What you should do when the police ask you any thing about a crime

[ted]

Here is some good advise watch this vid it may save you http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=86XmQra5WMU Or this will help also

and watch this one about cell phones

and this one also

what would you do ? How would you handle if you where defending your self for self defense . And the police arrive at the scene ? Edited May 20, 2012 by ted

[DaveS]

They would have to wait if they wanted to talk to me. I'd be the ER with chest pains and shortness of breath. Someone else would be on the phone to the lawyer's office!

"I have no comment at this time officer".

Dave

[DaveTN]

Those responding Officers, Detectives, and possibly even an on-call DA will be making decisions about my future. I will be involved in those decisions.

Invoking Miranda is not a magic wand that stops the decision making process; it only removes you from it. If I’m going to invoke Miranda, I’m probably going to have a lawyer on the phone in minutes. If you have already made plans that you aren’t making a statement; that’s fine, but you better have a way to contact the lawyer you want.

[DaveS]

Most lawyers I know don't stand by their office phones 24/7. Law Dawg will just have to wait until my law office opens up.

[Caster]

WD-40's on it. Officer, I need to go to the hospital, I don't feel well and want to see a physician.

No cuffs and it's doubtful you'll have your things taken away. At least not your phone. Once you got a bed, start making calls.

Edited May 19, 2012 by Caster

[DaveTN]

Most lawyers I know don't stand by their office phones 24/7. Law Dawg will just have to wait until my law office opens up.

No, but the good ones have answering services that can contact someone when you tell them you just killed someone.

[Caster]

This brings up an interesting query; Does our supporting vendor Chip over at Cain Law Firm have the ability or desire to take the case should he get a call? No sense in not continuing to support this site and it's vendors just because you had to rid the world of ghetto trash, right?

[DaveS]

No, but the good ones have answering services that can contact someone when you tell them you just killed someone.

Call my lawyer's office and you get his dang answering machine almost everytime. With my luck, if I needed him for a self defense situation, he'd be out of town on vacation for a month!

He's a crook anyways, so he can afford to take a month off!! LOL

Dave

[Makiaveli]

I did not know that anything you tell the cops is considered hearsay and thus CANNOT be used for you in a trial. Odd that it isn't hearsay if it doesn't help you.

[ted]

That is some thing we need on the post good or best criminal definse lawyers list in every distrect or town in tn. and keep it on us should we ever need one hope we will never need one but jest in case what do ya think ?

[ted]

I did not know that anything you tell the cops is considered hearsay and thus CANNOT be used for you in a trial. Odd that it isn't hearsay if it doesn't help you.

I think you should watch each one of the vids posted on this tread and you may change your mind about that!!!

[Makiaveli]

I think you should watch each one of the vids posted on this tread and you may change your mind about that!!!

Umm...not sure we are on the same page. Unless the lawyer lied, a cop will be allowed to testify about anything you said if the PROSECUTOR asks. If the defense asks, then it will be ruled hearsay.

So I already changed my mind on that, as I didn't know that. Discovery, and having to turn over all the exculpatory evidence and all that.

[Guest bkelm18]

Pretty sure I've seen at least one of the lawyers on here say more than once that there isn't a whole lot a lawyer can do at 2am and that you need to talk to the cops. As DaveTN basically said, you're only hurting yourself if you don't. If your shoot was good, the investigating officers will know this fairly quickly.

Edited May 20, 2012 by bkelm18

[Makiaveli]

Pretty sure I've seen at least one of the lawyers on here say more than once that there isn't a whole lot a lawyer can do at 2am and that you need to talk to the cops. As DaveTN basically said, you're only hurting yourself if you don't. If your shoot was good, the ivestigating officers will know this fairly quickly.

This is good advice. Unless something else goes wrong. Such as the DA deciding you are a gun nut. Or one of the cops screws up and says you said something you didn't.

I am going with what a buddy of mine told me. He is a cop, but not saying where as his dept frowns on cops having opinions of their own. He said simply say "I was in fear for my life and/or great bodily harm. I would like to speak with a lawyer." If it was a good shoot, then like you say the cops will most likely be able to figure it out. You and your clean record vs the other guys likely not so clean record. Worst case scenario: you aren't at home when it happens, and there are no witnesses, and no spouse to tell what happened. Then yea you might wind up going downtown.

As to the only do yourself good, watch the first video. It's real easy to slip up. He had a good example where he read a headline and 5 mins later the majority of the class (and myself as well I hate to admit) just admitted to knowing facts that weren't in the news.

If the cops are planning to arrest you, then they will do so. What exactly are you going to tell them that will change their minds? If they think the evidence at hand shows you are guilty, then you are going to be arrested no matter how much truth you tell them. If they decide that the guy was 20 feet away when you shot him despite you saying it was 5 feet, then you actually believe they will say "My bad...have a good night."?

