Don’t Talk to the Police - Your 5th Amendment Rights

My friend, before I get into it because it’s important, I want you to read the 5th Amendment of the Constitution below.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

What I’m about to present to you may be one of the most important pieces of information we ever present. But before I dive into this, I want to present a little more about myself just to provide some background.

Over the decades I’ve trained perhaps hundreds of people in law enforcement, corrections, defense lawyers, prosecutors, and criminal court judges. After leaving the military I worked for over five years as a subject matter expert to law enforcement at the federal, state, and local level in some of the largest metropolitan areas on the east coast. The point is I have a better than average understanding of how the law works when it comes to self-defense and your rights as a citizen.

You see while I am far from being anti-police, I am also a vehement defender of our God given Constitutional Rights. So, what I present here is not some anti-cop screed just an understanding of what your rights are and how you should conduct yourself should you find yourself in a situation where you had to kill someone to protect your family or your own life.

I can tell you probably the one question we are most often asked of people is,

“What do I do if I defend myself and the police show up?”

Totally understandable…

For many people this is one of the most important issues, they face if they for some reason have to defend themselves in a life and death situation. And the aftermath of what may happen if they seriously injure someone or even kill them.

It’s been my experience that many people are more afraid of getting in trouble with the law than they are with the notion of protecting themselves. While for some this may seem illogical from a certain perspective it makes perfect sense.

After all many times when you watch the news in which they report some incident that on the surface seems pretty cut and dried where the person acted reasonable and in self-defense. Only to later find that the person has been charged with a crime.

Now, there are all sorts of people giving advice out there, most of it wrong and some even stupid, of what to do. Some say when the police arrive at the scene if they start questioning you to fake as if you are ill, some even go as far to say you’re having pain in your chest while clutching your heart (the implication being you’re having heart trouble), and on and on this bad advice goes.

Others even tell you that you should, cooperate fully because after all if you are innocent and if it went down the way you say then the evidence will point in that direction. This last one by the way is how most people think and why they often find themselves later on getting charged.

There are a number of reasons for this, which I will not get into too much depth here, but I will tell you the number one reason is they spoke to the police without a lawyer.

Now there are people who as with my last example above will say,

“Well, if you didn’t do anything wrong why would you not cooperate?”

Here’s the deal when the police arrive on the scene of an incident the truth is they don’t know anything, no for real they don’t know squat. Remember, they weren’t there so all they know is what they see before them and what you tell them. Which is why they conduct an investigation, because the truth is they really don’t know.

I’ll let you in on a secret that police officers know, you ready for it?

People lie to them all of the time. Like “all of the time”! You wonder, why so many people in law enforcement or corrections have such a cynical view of humanity?

Imagine if 90% of the time when you talk to people over an incident no matter who they are you are being lied to. I’ve done enough line of duty misconduct investigations in the military to appreciate this because I’ve experienced this firsthand.

Even so-called honest people who call the cops on other people lie to the cops. They either lie through embellishment to bolster their side of the story or they lie by omission leaving out their own misconduct. For police officers it literally is like questioning your children over how a window got broken. Even if your kids own up to the deed, they always try to minimize their own misconduct. Also, another fact you should consider is this. When a police officer is accused of wrongdoing you know what they do?

They lawyer up!

So, I’m not telling you not to cooperate I’m telling you don’t speak to the police until you’ve spoken to a lawyer and even then. Let him do all of the talking and to be frank, keep your big mouth shut!

Listen I don’t care if the guy is married to your sister, keep your mouth shut and talk to a lawyer first. Period.

My point is if the police are going to get a lawyer and not even speak to other cops that should tell you something.

Maybe you shouldn’t either…

Anyway, the link here in this post is a video lecture conducted by Regent University Law Professor, James Duane where he gives viewers a multitude of reasons--some startling. As to why they should always exercise their 5th Amendment rights when questioned by government officials.

This is arguably one of the best presentations I’ve come across and it is worth every minute of your time for it empowers you with the knowledge that you should not be afraid to protect yourself based on the possible consequences. But embolden you and provide you with the moral certainty that if you have to take action you can handle the aftermath should you have to interact with the justice system afterward.

Everything you are going to hear in this presentation is 100% consistent with what we have learned throughout the years of instructing people including those in the criminal justice system. You can also download his article on the topic found in the link to the page below.

Just click this Link Here to PAGE.

Thanks.

LtCol Al Ridenhour

Creator, Warrior Flow