Should You Talk to the Police?

[MikeC]

Heres a thought stay out of liberal cess pools such as New York City, San Fran, Chi town and the like. Really like to say exactly what I feel about those places and the inhabitents therein but I'd like to be able to return to this site. Find you some nice places down south are possibly midwest and forget about those large metropolitian areas, let the rats have em.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

right, find you some nice place down south where the town budget comes from the speed traps run by the local constabulary

Could we just discuss the real topic instead of bashing places we've probably never been and don't know much about? You want an interesting note on NYC, check out PSK for NYC Times Square on New Years Eve .... especially the original poster's report on his experience there new year's eve.

Just got back from NYC - Time Square was freakin great!
The security was not even close to what is reported online.

I went in with my fully serrated Endura 4 and felt safe the entire time.

Nothing as far as "people pens" or metal detectors.

Anyways - we had a great time - NYC is safe - I have been all around the world and NYC is nothing compared to the horror stories I had heard.

So far the most dangerous places I have ever been: the dock area @ Montego Bay, Jamaica (anytime) or any alley in Sao Paulo, Brazil after 9 pm.

Thanks for all your advice - I guess I blew this whole security thing out of proportion.
(not mentioning the false sense of security a knife gives me in crowds of a million)

I still felt better knowing I had a last ditch advantage.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

Heres a thought stay out of liberal cess pools such as New York City, San Fran, Chi town and the like. Really like to say exactly what I feel about those places and the inhabitents therein but I'd like to be able to return to this site. Find you some nice places down south are possibly midwest and forget about those large metropolitian areas, let the rats have em.

so in your estimation people should live only where knife laws suit them?

and you hate everyone who lives in a large city?

is it possible for you to be any more closed minded and bigoted? btw, subtlety is not your strong suit, we all get the message. next time try actually keeping it to yourself.

 

[taspankya]

so in your estimation people should live only where knife laws suit them?

and you hate everyone who lives in a large city?

is it possible for you to be any more closed minded and bigoted? btw, subtlety is not your strong suit, we all get the message. next time try actually keeping it to yourself.

well i see where he is coming from... and it does make sense for people to live in an area where the knife law suits them. are you a LEO? if so you wouldn't want people carrying a knife illegally in your precinct - right?. so if someone wants to follow the law and carry their knife legally, then living in an area where thats acceptable seems like the only reasonable thing to do. (if EDC of a knife, safety and not wanting to get arrested for chicken S is that important to you)

i dont hate people who live in the large city, but i do hate that i am a stones throw from NYC and i cant carry my balisong concealed or otherwise while walking on the street or on a subway. it is very difficult to live in an urban area and want to have protection and follow the law but cant because of legislation.

but i completely agree that the "cess pool" and "let the rats have them" lines were over the line.

"there is no racial bigotry here" - full metal jacket :thumbup:

 

[MORIMOTOM]

there are far more important things one should consider regarding a place to live than knife carry laws.

if you couldnt carry your bali where you live, would you change cities or counties to do so? i certainly wouldn't, its a short sighted thought process. i wouldn't live in texas simply so i could carry a firearm as a civilian. texas is probably a fine probably a fine place to live, but that can't be the reason i would choose to relocate.

but that isn't the point. it was a completely irrelevant off topic whine.

 

[taspankya]

there are far more important things one should consider regarding a place to live than knife carry laws.

