What to do when QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE or investigators...

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since there has been some confusion about police stops lately, this will be stickied for a bit.
 
CreativeRandom said:
Here's something that should be brought to everyone's attention: Playing the game or keeping shut.

Such as when a cop pulls you over. He asks where you been, where you going, et cetera. Do you keep quiet, or do you tell him where you been and such? Do you lie? What circumstances would change your answer? Do you try to get away with "I was just coming back from work officer", do you tell the truth, or keep quiet and just realize that your day is ruined...

I find being polite and saying I was just coming from [insert legal place/activity]. I certainly wouldn't tell him I just bought a sheet and it's chillin in my trunk ;) This has always led to me going home 15 minutes later despite the fact that I should have been parked in the back seat of a cop car.
 
Ok I really need to know this..

I'm a minor and still attending high school, so a few months ago my friends and I got caught when we were coming back from smoking cigareetes right after lunch.
One of the disciplinary administrator saw us when we were near the school and told us that we smelt like cigarrettes, so she told us to go to the office. Now I didnt really care as much if I got caught for ditching but cigarretts will get me to go to court and maybe pay fines.
Luckily when we were walking to the teacher, I dropped my pack under a car and she didnt see it.

So then we were searched by the school cop but they didnt find anything on us but the cop also said I smelt cigarettes.
Then I dont know why but we all eventually confessed it and put the blame on each other.

As a minor could I just say I dont want to be seached and remain silent?
Do I still have thoes rights as a minor even to a real cop?
 
You have the same rights as an adult when it comes to being searched, but those rights are not the same while on school property.
 
While on school property, your rights are greatly changed, while im not certain in exactly what areas, I do know searching laws change, I'll try to look that up and get back to ya.
 
Years ago when I had a few DUI arrests, my attorney told me a few things. NEVER help the police gather more information to incriminate you. There is not a single field sobriety test (at least in GA, USA) that you HAVE to take. The only one that you a required to take (if you don't, there is a penalty to it) is the one where they read from a card which basically says that if you don't take their BAC test down at the station, you will lose your license for 12 months. If you don't mind that penalty, then don't take it.
 
ast3r3x said:
I'd be very interested in this as well. Although it seems that just shutting up and not saying a word is the best possible thing to do.

I am curious though, I know probable cause is up for debate, but can they search your car or anything from you just not talking?

How about if they suspect something from your eyes even thought you may be acting fine, or if they smell something. Is there anything you can do so they DON'T have the right to search your car or you? Can they search just because you 'seem nervous'?


i just got pulled over 4-5 days ago for speeding, and the cop took me out of the car saw i was shaking (Because i have panic disorder, SAD, and GAD and hadn't taken any valium at all that day and it was 4pm) and he took that as probable cause to search (like i was hiding something) even tho i shake EVERY time i get pulled over, and he claimed he smelled marijuana but i doubt it as it was triple bagged and odorless to me at least.
 
Let me just update this with my own experience. The police are probably not questioning you unless they already have some evidence against you or somebody else. If the evidence is against somebody else, follow what the Original Poster said.

If they have evidence against you -- and they will make it clear that they do, because usually they want your cooperation with a larger investigation -- you are screwed. In that case, do as they say. Tell them the information that they want (they will be checking your information against others that they confront, so don't bullshit them).

There is a fine line here. Technically, discussing your past drug use/dealing can in principle get you in more trouble, even if they don't have physical evidence of it. For example, if they intercepted 100 tabs of Ecstasy that was being mailed to your house, and you admit to dealing 100 tabs each of the last 12 months, they can in principle charge you for all of that. But if they are in your living room asking you about it, and they haven't arrested you, they want to know your source. They have bigger game in mind.

The first thing you should realize is that there are no heroes in drug use or dealing. Nobody has your back. If you don't cooperate, somebody else will, and they will only screw you in the process. It's a game theory problem. Your best option is to cooperate. Tell them about your source(s). Tell them everything that you know. With your cooperation, the vast majority of the time, they won't charge you for the others things that you admit to (like the past dealing of E in the example above).

It's a heart-wrenching call for many people, but that's how it goes. If you don't do it, somebody else will. You're a lot better off if you do it.

So if you're being questioned, and you have a good idea that law enforcement already has evidence against you, COOPERATE. I'm saying this as somehow who has been federally prosecuted, and who has had more experience with state cops, DEA, and federal prosecutors than I would wish on anybody. And I did it the wrong way. Minimize the damage to yourself.

Yeah, the system sucks. I wish drugs were legal too. We don't live in that world. In some countries, drug users / dealers are executed. Take comfort in the fact that you will not face that fate. You will probably be negotiating between certain numbers of months in prison, or probation. There's always probation.

Also realize that nobody is really your friend in the drug world. It's full of scammers and reverse scammers, and that's all the more true in the online world. I've seen one reputable source get taken for $7000 only to turn around and take another guy for $9000. He went from reputable source to scammer in the blink of an eye.

Look out for yourself, and do what you have to do to minimize the damages to yourself.

This might be blasphemy to many people, but you won't understand until you're there. Everybody is a hero until they are on the chopping block.
 
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