[Guest ab28]

If I haven't already done so, I'd probably crap my pants for effect.

[Caster]

If I haven't already done so, I'd probably crap my pants for effect.

I dunno about that, but it'd be good for effect if you could ease over to the side and vomit. It would make it easy to segue Into the hospital request. Also take away from a cold hearted killer appeal. Even a tear would be helpful. Better to cry and look like a wimp than get a gov. issued 3 hots and a cot.

Edited May 20, 2012 by Caster

[Makiaveli]

I dunno about that, but it'd be good for effect if you could ease over to the side and vomit. It would make it easy to segue Into the hospital request. Also take away from a cold hearted killer appeal. Even a tear would be helpful. Better to cry and look like a wimp than get a gov. issued 3 hots and a cot.

Hmmm.....if you claim medical distress, then a doc says you are fine, could that come back to bite you in the butt? IE lying to avoid talking to them, as opposed to exercising your legal right to STFU?

[Caster]

Hmmm.....if you claim medical distress, then a doc says you are fine, could that come back to bite you in the butt? IE lying to avoid talking to them, as opposed to exercising your legal right to STFU?

Nah, there's no conclusive way a doctor could disprove nausea and mental duress.

[DaveTN]

My comments about cooperating are based on a good shoot. If you think you need to lie or embellish what happened; don’t say anything until you talk to your lawyer. Lying has consequences; it can destroy your credibility if it is discovered, and your attorney can’t put you on the stand in a trial if he knows you are lying.

[Caster]

My comments about cooperating are based on a good shoot. If you think you need to lie or embellish what happened; don’t say anything until you talk to your lawyer. Lying has consequences; it can destroy your credibility if it is discovered, and your attorney can’t put you on the stand in a trial if he knows you are lying.

That's right. If you're gonna lie, you need to hire a professional liar to make sure you twist the truth into a court acceptable shape.

[Makiaveli]

My comments about cooperating are based on a good shoot. If you think you need to lie or embellish what happened; don’t say anything until you talk to your lawyer. Lying has consequences; it can destroy your credibility if it is discovered, and your attorney can’t put you on the stand in a trial if he knows you are lying.

That first video is full of examples of how telling the truth can get you in trouble. It won't take long for the cops to decide if you are going to jail or not. You can talk yourself into going, but not out of as a rule.

Also, remember it doesn't really matter whether or not the cops charge you, it's the DA that has the final word. Zimmerman anyone?

[DaveS]

As far as proving anything through a doctor, that's easy. Unless you are a ruthless cold blooded killer, your blood pressure will be up, your pulse will be up, your resperations will be up and you will most likely get to spend your 36 hours unharrased in the cardiac word. And by the way, the "blood thinner" injections in the stomach hurt like hell! You will have chest pains and will swear to god you're having a heart attack.

Hospital staff will make "law dawg" come back later, and don't be surprised if they are waiting for you at discharge time!

Dave

Edited May 21, 2012 by wd-40

[DaveTN]

Also, remember it doesn't really matter whether or not the cops charge you, it's the DA that has the final word. Zimmerman anyone?

If the DA had the final word Zimmerman would not be on trial. The cops ask that Zimmerman be charged from the beginning. The DA refused. It wasn’t until the public outcry got so loud that the Governor got involved and put in a DA that could deal with the situation. That was the Governors way of telling the DA (and the State Attorney General) that they should have been doing their job; it’s a "no confidence" vote.

[Pain103]

Most times I've seen any case about a self defense shooting it was typically easy to see the evidence to support that at the scene. Doesn't mean it can't change after some investigation is done if stories and evidence don't match up. As it has been said before I would probably atleast say something along the lines of this subject was attempting to "whatever" I was in fear of my life. I wouldn't just lock up and not say a word but I wouldn't just confess every sin I have committed either. I have a card to call if involved in a police shooting and an attorney responds immediately so I can't say I would blame a citizen for doing the same. But I wouldn't become a prick to officers or investigators just follow commands upon officers' arrival so nobody thinks a suspect is armed instead of the victim.

[Makiaveli]

If the DA had the final word Zimmerman would not be on trial. The cops ask that Zimmerman be charged from the beginning. The DA refused. It wasn’t until the public outcry got so loud that the Governor got involved and put in a DA that could deal with the situation. That was the Governors way of telling the DA (and the State Attorney General) that they should have been doing their job; it’s a "no confidence" vote.

Well not starting that debate again. Point being, as a rule, the cops make the call right then and there. I'm sure if there is a shred of evidence the shooter was in the wrong, he's going downtown.

So, my point was and is, keeping your mouth shut might keep you from going to jail, but running your mouth won't talk you out of it. Either you are at home and there is a presumption you were in the right, or you weren't and it's all going to come down to witnesses etc. Your words won't change what they say but could complicate things.