By: Onofre Jusino, Ph.D.
The Constitution of the USA, in its Fifth Amendment, gives all its citizens the RIGHT NOT to AUTO-INCRIMINATE when any law enforcement officer arrests them for whatever reason. Police Officers or any other law enforcement officer has the OBLIGATION by law to tell the arrestee to KEEP SILENT as part of the well-known Miranda Rights. ANYTHING said by the person arrested COULD BE AND WILL BE USE AGAINST him in court.
So, what about when the person is involved FOR WHATEVER reason in SELF-DEFENSE where he has to use a weapon and then decides to CALL 911 to inform what just occurred?
ALL 911 calls are RECORDED, and besides what you tell the operator about WHAT happened, the operator is trained to ASK YOU QUESTIONS about the address, person/s involved, HOW it happened, WHEN it happened, WHY it happened, etc. ALL that information that YOU are giving at that moment of tension, confusion, distress, agitation, etc YOU are being RECORDED by the 911 system, and when the Police arrive to do the investigation they will be asking questions to you AGAIN, and the answers that you give them may CONTRADICT part or everything that you just said to the operator of the 911, that was RECORDED and will be played at the court to be listened by the judge and the JURY if the prosecutor decides to accuse you, even when you decided to keep QUIET as part of your RIGHT of the Fifth Amendment when the police officer arrives at the SCENE of the crime, incident, accident or event.
So, what can you do in that situation? Well, the FIRST thing to remember is that YOU have a US Constitutional RIGHT to KEEP SILENT and that you are NOT obligated to TALK or INFORM anything to NOBODY, EXCEPT your LAWYER. One alternative that you can use is to ask someone close to you at that moment to call an ambulance, the police, 911, etc., and to inform them that some medical and police assistance is needed. If YOU are the one that makes the call, remember that EVERYTHING YOU SAY WILL BE RECORDED and can be used AGAINST YOU IN COURT.
The best moment to express what happens when a situation that could involve the police, court, etc, is when YOU ARE WITH YOUR LAWYER, and ONLY if your lawyer agrees for you to talk. If not, be SILENT until you get your legal advice, and tell the Police officer your GENERAL information, like, name, address, license, and place where you work, so it shows that you are cooperating with the Police, but when the questions from the Police come in reference to the case, just tell them that you are willing to talk IN FRONT OF YOUR LAWYER if the lawyer agrees, and keep QUIET until you have your lawyer present.
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR OPINION.
