Dealing with the police in civil matters
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| I've had a bit of experience dealing with the police in civil matters, and here are my recommendations on handling them if you ever face such a situation.
1 - Many times police officers will use intimidation and lies to restore peace in a civil dispute. It is to your benefit to video or audio record any dealings you have with the police. If you later communicate with their sergeant or with their internal affairs bureau, you will have a lot more credibility if you have a video or audio recording that you can show them. Police officers may try to tell you that you cannot video or audio record the proceedings. This is untrue. You can do so despite their statements to the contrary. I wish that I had done so in my previous situations. I found out later that the responding officer had untruthfully told his sergeant that I had used profanity in dealing with him. |
If you do file a complaint with their internal affairs bureau, remember to make your complaint based on the facts. Police officers can come after you for false complaints.
2 - Recording the meeting with the police officers has other benefits as well. As I said above, it is not uncommon for police officers to try to intimidate you. After all, they do have a gun at their side. They will also raise their voice and even yell if they feel necessary. I've had a couple finger their weapons menacingly and even lurch at me. Furthermore, police officers will try to tell you that something which is perfectly legal is, in their opinion, illegal. Under fire of a video camera, it is highly unlikely that police officers will resort to any of these tactics. If they do, you've caught them on tape.
3 - Address the offices by their name, ask them whom their sergeant is, and indicate that you are familiar with the internal affairs grievance process. This will quickly snap them in shape.
4 - Police officers often take the side of the complaining party. Police officers are not their to investigate a civil dispute and who's right and who's wrong. They are at the scene to quickly restore order and get on with their jobs. One way to deal with that is to simply dismiss them by agreeing with their line of bullshit and see them off on their merry way. As an example, I had one Columbus Police Officer tell me that I needed to work with another person in order to resolve the dispute. I said, "Fine, bring him over here so we can talk and why don't you mediate the dispute?" Amazingly, the officer blew up and started yelling at me because I had actually taken him up on his suggestion. The truth was that he really didn't want to mediate the matter.
5 - If you file a complaint with the internal affairs bureau then that officer can no longer return to see you in the future.
6 - You are not required to talk with them. You can simply indicate that you are under no obligation to talk to them and refuse to answer any of their questions.
7 - You are not legally obligated to even open your door to them if they are just there on a civil dispute.
8 - If you don't have a video camera handy then just take out a pen and some paper and take down everything they say. Ask them to review your report for accuracy.
9 - If you are going to communicate with their sergeant, do so quickly. If the police officer anticipates a problem, he or she will get on the phone to their sergeant so they have first shot at telling the sergeant how disorderly or unreasonable you were or how much profanity that they you used. The police officer will try to put you in the most negative light to save his or her behind.
10 - Remember that despite their position of authority, police officers, like everyone else in such positions, abuse their power and they are accountable for their actions. Don't be intimidated by them and take advantage of the resources you have to fight back.
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