Be Wary of Coercion After an Arrest
Cooperate with police—that’s a no-brainer. But what does it mean? If you’ve been arrested and charged with a crime, provide your name, don’t try to escape, and comply with officer requests. What doesn’t it mean? Spilling your guts. Instead, respectfully request an attorney before responding to any provocations, questions, or “facts” the police may provide. That’s because in the criminal justice system, coercion from officers and/or detectives can be difficult to detect and can lead to real problems for you down the road. Any confession, coerced or otherwise, is going to be a headache in one way or another.
Volunteer Absolutely Nothing
If you’re in custody, understand that you are a suspect. Interrogators may give the impression that your being cooperative and answering questions demonstrates your innocence, but nothing could be further from the truth. And don’t think that you can use the fact that you hadn’t yet been Mirandized as a defense, because police can always claim that they’d have figured the case guilt without your help. So never, ever share information– incriminating or otherwise–no matter how innocent you think it is!
Coerced Confessions
Even if a suspect waives their Miranda rights, if police don’t live up to expected standards of interrogation they can coerce confessions from naïve detainees. While punching someone in custody or pointing a weapon at them in order to get them to confess is on the extreme end of things, there are certainly more subtle ways authorities might coerce someone in custody. For example, they might improperly threaten they’ll go after family members, publicize humiliating information about a suspect, or even refuse to let someone who’s confined in an interrogation room use the restroom or have food and water. These are all techniques that could lead to involuntary, or coerced confessions.
More on Why and How Police Coerce
Police may try to pressure or intimidate people in custody in order to get a confession. But submitting to their tactics can lead to disastrous outcomes for victims, communities, and even law enforcement agencies. Some techniques that can troubling might include:
- Using an officer’s rank and/or power to intimidate someone who is already frightened;
- Threatening worse outcomes if your cooperation is not forthcoming;
- Confusing or frightening victims with psychological tactics;
- Lying to scare people into believing police already have them dead to rights;
- Physically threatening suspects.
Coercion Can be Challenged in Court
The biggest consequence of coercion is that innocent people get sent to jail, meaning the real criminal is left on the streets to repeat their crimes. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Officers who intimidate a suspect with the result of getting that suspect to acquiesce to authority face the possibility that the confession and any information shared under duress could be suppressed. That means the evidence wouldn’t be admitted in court, along with other leads gained as a result of the confession. It Might all be considered “fruit of the poisonous tree” and be inadmissible.
Innocent Until Proven Guilty?
We’ve all heard the common refrain, innocent until proven guilty. Sadly, it doesn’t always work out that way in the real world. The skilled, aggressive, LaPlata & Waldorf criminal defense attorneys at The Law Office of Hammad S. Matin, P.A. always fight for the best possible outcomes for you. To discuss, schedule a confidential consultation today.