I agree there are far more important issues - no one here is a complete idiot (i would hope) and would choose their place to live based solely on knife laws. But you could make the argument that being able to exercise your rights in one state and being denied them in another could irritate many people. Especially in New England where people live in one state and work in another and sometimes have to drive between 3 states in a matter of 2 hours. Its a geological burden.

if you couldnt carry your bali where you live, would you change cities or counties to do so? i certainly wouldn't, its a short sighted thought process. i wouldn't live in texas simply so i could carry a firearm as a civilian. texas is probably a fine probably a fine place to live, but that can't be the reason i would choose to relocate.

no one suggested changing countries, dont take it to an extreme to try to prove a point. you are talking about lifestyle choices. some people would rather carry a gun in texas, and thats their right. and if they choose to do it based solely on that - who cares? they are doing it to follow the law, and it probably makes them happy.

but that isn't the point. it was a completely irrelevant off topic whine.

agreed it is was off topic, but would you rather me have started a completely different thread for a couple posts that have already been started - i think not. its a forum discussions happen, no need to degrade others posts as whines.

i'll bring it back on topic: DONT TALK TO THE POLICE - exercise the 5th (shut up) then make sure you get on the 6th (counsel)

 

[MORIMOTOM]

county. not country. relax.

i wasn't referring to your post.

and when someone posts bigoted crap like that, i will call them on it every time.

 

[TOM1960]

finished watching the video, pretty entertaining.

i have no problem with people invoking their rights per the miranda warning.

but keep in mind, should you choose to invoke, and the only statements police have are those given by a victim/witness, an arrest will almost certainly be made.

the speaker asks an officer in the audience how many times a suspect ever convinced him of innocence/non-involvement, and the officer chose not to arrest. the officer answered "none".

my experience has been different. there have been times when i have arrived at a call to find a victim/wit who claims a person committed a crime. following an interview with the "suspect", some of those acts have been accidental (no criminal intent), wrong person, or some other mitigating circumstance.


this is not legal advice, just my experiences and opinion.

I would much rather keep my mouth shut tight and let the so-called "witnesses" rant and rave. Most of the time, no two witnesses will tell the same story (kind of makes you wonder if they just wanted their 15 minutes of fame, as opposed to actually seeing what happened!). While jailed, I would meet with my attorney in the designated area and I would tell him/her my side of it. If there are any details that would be in my best interest to keep to myself, my attorney would advise me about this. You cannot talk your way out of jail but you sure as hell can talk your way into it! I would save my statements for the courtroom, with my attorney by my side, of course.

 

[killyourself038]

I carry a small folder because its handy. I don't know what I may use it for. What do you recommend in a situation like this where I believe many of us are in? Just list possible uses?

Boy Scout motto: "Be Prepared"

Anybody remember the farmer who got caught in his hay baler and had to cut his hand off with a pocket knife after the baler burst into flames? He was stuck for hours before he got loose. I would tell the officer, if I was in that situation, I don't want to have to cut through my arm with a tiny SAK thank you...

Also there was a rock climber who's hand became wedged in between the rocks after some fell and he had to cut his hand off, ouch...

 

[dttomcat]

Also there was a rock climber who's hand became wedged in between the rocks after some fell and he had to cut his hand off, ouch...

IIRC, this guy had to amputate his own arm at the elbow :barf:... with a very dull SAK. If that had been me, I'd have died on that rock.

 

[godot]

Watching Court TV, I heard a slogan that seems applicable, " If nobody talks-everybody walks". It's amazing what people tell LEOs, when if they just shut up they wouldn't be charged.
I'm happy to tell to police my name and even show my ID but beyond that, I want an attorney and no they do not have my permission to examine my car-house-pockets or whatever without a warrant.

 

[dontshakepandas]

I have no problem talking to police officers. Many of them are extremely nice guys, some aren't. We can talk about football, cars, women, whatever, but if I'm being accused of something my vocabulary is narrowed down to "Am I free to go?" and "I have nothing else to say until my lawyer is present."

 

[PV29]

that portion of the lecture on hearsay is probably confusing to some.

hearsay is admissable as evidence against someone. an officer's testimony about a statement someone else made (wit, suspect) is hearsay, and is admissable.

hearsay is not admissable (according to the speaker) when used by the defense to mitigate or exonerate.

i've never heard that before, don't know how true it is.

The general rule is that hearsay (an out of court statement offered for the truth of the matter it asserts) is inadmissible. However, there are a set number of recognized exceptions to the rule. One of them is "statement against interest". If the defendant says something to someone else (ie., arresting officer) which can be viewed as against his interests (tends to show guilt) then this can be admissible in court.

