I remember reading a story from about ten years ago of four New York City policeman who fired 41 shots at Amadou Diallo (19 of which actually hit him) and numerous questions have been raised.
The first, was why did the police miss on 22 of the shots fired???
4 cops firing on an unarmed man and missing more than half the shots fired. On many forces,the officers would have been subjected to at least a week without pay for missing so many times.
The second, and most important to Americans that can possibly be stopped by the police, is how to avoid being shot. Diallo was reaching for what turned out to be his wallet when he was gunned down in a fusillade of bullets and to the best of my knowledge, these rogue cops are still on the force.
A while ago I had a run in with a couple of law enforcement officers in the town where I live and one of these morons said that HE was the one that writes the laws and I better stay out of HIS town. (to which I laughed hysterically at right in his face)
The other cop at the scene, who didn’t even look old enough to purchase alcohol yet, actually BRAGGED about how he knows everything because he had just completed 400 hours of training. A RESPONSE THAT BROUGHT MORE hysterical laughter from me
So what are the rights of those that come into contact with a flaming asshat like the one Iencountered and what can one do to avoid winding up like Mr. Diallo. How does a person deal with the police and win?
To do this effectively, you must get inside the mindset of the cop.
You see, when cops stop people, they assume the people are armed and dangerous. They fear that if they let the subject get the drop on them, they will be shot, and having this fear can influence their decisions to react with fear. They approach the subject ready to fast draw and shoot.
In the event you have an encounter with the police, and are unfamiliar with the rules of police encounters – what the cops can and can not do - this show will be quite enlightening.
The most valuable piece of advice I can give you and you should take from this article is this. Write it down and recite it over and over and over again until it becomes second nature to you:
If a police officer asks your permission to search – whether it be you car, home or other personal property - you are under no obligation to consent. The only reason he's asking you is because he doesn't have enough evidence to search without your consent. If you consent to a search request you give up one of the most important constitutional rights you have—your Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
During the course of the show tonight the way to do this and most particularly WHY to do this will be perfectly clear.
After all, you DONT want to wind up like Mr Diallo.