How Will You Survive a Police Encounter?

How Will You Survive a Police Encounter?

by:

Media_Justice

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 8:14:00 PM EST

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Yes this is the Media Justice column, and today I want to share with you an amazing resource that centers Justice. Around this time each semester I teach the topic of the “sociology of crime” in my class. Conversations about “deviance,” who is considered” deviant,” what happens when someone is “deviant,” and how our society creates laws and enforces them are at the center. What I found early on in these conversations is that rarely do my students know what their rights are as people living in the US.

I usually begin my class by mentioning that some educators don’t enjoy talking about topics such as race, class, gender, sexuality, citizenship, or any other dimension of difference. I admit to my students that teaching about “deviance” is not one of my favorite topics. One of the ways I’ve figured out how to work through my dislike for the topic is to help students understand what their rights are as people living in the US. When I made this decision I was on the lookout for films that I could incorporate into my teaching.

I’ve used a PBS Frontline documentary called When Kids Get Life, which you can watch online for free, to introduce “deviance” and how crime is a social construction. This film is always timely, especially now with the story of Sarah Kruzan who, at 16 years old, was tried, convicted and sentenced to life without parole after killing the man who abused her and became her pimp at age 13. Almost all of the young men presented in the Frontline documentary killed adults who were abusing them. The US is one of the only countries in the world that try youth under the age of 18 with the possibility of receiving a sentence of life without parole.

Human Rights Watch has updated a map that outlines how many juveniles are sentenced to life without parole in the US. Only three states have over 300 juveniles with such a sentence and they are Pennsylvania (444), Michigan (346), and Louisiana (335). I can’t help but mention that Detroit, Michigan was also included on a recent list of the top 5 most dangerous cities for “urban” youth.

One of the films that I found in my search is called Busted! A Citizen’s Guide To Surviving Police Encounters which was created by an organization called Flex Your Rights. The goal of Flex is to “educate the public about how basic Bill of Rights protections apply during encounters with law enforcement.” Flex have created videos that I’ve found extremely useful, and my students agree. Each semester I show the film Busted!, students always come up to me after class telling me something they learned, how a similar situation occurred to them and they didn’t know how to respond, or that they want to pass the film on to other friends or siblings.

The film provides viewers with three scenarios: a traffic stop, street encounters, and home encounters with police. Viewers see how the individuals involved react and how they waive their rights without knowing. The narrator, Ira Glasser (ACLU president for 23 years) shares how the individuals waived their rights, what rights they waived, and then shows you the scenario in a way the individuals respond when they do know their rights. Although this film does not replace any legal representation, it does remind viewers what their rights are. Now, if you watch Law & Order like I do, you know the lines “You have the right to remain silent,” yet not many people know these are called Miranda Rights and are part of the 5^th and 14^th Amendment of the US Constitution and which has a due process clause. Miranda Rights were not always the protocol for every person arrested in the US and did not become the law until 1966! That was not very long ago!

Do you know the second sentence of the Miranda Rights? “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Law enforcement tells you that if you are arrested and speak without an attorney present they will take all that you say and use it against you in court! Yet, many people when questioned by police, become anxious, intimidated, nervous, and wave their rights without even knowing it.

I teach this film about two time a year and its still good reminders for me. I had a police encounter at the beginning of the fall semester when a drunk driver ran into the side of my apartment building. I was home when it occurred, called the police, and two days later detectives came to my home to question me. I knew that I did not have to invite them into my home; I spoke to them through the chained door only after they identified themselves and showed me their badges. If I say that I felt comfortable during their questioning, I’d be lying. I was very nervous that my palms started sweating. But I knew that if they asked to come into my apartment to see any “damage” that I did not have to consent (they didn’t but I knew that much).

Thanks to the folks at Flex, they have made the film available in full on YouTube and we’ve posted the film for you to watch below. If you are a campus organizer, activist, educator, or just someone who knows how important a film like this can be for you and your community you can receive it for a $20 donation to Flex, like I did. Although this is specific to the people who are in the US, either as citizens or as tourists or undocumented immigrants, the laws do apply. Flex has compiled a list of resources for people in Canada, the UK, and other parts of the world.

Below is the film in full. If you don’t 45 minutes to watch the entire film right now, here are some essential reminders:

1) Know that you do not have to consent to a search and practice saying, “I do not consent to a search” (this includes subway/metro searches as well, although places such as the airport, border checkpoints, and some arenas are the exception).
2) It is all right to answer a question with a question to determine if you are free to go such as “Officer am I free to go?”
3) If you are arrested, your rights are to speak to an attorney. It is your right to say “Officer I have nothing more to say to you until I speak to my attorney.”
4) NEVER run from the police. (This is a big deal. If you run from the police they have probable cause to arrest you and they may shot you. FYI: Police officers are not trained to shot you in your big toe, you can get seriously injured)
5) If you invite the police into your home or vehicle, the Plain View Rule goes into effect. If they see something suspicious in plain view it is fair game for questioning and possible arrest.

Here’s information you will not hear on Law & Order, or read in many popular forms of media. Please spread the word.

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Thanks so much for posting this. I watched the video about the kids sentenced to life without parole and it was horrible. I dont know where to start in talking about my opposition to this law. And it has definitely galvanized me to see what opporutunities for action there are in this area.

# Posted By

vanessaaishacoleman | 11/25/09 09:36 PM | Report | Reply

Yes the documentary When Kids Get Life is very troubling. I learned very quickly that part of sexuality education HAD to be helping youth know their rights because they really do go hand in hand. Many of the youth in the film had no adults they trusted in their life, or adults didn't help them and they believed the only way to be "safe" was to commit such crimes. There's so much there, but I'm so glad you appreciated the videos!

# Posted By

Media_Justice | 11/30/09 12:04 PM | Report | Reply

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