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Wrong!
Legal Section
As a 33-year law enforcement veteran and
former training commander with the Maryland State Police and Baltimore Police
Department, I know how easy it is to intimidate citizens into answering
incriminating questions or letting me search through their belongings. This
reality might make things easier for police looking to make an easy arrest,
but it doesn't always serve the interests of justice. That's why I believe all
citizens should understand how to protect their constitutional rights and make
smart decisions when dealing with officers of the law.
Unfortunately, this important information
has remained largely unavailable to the public, despite growing concerns about
police misconduct and the excesses of the war on drugs. For this reason, I
agreed to serve as a technical consultant for the important new film, 10 Rules
for Dealing with Police. The 40-minute docudrama aims to educate the public
about basic legal and practical survival strategies for handling even the
scariest police encounters. It was produced by the civil liberties group Flex
Your Rights and is narrated by former federal judge and acclaimed Baltimore
trial lawyer William "Billy" Murphy, Jr.
The opening scene portrays Darren, a
young black man getting pulled over. He's driving home from college. This is
the fifth time he's been pulled over in a year. Frustrated and scared, Darren
immediately breaks Rule #1: Always Be Calm & Cool. Mouthing off to the
officer, Darren aggressively exits the car and slams the door. The officer
overreacts, dropping Darren with a taser shot to his chest.
Should the officer have tased Darren in
that situation? Probably not. Would the officer likely be disciplined? No. But
that's not the main point of 10 Rules. The point is that the choices you make
during the course of such encounters have a massive impact on whether it ends
with a simple warning, a tasing -- or worse. This is true even if you've done
nothing illegal.
While being calm and cool is key to
getting the best possible outcome, it's not enough to keep police from
violating your constitutional rights. For example, when the officer
commandingly asks Darren "You're not hiding any AK-47s in there? You
don't mind if I take a look?", Darren gets tricked like most people do.
Intimidated and unaware of other options,
he consents to the search. The officer carelessly dumps his bags, accidentally
shattering Darren's laptop on the asphalt. In another "what if"
scenario, the officer finds a small amount of marijuana hidden away. While
someone else might have left it there, Darren winds up getting arrested.
What few people understand, but police
know all too well, is that your constitutional rights only apply if you
understand and assert them. Unless they have strong evidence (i.e. probable
cause) police need your permission to search your belongings or enter your
home. The instant you grant them permission to invade your privacy, many of
your legal protections go out the window and you're left on the hook for
anything illegal the police find, as well as any damage they cause in the
process.
Of course, even if you know your basic
rights, police officers are trained to shake your confidence. If you refuse a
search, I might respond by threatening to call in a drug-sniffing dog and
sternly reminding you that things will go much easier if you cooperate.
Creating a sense of hopelessness for the suspect enables us to break down
their defenses and gain compliance. In the film, we show several variations on
these common threats, but the main lesson is that it doesn't matter what the
officer says; you still have to remain calm and protect your rights.
In today's world of smart phone video,
YouTube and Twitter, stories of police abuse travel fast, creating greater
awareness of the problem of police misconduct. Unfortunately, this heightened
awareness often serves to reinforce the notion that "cops can do whatever
they want." It's true that much work remains to be done towards ensuring
police accountability, but the very first step is to educate the public about
basic constitutional rights.
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