5 ms·

Arguing with a police officer is a surefire way to get arrested. Assert your rights in court, not on the street.

hndamien 12y ago
Sometimes the need to be asserted on the street in order for them to be violated and hold up in court.
stephencanon 12y ago
Never [politely] arguing with police officers is a surefire way to reinforce their belief that they can get away with anything. I wish more people had that courage, but I understand why most people don't most of the time.
coldtea 12y ago
It's not like it's much better in court. In court it's often your word against theirs (and they have much more sympathy from the judges, prosecutors etc, because, essentially, they are working all together). Plus, this notion leads to a servant mindset. Why should "arguing with a police officer" be a "surefire way to get arrested" (and worse, tasered, beaten up, etc). Arguing should be totally normal and accepted -- and it is that way in most western countries -- cops don't just bark orders and except mindless obedience "or else". Of course I'm talking about plain arguing (as in talking, proposing arguments, etc, related to what they tell you). Not swearing, or fighting them (which could justifiable get you arrested). Heck, even the "don't try to get out of the car when you are stopped by a traffic cop or you'll get shot" is a complete BS, that only happens in the US. No cop in Germany, Sweden, Holland, Britain, Italy etc would even think to shot you for getting out of your car to check why you were stopped. That's what they do at bank robbers in hot pursuit, not traffic offenders...
- rayiner 12y ago
  > Germany, Sweden, Holland, Britain, Italy etc would even think to shot you for getting out of your car to check why you were stopped. Neither would most cops in the U.S. The cops in my town (Wilmington, DE) might, but then again the murder rate here is 30-40 times higher than in Munich and above that of such safe places as Kingston, Jamaica.
- xorcist 12y ago
  > That's what they do at bank robbers in hot pursuit No, they wouldn't. That would be putting civilians at risk. I don't know about the UK, but for the rest of the mentioned countries it wouldn't happen unless there is anything else to it.
- EGreg 12y ago
  It is not a servant mindset when police are also held accountable for patterns in their behavior. They are public servants but at the same time they have authority to arrest you until people try to figure out what happened. This will waste a lot of time out of your day but it's the "security protocol" that society has established. Humans don't have perfect knowledge and the best thing you can do is cooperate without causing extra drama for everybody. You are more likely to avoid arrest and furthermore even if arrested you are more likely to win later. As a side note: consider that having very little money saved is like operating without a safety net when you get into a car accident or something gets stolen or breaks or whatnot. Similarly when you cannot afford to lose any time, I think you'll react much more badly to being arrested etc. and cops don't care about that. http://www.flexyourrights.org/ http://www.flexyourrights.org/ Not every cop is a lawyer and you stand to gain from asserting your rights while recording yourself on a voice recorder. There are so many different ones you can buy, or use the car's dashcam, or both. Germany, Sweden etc also have very low rates of gun ownership by civilians. If USA insists on gun ownership, then these are the consequences. Disclosure: I am a white male living in NYC and I have never been even close to arrested for anything.
Apofis 12y ago
That's precisely why I let it go. Had there been evidence I could have used, I would have later pursued it.
chrismcb 12y ago
Assert you rights, on and off the street. If you give them up on the street you may find you don't have them in the court room.
rdl 12y ago
Verbally asserting your rights or non-cooperation, while being physically non-threatening and compliant, is the right solution, generally. "No, officer, I do not consent to a search of my vehicle.", said repeatedly, makes it much more clear in court later that the search, which may have been conducted without reasonable suspicion, was also done without consent, and thus the evidence is inadmissible. You're still probably going to jail if they find a suitcase of contraband while searching the car, but jail > conviction.

Sometimes the need to be asserted on the street in order for them to be violated and hold up in court.

Never [politely] arguing with police officers is a surefire way to reinforce their belief that they can get away with anything. I wish more people had that courage, but I understand why most people don't most of the time.

coldtea 12y ago

It's not like it's much better in court. In court it's often your word against theirs (and they have much more sympathy from the judges, prosecutors etc, because, essentially, they are working all together). Plus, this notion leads to a servant mindset. Why should "arguing with a police officer" be a "surefire way to get arrested" (and worse, tasered, beaten up, etc). Arguing should be totally normal and accepted -- and it is that way in most western countries -- cops don't just bark orders and except mindless obedience "or else". Of course I'm talking about plain arguing (as in talking, proposing arguments, etc, related to what they tell you). Not swearing, or fighting them (which could justifiable get you arrested). Heck, even the "don't try to get out of the car when you are stopped by a traffic cop or you'll get shot" is a complete BS, that only happens in the US. No cop in Germany, Sweden, Holland, Britain, Italy etc would even think to shot you for getting out of your car to check why you were stopped. That's what they do at bank robbers in hot pursuit, not traffic offenders...

rayiner 12y ago
> Germany, Sweden, Holland, Britain, Italy etc would even think to shot you for getting out of your car to check why you were stopped. Neither would most cops in the U.S. The cops in my town (Wilmington, DE) might, but then again the murder rate here is 30-40 times higher than in Munich and above that of such safe places as Kingston, Jamaica.
xorcist 12y ago
> That's what they do at bank robbers in hot pursuit No, they wouldn't. That would be putting civilians at risk. I don't know about the UK, but for the rest of the mentioned countries it wouldn't happen unless there is anything else to it.
EGreg 12y ago
It is not a servant mindset when police are also held accountable for patterns in their behavior. They are public servants but at the same time they have authority to arrest you until people try to figure out what happened. This will waste a lot of time out of your day but it's the "security protocol" that society has established. Humans don't have perfect knowledge and the best thing you can do is cooperate without causing extra drama for everybody. You are more likely to avoid arrest and furthermore even if arrested you are more likely to win later. As a side note: consider that having very little money saved is like operating without a safety net when you get into a car accident or something gets stolen or breaks or whatnot. Similarly when you cannot afford to lose any time, I think you'll react much more badly to being arrested etc. and cops don't care about that. http://www.flexyourrights.org/ http://www.flexyourrights.org/ Not every cop is a lawyer and you stand to gain from asserting your rights while recording yourself on a voice recorder. There are so many different ones you can buy, or use the car's dashcam, or both. Germany, Sweden etc also have very low rates of gun ownership by civilians. If USA insists on gun ownership, then these are the consequences. Disclosure: I am a white male living in NYC and I have never been even close to arrested for anything.

Apofis 12y ago

That's precisely why I let it go. Had there been evidence I could have used, I would have later pursued it.

chrismcb 12y ago

Assert you rights, on and off the street. If you give them up on the street you may find you don't have them in the court room.

rdl 12y ago

Verbally asserting your rights or non-cooperation, while being physically non-threatening and compliant, is the right solution, generally. "No, officer, I do not consent to a search of my vehicle.", said repeatedly, makes it much more clear in court later that the search, which may have been conducted without reasonable suspicion, was also done without consent, and thus the evidence is inadmissible. You're still probably going to jail if they find a suitcase of contraband while searching the car, but jail > conviction.