Being Investigated By The Police? Call A Lawyer ASAP!

There are many unfair aspects of criminal investigations and prosecutions that lay people just do not fully appreciate. When you watch movies or tv shows, the length and quality of investigations are very unusual. Most misdemeanor charges are based on a very short interaction with law enforcement. As soon as law enforcement arrives to the scene of a 911 call, they begin the process of elimination. Who will be charged with a crime? In many cases, it is the person who talks the most.

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You need to contact a defense attorney as soon as you are being investigated. The reason for this is that law enforcement is always building a case. They do not talk with people just to visit. They would like to wrap up the current investigation and be able to move onto the next report or investigation. 

To do this, reports need to be clear and concise. Responding officers do this by asking very pointed, often tricky, questions to get people to “confess” to certain facts so they can find probable cause for an arrest. They are 100% allowed to lie to you and trick you. 

In your confusion (they usually say an eye witness saw you do something you didn’t do), you will get defensive and start sharing all kinds of information to vindicate yourself from this false witness. In your haste, you may very well say some “magic words” for probable cause. That is all the officer needs to arrest you. Someone has to give just enough information to justify an arrest.

It does not matter if the officer got facts wrong or misinterpreted your words. The prosecutor and the courts defer to the officer’s report. After all, why would an officer lie? Well, she may not be lying. The officer may have just done a very poor job at investigating all of the facts. That leaves you with an inaccurate report but a very “reliable” investigation. There is nothing more damning to a client than their own words—used against them. 

Most people don’t give a confession. The words they are using simply get twisted and they are tricked into saying “magic words” that are elements of a crime. Most often, this happens because defendant wants to “tell my story” at the same time that the police are trying to figure out who to arrest. 

Unless you know the elements of all crimes and are very savvy to avoid “confessing” to any element of a crime, it is highly likely you will only get yourself in trouble by talking with law enforcement. If they are on scene to investigate an incident, there are good odds that someone is getting arrested. The more you talk, the more likely it is you.

Since so many cases involve he said vs. he said, you have a 50/50 chance that you will say something that allows them to more easily pin it on you. Just because another person accuses of you of a crime does not mean you can be arrested. There must be witnesses, video, or some evidence to substantiate you committed a crime. Considering most people don’t have witnesses or video, the officers use the words of those involved to figure out who to arrest. Hence, one person must say just enough to give the officer sufficient evidence to find probable cause for an arrest.

If you need to or want to talk with police about your version of events, do so with a lawyer present. This way, the officers will not be able to trick you into something or be able to twist your words. The only way to know if you are being set up is to have an experienced criminal defense attorney present to protect your rights and to listen for any trickery. 

If you are being investigated or concerned that a criminal investigation is underway that could impact you, contact a criminal defense attorney immediately. If you are facing a criminal accusation in western Washington, our attorneys are here 7 days a week to help. (360) 792-1000