Never Talk to Cops… Unless You’re Willing to Play the Game
In light of the content that is posted here at Cop Block I decided to post this video. It’s a great overview of why you should never talk to cops. The video is a bit long (45 minutes) but one of the most thorough explanations of why, from a legal perspective, you should never talk to the police.
I know some of you might be thinking that we at Cop Block are contradicting ourselves as we post videos of people (including ourselves) talking to police and encourage others to record police actions, but not talking to the police is the best policy for most people, especially if they don’t have a camera and more so if they’ve actually committed a so-called “crime.” As the professor points out in the video, officers can manipulate your words to gain probable cause or “recall” what you said a bit differently than what you actually said at a trial. This is why it’s always a good idea to have a camera. If you don’t, it’s best to say nothing.
I can’t speak for others, but I personally choose to talk to police. The reasons for that is because I want to highlight my encounters with them so that others can see that filming police is perfectly legal and to give people something to base their encounters off of. I know by all means that I’m not perfect and have made mistakes that lead to tickets (like in this video), but I feel that the trouble it cost me is more than worth it in order to get my message across. If one person is inspired or encouraged to film public officials then all I lost, whether time and/or money, is worth it.
Everybody has a different line that they are willing to push the system to. If you’re not willing to film public officials for whatever reasons, so be it. Then your best option is to never talk to police. If you’re like the people who make the videos posted here, then know your rights. Do some research and find which method you’re most comfortable with. Most of all, if you decide to talk with police be ready to play their game. They will outnumber you, lie to you, use force and threats to get at you. Be prepared. Some places for good information and videos (other than Cop Block, which we hope is your first stop) are Flex Your Rights, CopWatch, Fr33Agents and FreeKeene.com. Just remember that without a camera or solid evidence against a cop, it will be your word against theirs. And that is a battle you’re likely to lose.
