it
carefully.  But don't voluntarily consent to either a search or a
detention.
 
			     Arrest
 
Once you are under arrest, offer no physical resistance, volunteer
nothing and answer no questions.  Nothing you can say will pevent your
being handcuffed and taken to the station for booking.  Anything you say
can be used as evidence against you in court.  Resistance to handcuffing
and any police actions/orders will get you an automatic "Resisting
Arrest" charge as well as any number of injuries as the police use
whatever force they deem necessary against you until you comply with their
directions.  Your only response to any interrogation from the moment
that you are told that you are under arrest should be "I want a lawyer".
-- 
Dave Feustel N9MYI <[f--s--l] at [netcom.com]>

Debt Reduction, not deficit reduction