Seattle PD has come up with a policy that prohibits cops from lying to suspects. My first thought is, does the prohibition apply to politicians lying to constituents? How about police administrators lying to subordinates? Tis a slippery slope. What if the true statement made by cops conflicts with a suspect’s perception of reality? Does the truth then become a lie? Black is white, up is down and bad is good. Where does it end?
Under this policy cops would no longer be able to tell a suspect that one of his cohorts was cooperating with police and was blaming him, when he wasn’t. What if the suspect overestimates the technical resources available to police? Do the cops have to correct that misconception? If a cop repeats a suspect’s lie is the cop now liable?
I don’t know how many times, while working undercover, that I was confronted by a dope dealer. The dealer would ask, “Are you a police officer, or informant working for the police? If you are you have to tell me. Because if you lie its entrapment.” I suspect the origins of this bullshit came from a Dirty Harry movie. I usually applauded the dealer for having such a steal trap mind (welded shut). I promised that I wasn’t a cop and would use his legal knowledge in the future. Funny thing, none of those delivery cases ever went to trial. All of the defendants entered guilty pleas.
A community gets the type of law enforcement that they deserve. All of those wetbacks traveling north is an irritant. I’m worried about an influx of west coast assholes traveling east. I see only one solution.
