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Tue 4 Jun, 2013 09:51 pm
this happened to me just last week. I was called and asked to come down to the police station to answer a few questions from a detective he told me i wasn't in any trouble or under arrest by any means and that they just had a few questions to ask me about an ongoing investagation.I did make the appt. and went down there to speak with him. From the get go he read me my right's and asked if i understood them ,,, i told him yes knowing that i had nothing to hide because i know i didn't do anything wrong ,,, with that he asked if i knew anything about some matresses being stolden from a warehouse ,,, i told him no i have no clue about anything he was talking about and he stopped me and said before we go any farther i must tell you i have enough evidence on you to have you arrested and charged today and it was up to me how my day was goonna end either i tell them what i know and walk or i'll be charged arrested , I was shocked at this and said if im in anyway gonna get in any trouble by what im gonna say i want to stop right there and talk to a lawyer about this , So I said politely that i didn't want to incriminate myself so i think that it would be best if a spoke with a lawyer with this before i answer anything else , the detective got a bit angered and said fine ,,, and closed his folder and looked at me like i was lying to him ,,, he arose and said well like i mentioned before i have enough evidence now against you so for all purposes you are now under arrest and made me stand and cuffed me as i was in utter shock and i asked what for ? he said for obstruction, i asked in what way did i obstruct? i mean all i did was exersice my constitutional right to remain silent. i didn't lie to the detective , i did not damage any eveidence or tamper with any thing nor help anyone get away with anything ,,, everything was fine untl i told him i wanted to talk to a lawyer the same right he just before said i had now appearently i didnt have? im confussed,, was he right ? i got booked and finger printed and my picture taking then i was released and told the papers are being sent to me with charges and a court date. Like i said i was and still am in shock i havent got any mail about it yet but my question is ,,,, is he right in what he did ? did i obstruct ? im seriously lost here and help would be greatly appreciated.
@Butrflynet,
Well i don't think i even need to get a lawyer it was an obvious scare tactic that he used on me and trumped up a obstruction charge that has no weight . He basically wanted me to help him with pointing out things that i really didn't know anything about so i feel im safe so far !!
@Terryj,
Terryj wrote:
but my question is ,,,, is he right in what he did ? did i obstruct ? im seriously lost here and help would be greatly appreciated.
Glad to see you are not a bit worried.
@Terryj,
My guess is that you're right: the police are just trying to scare you. As far as I know (and you don't identify your location, so I can only guess), once the police arrest you they don't have the authority to release you - only a judge has that authority. I've never heard of the police releasing an arrestee to "wait for the court papers to be sent to you." That sounds awfully fishy to me.
Also, be aware that the police are not prohibited from lying to you. Indeed, the police can say practically anything to you to trick you into incriminating yourself. Your first mistake was to go to the police station, rather than agreeing to a phone interview (the police can put more pressure on you in person). But once it became clear that they were trying to implicate you in a crime, you made the right decision to insist on your right to an attorney.
And that should be your next step: talk to a lawyer. You should also discuss the possibility that the police violated your rights by unlawfully detaining you. If your "arrest" was a sham, you may have a claim against the police department.
@joefromchicago,
Thank you Joe and your right that is something that i will look into BTW im from Wisconsin , the same right he said i had . was the same one that got me, this arrest. He said i had the right to remain silent and when i said i wanted to stop talking and use that right and talk to a lawyer that's when he said hmmmm well like i said i have enough to arrest you right today and all he had was a obstruction charge ???? so he didn't have any other evidence accept that ,,, either i tell him what he wanted to hear or i was already being arrested ? not for the mattress crime but a obstruction ? btw i really have no clue about this mattress incident anyways that's hwy i went down there i have nothing to fear at all, however what would or could i gain if i prove the police violated my rights by unlawfully detaining me . What right are you referring too ,,, just a newbie but very interested normal citizen . thanks again Joe
@roger,
Absolutely not worried why should i be? , i have nothing at all to do with anything they are even asking me about nothing,,, they claimed mine and my wife's phone numbers were on the suspects call log ???? our son and daughter know these people and use our phones often when we are at home ,,,
@Terryj,
Let Law Professor James Duane reply to your question,
qua the wisdom of making statements to the police:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik
Supplement by the police, directed to law students:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fZQWjDVKE
@Terryj,
Terryj wrote:what would or could i gain if i prove the police violated my rights by unlawfully detaining me . What right are you referring too ,,, just a newbie but very interested normal citizen . thanks again Joe
Under normal circumstances, the police can't detain you if they haven't arrested you. It sounds like they didn't actually arrest you, they just went through the motions in an attempt to intimidate you. That's both a criminal act (a violation of your fourteenth amendment right to due process and a
violation of state statute) as well as a tort. If this was indeed a sham arrest, the police should not be allowed to get away with it.
@OmSigDAVID,
Thank David for posting those links and saving me the trouble of doing so and if it was me the moment he read me my rights is the moments I would had stopped talking to the police officer if not before.
My question would be am I now under arrested if not I am leaving now and if you wish to talk to be in the future you will need to do so with my lawyer presence whether I am free to go or under arrested.
Never never talk to the police even if you think you might be a target of a criminal investigation let alone if they read you your rights. Exercise those rights at once instead.
Next keep firmly in mind while it is legal for the police to lied to you that on the other hand you can get into trouble if they even claimed you are lying to them.
From your story of being handcuff and finger printed and then released after being threaten for exercising your rights you might even have a civil suit and that would be another reason to talk to a lawyer.
@BillRM,
BillRM wrote:Thank David for posting those links and saving me the trouble of doing so
and if it was me the moment he read me my rights is the moments
I would had stopped talking to the police officer if not before.
Thank u for having found it,
in the first place. U r a good researcher.
David
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