Has anyone here ever been "busted" for the knife they were carrying?

The most important thing to keep in mind in a situation like this is that you should never plead guilty, especially when you are innocent. Demand a jury trial, it's your Constitutional right. Don't believe their bullshit about the extra-harsh sentence you will get if you have a trial. You have to be convicted first and if you are innocent and have a competent lawyer you won't be convicted.

That's the only way to fight back without getting into even more trouble, and if you believe in our Constitutional rights at all you must fight back.
 
Lots of people watch TV and hear the "I know my rights" line which his why they like to throw that out to police. My experience is that most people have never really looked into what their rights really are in their municipality. I would highly recommend you look into your local laws regarding carrying knives/weapons. Just because someone calls an illegal knife a tool doesn't mean that they won't get charged with carrying an illegal weapon. If you use it for defense purposes, and it's not an illegal knife, there is nothing wrong with admitting so. I run across knife carrying people everyday and I don't arrest them if they are being lawful about it. And yes, if you are a dirtbag and I can hem you up then I will. If you are a law abiding citizen then you don't have anything to worry about. People lie to us everyday and most of us have a low tolerance for it. Just be honest and work within the laws of your town/city. If you are being charged with a crime and are carrying an illegal weapon then you should expect to incur that additional charge.
 
RockyNomad, I agree with your method of enforcement.....issue in NYC is simple to me. There are 42,500 sworn officers many of who are in special details that each member must make a certain amount of arrest each month sooo....A clear weapons/knife violation easily makes a otherwise hard to obtain quailty arrest of a real bad guy....
 
buckg said:
In some places, people never wave at the police. If you wave at them, they think you are trying to act innocent but are in fact guilty of something. Why else would you wave when nobody else does? In places like that, waving at the police will get you stopped and hasled. I know it seems odd, but it's true.
Click to expand...

Usually it's not just because someone waves. I get waved at all the time and don't stop people. You learn to read people and can tell by their body language if something just isn't right. If the police do contact you chances are it's what is known as a "consent contact" in which case all you have to do is ask if you are being detained. If they say that you are not then you are free to leave. This falls under constitutional law and does not change from city to city/state to state.
 
hk10036 said:
I just got home for an ordeal I hope none of you ever have to go through. I am a 60 yo disabled Vietnam vet(corpsman), husband ,father of 3 girls and grandfather and on 1NOV07 I was going home via Port Authority from the subway when I was approached by 2 of NY's finest and asked where I was going, it was then that one of the officers noticed the clip on my pocket.He said ,what's that, and I replied,my pocket knife, it was then that I was searched and arrested. I kept saying, "it's a pocket knife" but to no avail, I was handcuffed and treated like a common criminal. I was paraded around from station house to station house ,in public humiliation, and finally placed in a 5x7 cell where I would spend the next 20hours. I won't get into the details, like not being read any type of rights, no phone call until 5 hours later and being told I didn't need a lawyer when I asked for one. I was then manacled to a group of killers ,rapists and who knows what and put in a bull pen with them until my hearing. My 2 minutes with a public defender,convinced me to take the plea of disorderly person or I would be convicted and sent to jail for more time than I could take. I am now going to be cleaning the 59th and Lexington station for a while for my crime of carrying a pocket knife. This country is turning into a police state and I'm ashamed that I am living in a fascist country, where rights are just an illusion. Hk10036@aol.com
Click to expand...
OUCH! Our esteemed law enforcement community cannot bring Osama bin Laden and James J. "Whitey" Bulger to justice (#1 & #2, respectively, on the FBI 10-most-wanted list) but they sure know how to pick on Joe Average, don't they? A woman from Arizona wrote an article in a Tucson newspaper about her daughter's experience in NYC after carrying a pocketknife with the clip exposed. Pretty much mirrored what happened to you. You are right; this country is fascist!
 
hk10036 said:
I just got home for an ordeal I hope none of you ever have to go through. I am a 60 yo disabled Vietnam vet(corpsman), husband ,father of 3 girls and grandfather and on 1NOV07 I was going home via Port Authority from the subway when I was approached by 2 of NY's finest and asked where I was going, it was then that one of the officers noticed the clip on my pocket.He said ,what's that, and I replied,my pocket knife, it was then that I was searched and arrested. I kept saying, "it's a pocket knife" but to no avail, I was handcuffed and treated like a common criminal. I was paraded around from station house to station house ,in public humiliation, and finally placed in a 5x7 cell where I would spend the next 20hours. I won't get into the details, like not being read any type of rights, no phone call until 5 hours later and being told I didn't need a lawyer when I asked for one. I was then manacled to a group of killers ,rapists and who knows what and put in a bull pen with them until my hearing. My 2 minutes with a public defender,convinced me to take the plea of disorderly person or I would be convicted and sent to jail for more time than I could take. I am now going to be cleaning the 59th and Lexington station for a while for my crime of carrying a pocket knife. This country is turning into a police state and I'm ashamed that I am living in a fascist country, where rights are just an illusion. Hk10036@aol.com
Click to expand...


I believe I would not have pled to the charges. What are the knife laws in your city and were you in violation?

As a matter of clarification on your rights. LEO are only required to read you your rights when they are going question you about the details of the crime. If you are not going to be questioned then rights do not have to be read to a person. Prisoners do not get a lawyer just because they request one. This is a misnomer prepetuated by movies/tv. You have the right to have a lawyer present during questioning(miranda rights). If you decline to be questioned without a lawyer present it does not mean you will be set free without being charged. You may still be charged if probable cause is present. Also, there is no stipulation, by law, as to the timeframe when you get your phone call. And the phone call does not have to be free. They could put you in a cell with a phone which is outgoing collect call and that is still considered your "phone call". Again, another misnomer perpetuated by the media.

I understand you had a poor experience, to say the least, but this is still the greatest country in the world.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top