If You've Done Nothing Wrong You Have Nothing To Worry About
The title is a statement I heard today from someone in the debate about the police brutality out there. Most of us realize this is not true. Philando Castile was doing nothing wrong. He obeyed everything the police officer told him to do. He told him that he was legally carrying a weapon. He reached for his wallet as the officer told him to do. He still ended up dead.
Regardless of that, there is the matter of what police are really after when they question you about something. Just as all police officers aren't like the officer who murdered Castile, not all police investigate a cast the way I'm about to tell you. There are enough, though, that I would not talk to them without a lawyer. Investigations do not happen like we see on television. Many times, the police create a narrative then search for evidence to fit that narrative, rather than seeking justice and the truth.
I worked for a freight company near Kennedy Airport in NYC. We had a woman who worked for us who disappeared one Sunday. This was about 30 years ago. She left for church and her husband never saw her again. I don't remember whether she made it to church or not. He filed a missing persons report on her. The police were investigating and they came to the office asking about her - and they asked about her relationship with her husband. This was her second marriage. She had a child with this husband and an older child from her first marriage.
About a week later, a friend of hers called her husband and told him he spotted her car parked somewhere. Instead of going to the police, the husband drove over with a friend and then drove the car home before calling them. A bad decision? Yes. About two weeks later her body was found wrapped in a plastic bag and tarp and dumped.
With a murder to investigate now, the police stepped up the investigation. Her husband had called to ask about her life insurance policy through work. The police were working on the premise that he had murdered her. One officer even said "we know he did it, we just can't prove it." I can remember the funeral, how the husband stood off to one side, away from the family and everyone else.
About a year later, a man was arrested for another murder. While he was being questioned about it, he confessed to several other murders, including that of the woman I'd worked with. The innocent husband had to move away from NY with his son due to the hostility he faced. Did he make some bad decisions? He likely had bills to pay and was worried about what would happen without her salary coming in.
This man lost something. He not only lost his wife, he lost his community because the police were so certain he'd committed the crime they didn't investigate it with an open mind. Some people say it's about statistics - they need to close a certain number of cases and have a certain number of convictions. I don't know the reason. All I know is a man who did nothing wrong ended up with a hell of a lot to worry about.
Regardless of that, there is the matter of what police are really after when they question you about something. Just as all police officers aren't like the officer who murdered Castile, not all police investigate a cast the way I'm about to tell you. There are enough, though, that I would not talk to them without a lawyer. Investigations do not happen like we see on television. Many times, the police create a narrative then search for evidence to fit that narrative, rather than seeking justice and the truth.
I worked for a freight company near Kennedy Airport in NYC. We had a woman who worked for us who disappeared one Sunday. This was about 30 years ago. She left for church and her husband never saw her again. I don't remember whether she made it to church or not. He filed a missing persons report on her. The police were investigating and they came to the office asking about her - and they asked about her relationship with her husband. This was her second marriage. She had a child with this husband and an older child from her first marriage.
About a week later, a friend of hers called her husband and told him he spotted her car parked somewhere. Instead of going to the police, the husband drove over with a friend and then drove the car home before calling them. A bad decision? Yes. About two weeks later her body was found wrapped in a plastic bag and tarp and dumped.
With a murder to investigate now, the police stepped up the investigation. Her husband had called to ask about her life insurance policy through work. The police were working on the premise that he had murdered her. One officer even said "we know he did it, we just can't prove it." I can remember the funeral, how the husband stood off to one side, away from the family and everyone else.
About a year later, a man was arrested for another murder. While he was being questioned about it, he confessed to several other murders, including that of the woman I'd worked with. The innocent husband had to move away from NY with his son due to the hostility he faced. Did he make some bad decisions? He likely had bills to pay and was worried about what would happen without her salary coming in.
This man lost something. He not only lost his wife, he lost his community because the police were so certain he'd committed the crime they didn't investigate it with an open mind. Some people say it's about statistics - they need to close a certain number of cases and have a certain number of convictions. I don't know the reason. All I know is a man who did nothing wrong ended up with a hell of a lot to worry about.
People are often way too quick to judge. Your story about your former co-worker really highlights that fact.
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