Don’t let police tactics manipulate you into giving up your constitutional rights.

As U.S. citizens we are guaranteed certain rights under the Constitution, rights that all Americans should know. Too often, students at WSU are approached by police officers while on foot, questioned and eventually arrested after revealing information that could have been protected by the Fifth Amendment.

It is important for students to know what rights they have and when they can use them.

A common occurrence on campus is when a police officer asks a student to talk with them or otherwise attempts to stop them from going to their destination in an attempt to make an arrest. 

Wynn Mosman, the attorney at Student Legal Services advises students as to what avenues are available if they should find themselves in such situations.

“You do not have to speak with an officer,” Mosman said. “You can always ask ‘Am I free to leave?’ If an officer tells you that you are not free to leave, keep in mind that the place to fight about that is not on the street.”

If you are given the opportunity to leave, take it.

When you ask an officer if you are free to leave, they are faced with only a handful of responses: an arrest for a crime will be made, you will be detained based on a reasonable suspicion of committing a crime or you will be allowed to go on your way.

“Your affirmative obligation is to identify yourself, and nothing more,” he said. “Police cannot legally force you to stay with them for no reason.”

He said sometimes, people will try to talk police out of arresting them or questioning them.

 “That, in my experience, almost never happens,” Mosman said. “You don’t do any benefit (to) yourself or favors by speaking with an officer.”

Mosman said the best way to handle an on-foot police encounter is to identify yourself.

“I would ask the officer if I had permission to reach into my pocket and when I would reach into my pocket, I would provide identification and answer no other questions,” he added. 

Mosman said this would then be followed up with “am I free to go?”

The Fifth Amendment in the Constitution guarantees the right against self-incrimination, which means you do not need to answer any questions, particularly those that might be unfavorable to your assumed innocence.

Police commonly implement strategies to get you to forgo your constitutional rights. Part of a police officer’s job description is to seek out and arrest people for committing alleged crimes.

When police say, “we are just here to help,” it is often a clever trick to get you to waive your right to remain silent and your right against search and seizure.

According to Flex Your Rights, a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit launched in 2002, “If police detain and frisk you, you have the right to clearly state your refusal to consent to the search. For example, you may say ‘Officer, I’m not resisting. I do not consent to this search.’ But you should only verbally refuse. Never physically resist.”

Implementation of these simple techniques can make the difference between a good outcome and a guilty outcome in these scary situations.