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Of course it would have made more sense to not say anything! Can’t you see that you may have made yourself a suspect in a crime by admitting that you walk that

Of course it would have made more sense to not say anything! Can’t you see that you may have made yourself a suspect in a crime by admitting that you walk that way every night to a cop? It sounds ridiculous because it is, but it doesn’t make the fact that you put yourself at risk by talking tot he cop any less true

gnulinux 8y ago
Sure but they have absolutely no evidence. They could do that anyway. They can just randomly pick me from crowd and claim I'm a suspect and they'd have the same amount of evidence. Or worse, they can observe the street and see that I walk it every day. If we believe US cops are dystopic like that, not talking to them doesn't solve those problems.
- cf141q5325 8y ago
  The problem is you dont have to assume malice, as it is reasonable for a cop to react that way in his circumstances. I dont assume the cop in the video linked above wanted to pin something on the guy, he most likely really believed he was guilty. Thats the problem. Cops are confronted with criminals every day and its their job to look for suspects. Its really easy to look like a nail if someone has a hammer. And once you are seen as a suspect, confirmation bias sets in. And with every word you say the risk of them finding something that looks to them like circumstantial evidence rises. Assume you said you are walking there every night, but once he specifies to yesterday you contradict yourself, because yesterday was an exception. Now add some dumb luck and you know the victim of what ever happened and you dont have an alibi. Now you returned to the crime scene, know the victim and lied to a cop. Talking to a cop is simply reckless. They question suspects everyday and its likely your first time. You dont have to be guilty to contradict yourself in a stress situation, speech is a rather imperfect way to communicate. And sure, they can suspect you either way, and there is nothing you can do about it except getting an attorney. Cops suspecting you of something isnt that big of an issue, there is a separation of power between executive and judiciary for a reason. Its the job of a cop to make a case against a suspect. Its the job of a judge and jury to evaluate if that actually happened.
  - Fnoord 8y ago
    I get all your points, but what I don't get: what if I need help from the police? Say I lost an item? Say I'd like to know directions?

gnulinux 8y ago

Sure but they have absolutely no evidence. They could do that anyway. They can just randomly pick me from crowd and claim I'm a suspect and they'd have the same amount of evidence. Or worse, they can observe the street and see that I walk it every day. If we believe US cops are dystopic like that, not talking to them doesn't solve those problems.

cf141q5325 8y ago
The problem is you dont have to assume malice, as it is reasonable for a cop to react that way in his circumstances. I dont assume the cop in the video linked above wanted to pin something on the guy, he most likely really believed he was guilty. Thats the problem. Cops are confronted with criminals every day and its their job to look for suspects. Its really easy to look like a nail if someone has a hammer. And once you are seen as a suspect, confirmation bias sets in. And with every word you say the risk of them finding something that looks to them like circumstantial evidence rises. Assume you said you are walking there every night, but once he specifies to yesterday you contradict yourself, because yesterday was an exception. Now add some dumb luck and you know the victim of what ever happened and you dont have an alibi. Now you returned to the crime scene, know the victim and lied to a cop. Talking to a cop is simply reckless. They question suspects everyday and its likely your first time. You dont have to be guilty to contradict yourself in a stress situation, speech is a rather imperfect way to communicate. And sure, they can suspect you either way, and there is nothing you can do about it except getting an attorney. Cops suspecting you of something isnt that big of an issue, there is a separation of power between executive and judiciary for a reason. Its the job of a cop to make a case against a suspect. Its the job of a judge and jury to evaluate if that actually happened.
- Fnoord 8y ago
  I get all your points, but what I don't get: what if I need help from the police? Say I lost an item? Say I'd like to know directions?