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Sure, in case it’s necessary, the advice above applies mostly in regards to talking to or being questioned by the police in situations where they are acting in
by mplanchard 3y ago
Sure, in case it’s necessary, the advice above applies mostly in regards to talking to or being questioned by the police in situations where they are acting in their official capacity and in which you are not directly seeking their immediate assistance. It also applies when talking to police who are not acting in their official capacity about any real or alleged crime that you may be involved in in any way, no matter how tangentially.
- everybodyknows 3y agoAnd what about witnessing a crime committed against some complete stranger? Considering separately both the cases of a crime in progress, and one recently completed? Also considering whether the crime is accidental e.g. hit-and-run, or professional, financially-motivated actors. Recall that among the latter class are the white-collar criminals capable of retaliation against witnesses, and the reason we have white-collar whistleblower protection laws.
- mplanchard 3y agoYeah exactly. There’s enough nuance here that it would be really nice to have a lawyer around to help you. My take though is that there’s a difference between being questioned by the police and a police officer asking you for directions or asking “which way did he go” while chasing someone or something like that. If I were a witness to a crime against someone else and was giving a statement, I would absolutely insist on having a lawyer present. If I were a witness to an ongoing crime against someone else and could point the police in the right direction to stop it, I would of course do so.