Flex Your Rights ~ Use Them or Lose Them!

I was on YouTube attempting to find a particular video regarding a police officer that was abusing his authority and arresting citizens for bogus reasons, when I ran across a video entitled How to Refuse Police Searches. I have always been curious as to what I would say if I ran into this scenario, and now I know! When a video finishes on YouTube it immediately recommends relevant videos for you to watch. Most of the options were other videos by the same user. Making a long story short, I tied it all back to www.flexyourrights.org. This is a website completely dedicated to educating the public on how basic Bill of Rights protections apply during encounters with law enforcement.

The video clips online are all from a DVD called, 10 Rules for Dealing with Police. This humorous DVD is narrated by seasoned trail lawyer William Murphy, Jr. This innovative collaboration of legal advisers has very inexpensive material on their website and all of the proceeds are used by this educational nonprofit organization to further their cause and educate citizens on their rights. 

I had an experience years ago where I was bullied by a police officer and out of fear I foolishly gave in and one of my civil liberties was defenestrated. It was back in my Private Investigation days and I had an officer that wanted to give me a hard time. He requested that I get out of my vehicle and demanded that I emptied my pockets. I thought nothing of it and did not realize that at the time I was waving my rights. Now I know better.

I have just purchased my DVD and I hope to learn a lot from it. I also expect to get a few chuckles based on the scenes I have seen so far. You better believe if a police officer asks to search my car, the words out of my mouth will be, "I don't consent to searches."