By contrast, a statement by a defendant to someone else which is not against his interest is not recognized as an exception to the hearsay rule and is therefore not admissible (unless it falls under another recognized exception, which IS possible). The exceptions to the rule have been recognized due to their "inherent reliability", although the admission against interest exception is founded on other reasons.

It is hard for folks unfamiliar with the law to know when they are under potential arrest for a crime. A fine line exists between an officer just asking for some info and a situation where an arrest is possible. In our area of interest, I would think it wise to assume that we stand a better chance of avoiding arrest by explaining why the spyderco was in our pocket to the officer asking than in trying to argue against a statute in court. Just my 2 cents.

 

[TOM1960]

Watching Court TV, I heard a slogan that seems applicable, " If nobody talks-everybody walks". It's amazing what people tell LEOs, when if they just shut up they wouldn't be charged.
I'm happy to tell to police my name and even show my ID but beyond that, I want an attorney and no they do not have my permission to examine my car-house-pockets or whatever without a warrant.

You do not even have to show a photo ID to an officer if he/she asks for identification (unless you are driving, then of course, you need a photo driver's license). The Supreme Court, in a decision, was very clear on this. Verbal identification (name, address, DOB, and SS #) are legally sufficient. Even if arrested and booked, this is all of the information that you are legally required to give. If they ask for father's name, mother's maiden name, your phone #, if you have been arrested in the past, the name of your second-cousin's cat, etc., put on your game face and tell them politely to go pound sand! What are they going to do about it? Arrest you? LOL.

 

[cdf]

At the general conversation/feild interview stage I'll talk, if a little guardedly . At the interrogation stage ( after being cautioned ) I'll clam up and ask for a mouthpiece .The thing about invoking the right to silence is A: having the ability to clam up B: knowing when to do it . Prematurely invoking the right to silence can get you into trouble .

Chris

 

[just10minreader]

Prematurely invoking the right to silence can get you into trouble .

How? All you're required to do is IDENTIFY yourself, and if driving, show drivers license (and registration, proof of insurance, whatever your state requires).

 

[nate3993]

cool-this and another article about guns have been very informative-this has been an awesome day

 

[glistam]

How? All you're required to do is IDENTIFY yourself, and if driving, show drivers license (and registration, proof of insurance, whatever your state requires).

You have to balance it carefully. Suddenly clamming up may not get you in trouble per se, but it can make the officer very annoyed with you. Annoyed cops can make things difficult for you whether you talk or not.

 

[northern1]

i'll never talk to the police and will teach my kids the same thing.police are good people,necessary and helpful.

just help yourself and dont talk to them if your in a bind.

50% of convictions are probably based solely on people running their mouth.

that damn "anything you say can and WILL be used against you" is so repetitive it goes in one ear and out the other.

the cops will say you can go home f you just talk or if you talk they'll put in a good word with the judge and if you dont it will make you look remorseless or like your hiding something because if you didnt do anything wrong than you got nothing to hide right??.........WRONG.

they just released a guy by me who did 15 years and was innocent.once you get in the system they own you,you cant get out and the wheels of justice move slow,15 years slow in some instances.

rant off

 

[gadgetgeek]

I'd have to say that there are no set rules for me. if it was the cop who pulled me over in a "bad" part of the city at 2 am with a burned out headlight, if it had come to a search, I'd have had to shut up, there was nothing to get me out of that one. He was having a bad night, I had tools all over the front passengers side, and two of my friends were in the back seat with blankets. try explaining that you have two girls in the back of your car with blankets because they were cold while you were trying to fix their car at 2AM hence the tools all over the front seat. yeah, I probably wouldn't buy it either.
On the other hand, if the officer seemed to be understanding of the situation, I'd fully tell my side, knowing that I did nothing wrong. if they then saw fit to arrest me, well, it might be an interesting trial.