Just read this story on yahoo:
Yahoo!
The conventional wisdom here is "don't talk to the police", and the reasons have been repeated many times. This guy, after he'd been arrested and cuffed, gave consent for them to search his car. They did, and found nothing as there was nothing to find.
Questions I'm left with:
Again, please, no snark here. I'm looking for facts, because a simple act of kindness like this on the accused's part can be misconstrued and cause problems for any of us, and I don't, at present, see any way to avoid it, other than to not show kindness to others. (and that's not an option I'm willing to pursue.)
Blessings,
Bill
Yahoo!
The conventional wisdom here is "don't talk to the police", and the reasons have been repeated many times. This guy, after he'd been arrested and cuffed, gave consent for them to search his car. They did, and found nothing as there was nothing to find.
Questions I'm left with:
- Did his consent matter? They were going to search anyway, weren't they?
- Should he have given it, or not? He was already arrested.
- Mention was made about damage to his car. When his property is damaged by the intentional acts of officers, is the city responsible for the damages in cases where there is no evidence of a crime having been committed? (I realize this happened in TX, and laws are different. I'm asking about how this would play in Indiana.)
- Mention was made about how aggressive the arresting officer was. Why? (Please, no snarky answers to this. I'm seeking genuine feedback as to why a suspicion of having committed an act like this that did not hurt any innocents would engender aggression. Officers (or anyone else) with a real answer, if you don't want to post publicly, PM me.)
- Would the use of a canine have minimized any damage?
- Last (at least the last I can think of right now) suppose this man had had a legitimate Rx from his doc for, say, Vicodin or Percocet, the right amount or less were missing (that is, his Rx was for up to 2 a day, it was filled last week for 28, and there're only, say, two pills missing.) and he was not showing any signs of impairment) Would this have sent him before a judge or had him released without consequence other than the lost time and the damage to his vehicle?
Again, please, no snark here. I'm looking for facts, because a simple act of kindness like this on the accused's part can be misconstrued and cause problems for any of us, and I don't, at present, see any way to avoid it, other than to not show kindness to others. (and that's not an option I'm willing to pursue.)
Blessings,
Bill