questions
I got some questions about this on PM. Here they are:
1. I was almost pulled over a few times - one time i pull into an empty garage just in time and they went right past me!
2. What do u say then if they ask you questions? ie. "Where are you going?" Do u smile at them & pretend you're mute? If u don't say anything, wouldn't that piss the LE off even more and find other ways to arrest you?
1. I'd think that if they went right past you like that then they probably weren't following you, had no interest in you, or else maybe they were just messin' with you to see what you would do if they followed you for awhile and then decided to bail when it looked like you were going to park. Hard to say. One thing is for sure, if they were intending to make a vehicle stop, pulling off on to private property wouldn't likely have deterred them, and it is no barrier to them being
able to stop you.
This last bit is a somewhat tricker area and I would have to know what grounds the police had at the time you pulled into the garage. If, for example, the polcie have the grounds to arrest you and you are fleeing from them and enter your dwelling house, they can follow you right into the dwelling house - break the door down if necessary - and arrest you in there without warrant! Betcha didn't know that! I actually saw this on "Cops" one time, a guy ran into his house and started flushing his dope down the toilet. The law is the same in Canada though. Normally cops need a warrant to enter (to search) a dwelling house and they also need (since 1997) a warrant to arrest in a dwelling house, but there are exceptions, one of which is this "hot pursuit" thing.
2. On what to say. Use your common sense but try and say as little as possible. If they ask where you are going you can say "Home", cuz ultimately that will be true, or could be true
. If they ask why you have this woman in your car you can either say nothing (which I know seems like it will make things worse, but it doesn't - see COPS IN BBY thread in Neighbourhood Watch), or you can do what some guys do and just say "I'm just giving her a lift." This is o.k. because you actually
are giving her a lift, in a sense. The main thing is to not lie, or at least not lie in a way that they can check out. Don't act too weird or you might find yourself getting impaired questions, rather than prostitution questions. If the cop really starts putting you on the spot, you can just say point blank: "I'm not answering any questions until I have an opportunity to consult counsel." This doesn't give the cop any kind of power to arrest you or anything. It's more of an "en garde" to them to let them know that they better either (1.) have some grounds to arrest or detain you; or (2.) send you on your way, because they won't be getting one sliver of evidence from you. Personally, this is what I would do right away - but people will approach these situations in their own way, and that is o.k.
The cops have heard it all before and you won't be fooling them or convincing them of anything no matter what you say. If you feel you have to lie if you open your mouth, then you are better off saying nothing, no matter how awkward it may seem at the time. The main thing is to (1.) not incriminate yourself on the communication offence (which isn't that hard, just don't admit to knowing she was a prostitute, stopping to inquire about prostiution services, having any discussions realted to sexual services, etc.) You don't have to actively
deny knowing or doing these things, just don't admit anything when you are asked; and (2.) don't get sucked into an obsruction offence by lying to police. This is their main trick they always use on people who are unfamiliar with the way these things work.
You may also have to watch out for impaired driving related questions as well (obviously it is the same kind of thing, if the answer is both true and harmless - "No I haven't had anything to drink" - then fine, feel free to say that. But if answering a question will either require you to lie or to incriminate yourself, then just exercise your right to silence. You'll get out of a lot of situations with a warning this way and, at the very least, you'll preserve a lot of avenues of defence for your lawyer if you do end up getting charged with something.
Humm, what else...Don't consent to any searches of your person or your vehicle. Just keep your wits about you generally. They are trying to use
you to get evidence to charge
you with an offence. If you remember that you will do o.k. All of this is covered off better in the longer posts in COPS IN BBY. Maybe I should put everything together, statutes, case law, practical advice, what the various police warnings look like, etc. into one post. If I get some time I'll do that, as I think this question will be around for as long as "communicating" is an offence.
As I say, no matter what wonderous story you come up with, whether it be how you are doing background research for your sociology class or your latest thriller novel or whatever, at the point that the cop stops you with an SW in your car, they have already made up their mind as to what is occuring. Keep in mind though, it's pretty much (or at least damn near) impossible for them to prove the communicating offence at this point (if it is a real SW who isn't actively cooperating with police), as the only kinds of evidence which they could have are:
1. their own observations, which are probably crap and consistent with many different explanations;
2. the evidence of the SW, who is at best an unreliable, low credibility witness who isn't likely to give much of a statement to police and even less likely to ever show up in court... and at worst is dead-set opposed to cooperating with police;
3. evidence obtained from you. This is what they are fishing for. Remember, from your T.V. shows that "anything you say can be used against you in a court of law"??? Well that actually happens to be the case. In B.C. the "Official Police Warning" printed on Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General cards that they are supposed to read to you (or as close as possible where they are unable to read it directly off the card) is "You are not obliged to say anything, but anything you do say may be given in evidence."
What does that mean? Well, it means that if a cop asks you "Why are you out here at 3:00 A.M. picking up prostitutes?" and you say (if you were really retarded about it) "Look man, all I wanted was a $20 blow job. She said she wanted 60 so she was just about to leave." If you said that, and you were charged and your case went to trial, the cop would be able to stand there in the witness box and give that very statement as evidence against you - i.e. it would be an exception to the hearsay rule, and in that particular case, probably enough to prove the charge... especially when combined with whatever other evidence they give.
So, the cops know that not many people are going to give them the goods and incriminate themselves on a communicating charge. A lot more people will lie and possibly get themselves in trouble on an obstruction charge. But in most cases they are just stopping you to rattle your cage, send you on your way with a warning and hopefully you get the message and won't come back to the tracks. They alwasy just ask a bunch of questions to see if you are dumb enough to answer them and get yourself into deeper shit.
