No one is safe when they leave their homes. Danger looms from every corner. And these days, even police officers can bring harm to civilians. Often, they have done nothing to deserve the violent behavior of the officers.
It’s true that this should be solved with a law that protects all people. However, until this happens, it comes in handy to know how to protect yourself from this type of brutality. Not only can it affect you physically, but it can have a psychological effect on you, as well, because of the trauma of the event.
So, to save yourself from this, here are some details to consider and abide by.
Know Your Rights and the Rules
It’s imperative to know your rights and clearly understand the rules. If you act in accordance with them, you won’t provoke the officer to do something harmful. Moreover, to protect yourself from police brutality, you should follow the following details:
- Always place your hands where they can be clearly seen
- Be polite and calm when the officer pulls you up
- Listen to what the police officer says (You can actually listen to officers’ radio communications. Learn more at ratedRadardetector.)
- Don’t resist if they want to search your possessions and if they want to arrest you
- Move slowly and never stand behind the officer unless asked
- Don’t argue
- Never give signs that you may attack them or pull out a gun
Aside from these rules, you have the right to remain silent and call a lawyer. In the States, this is granted by the Fifth Amendment.
Understand How the Officer Thinks
To stay ahead of the police, people should consider the officer’s mindset. In many cases, they are as tense when they stop civilians as are the civilians, themselves. And this tension can have an unwanted outcome.
Also, it’s worth considering that police officers are trained to protect themselves from danger. In fact, they treat every encounter as possible violence. If they feel threatened in any way, they’ll certainly attack. Therefore, the most important thing is to not make them feel this way.
Defend Yourself If You’re Attacked
Not all people know this, but if the officer uses excessive force more than what is legally allowed, the victims can fight back to defend themselves. This is included in the law in some countries. However, various consequences follow.
Moreover, they will probably get arrested and taken to court where they should prove that the force used on them was more than what the law permits. Then, the officer may suffer serious injuries for which the victim will have to be punished eventually.
No matter what happens, if by any chance, you are a victim of police brutality, you should look for a proper police misconduct lawyer. You can do so on platforms like USAttorneys.com, for example. What matters is to hire one with sufficient experience in handling these cases. This is because it’s never simple to go after representatives of the law, no matter how violent they were to you.
A Final Word
We want to hear your thoughts on this. Have you been in a police misconduct situation? How did you protect yourself?
