In this three-part article series, we are educating you on the interrogation process. It’s an unfortunate fact that law enforcement will sometimes baselessly pursue criminal charges against a person for a crime they did not commit. After all, if luck would have it and you actually were the perpetrator, well, that would save everybody a lot of time. Unfortunately, many innocent people go to jail for crimes they did not commit because they were not aware of their rights.
In the first section, we discussed a tactic officers often utilize to expedite the entire interrogation process. In this section, we will discuss interrogators who like to stretch the truth to get you to confess. Remember, if you have been wrongfully accused of a drug crime, a drug defense attorney in Tampa can provide you with the legal counsel you need.
Let’s say that you’ve been detained for a drug crime and sent to the dreaded “trick room.” Often with drug crimes, the interrogator may downplay the offense you have been accused of and say they are interested in “bigger fish.” They may even tell you that the current charges are minor and that this sort of thing could happen to anyone.
Regardless of what you are told, it’s always important to remember that if you are talking to law enforcement, then you are still a suspect of a crime and not free to leave. In other words, everything isn’t just peachy. What the interrogator is really attempting to do is to get you to relax and admit to the crime. Although the penalty may not sound that bad right now, the charges you were persuaded into accepting will be later on.
Sometimes the police have few leads to work with and need to create their own path. Fictional or not, the interrogator may spin a story that can be damaging to your account of what transpired. For example, they may tell you that one of your neighbors witnessed the crime. Or they may say that during a sweep of your home or car, they discovered more incriminating evidence. In many drug crimes that involve multiple accused parties, the police may say that “the other guy” is “willing to talk.” Any of these tactics are an attempt for the interrogator to get back on the right track to proving you’re guilty. Although these techniques are highly misleading, they are never proven to be illegal in a court of law.
For more information on interrogation techniques, please read section three.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.