What To Do If Seattle Cops Try To Talk To You

The problem with your normal everyday people engaged in a little criminal activity (usually minor drug offenses) is that they don\’t know their rights when it comes to dealing with the cops. As a Seattle criminal attorney, this really irks me, not because I\’m for criminals, but because I am for the Constitution. Read this article to learn a little bit about your rights.

Here\’s the classic example that I see all the time. You are walking around in downtown Seattle. It\’s late. You are alone, and a cop car pulls up along side of you. They ask you if you are all right, ask you for your name, and ask you for your identification.

You start talking to them, afraid to look too suspicious, since you have a joint on you. When the cop asks for your identification you give it to him. He runs your name and there is a warrant out for your arrest because you failed to appear for court to take care of something. He arrests you, checks you for weapons and stuff, and finds the joint – now you have another pending charge.

In this case the courts have ruled that the cop has not seized you. This is referred to as a \”social contact\” because in the court\’s eyes the encounter is completely voluntary and the cop has not acted in any way to make you think you couldn\’t just end the conversation and walk away (except for the fact that he\’s a cop!). Seattle criminal attorneys don\’t like this rule because it\’s one that doesn\’t work out in the real world.

So what do you do in this situation? Do you tell the cop you don\’t want to talk to him, walk away, and let him think you are guilty of something? The short answer is yes, that is exactly what you do.

If you follow these rules and hold strong when the cops get angry, you should be able to walk away without any problems. If the office does arrest you, which happens from time to time, a good Seattle criminal attorney should be able to get the evidence suppressed.

Deciding to hold your ground and not talk to the cops is a tough thing to do. They intentionally try to be intimidating and demanding, even when they don\’t have the upper hand (like now). If you do what they say, you\’re going to be charged with a crime, so why not give exercising your rights a shot? What do you have to lose?

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