Ingredients:

• A sticky situation (or really any situation in which you are dissenting)
• Calm nerves

* This is just advice, and while it will probably be helpful, we can’t guarantee any of it.

Most public displays of dissent are going to attract the attention of the police. Often the police claim that they are there to make sure everything stays “peaceful” or to facilitate your expression of your first amendment rights. As with most things the police say, this is not true. The police almost always will attempt to make your action the least effective possible. You can prevent this by knowing your rights.

The first thing to keep in mind is to only talk to the police when it is absolutely necessary. Anything you say to the police can be used against you. Not to mention arguing with the police usually does not result in winning any gains, but rather agitates them more, making it more likely that they will respond with violence or arrests.

With that in mind, here are some tips that will help you when dealing with the police.

Regardless of what the police say, you do not need a permit to gather in or on a public space, such as a park or on a sidewalk. This is a common claim made by the police. If you are gathering on public property, and not obstructing the movement of other pedestrians, you have a legal right to be there.

Private property is another issue. You can be kicked out of private spaces. Often, but not always, the police have to contact the property owner prior to doing this. This of course does not mean that you shouldn’t do things on private property, but rather that you need to be a bit more cautious–or at least have thought about how you will deal with the police beforehand.

Also, DO NOT ever bring drugs or alcohol to an action. This should go without saying but, having these on you at an action is a risk not only to yourself but to others in the group as it may give the police more reason to harass people

* One thing that our group has found useful is to have a designated person for each action that will deal with the police. This position should rotate so the police don’t assume that this person is a leader–thereby risking the possibility of them being singled out in the future. This person’s job is to deal with the police when they ask the group who is in charge (police think in a very hierarchal manner and will always ask “who’s in charge here” or some variation). This person should explain that they are not in charge but are designated to talk to the police for this event. Usually the police will lay down the “ground rules.” This person should let the group know what the police communicated and have the group make a decision accordingly.

If you are stopped by the police

If the police ask you to stop the first thing you should ask is “am I being detained or arrested, and if so for what crime. If not, am I free to go.” If you are being arrested, the only information you should supply the police with is your name, date of birth, and address. Anything else you say can and will be used against you. You should remain silent until you have a chance to talk to a lawyer.

If stopped by the police, you do not have to consent to a search of you or your property. This might not stop them from searching anyway, but you should clearly state “I do not consent to this search.”

If you are arrested

The process of arrest to release can be long and uncertain, but in our experience will typically take between 2-6 hours and goes much smoother if you have some idea what to expect.

Either after being placed under arrest (i.e. they cuff you) or placed in a police car, the police will generally ask your name, address, and phone number. There is no reason to lie about any of this information, as they will find it out anyway and it will only make things more difficult for you to get out.

They may ask you questions about what happened or what you were trying to do–don’t answer them. You can simply say “I am going to remain silent until I speak with my lawyer.” Once you are placed under arrest, there is really nothing that you can tell them that will get you out of the situation. Similarly, if they decide to lecture you–which they frequently do, often invoking the “Look, you seem like a good kid…” line of talking–it is best not to argue and just listen.

If you are arrested here in Kent County, they will take you to the Kent County jail. It’s located at 703 Ball Avenue NE in Grand Rapids. Once there, they will take you out of the car and into a room with a large table where they will ask you to empty your pockets, ask your weight, height, and other such details. The contents of your pockets and any bags that you have will be given to the jail staff. The only thing that might be surprising about this process is that you will have to take out your shoelaces before being moved further into the jail, any drawstrings on clothing (for example on a sweatshirt) will be cut out, and piercings will be removed.

NOTE: At this point, we have heard of people being pulled into side rooms to be questioned. As we said earlier, say nothing–but remember what the police tell you. It may be helpful in subsequent interactions with the court.

Next, you will be placed in a small room with two (usually) additional officers who are employed by Kent County. They will frisk you before passing you into a larger room.

This larger room is a holding area where you will be photographed, finger printed, questioned by a medical examiner, and questioned by a jail staff member. These can happen in any order and the hallmark of how the jail operates seems to be confusion–they will do whatever they can to disorient you by doing the unexpected. During this time, you might be placed in a holding cell with other inmates or they might keep you in the main room. For the most part, this process is fairly straight forward–the fingerprinting and photographing is “just like the movies,” but the guards are worse at it than they are in the movies. The medical examiner will ask you questions about your health and the other jail staff will ask you about your employment status, where you live, if you have tattoos (which they will photograph), etc.

Once you have completed these four steps, you will be granted a phone call. If possible, call someone who can come down and get you out. Of course, that assumes that you know someone with access to money. If you don’t–and many of us don’t–call someone who can get in touch with the organizers of the protest. Hopefully, they are already working to get you out. Assuming that someone is coming to get you out, you will typically remain in the holding cell until they come. This can take a long time–but you really can’t do anything other than wait it out. Right before you allowed to leave, you will have to go into another little room where they will return your property. Then, the last door leads to the waiting room where hopefully your friends are there to give you hugs and refresh your spirit.

NOTE: We have typically seen “bond”–the money you have to pay to getout–set at around $500.

If you are not able to find someone to pay bond, you will remain in jail until you can see a judge. If it is a weekday, that should happen the next day or on Monday if it is the weekend. Often in this case the judge will let you out on what is called a “personal recognizance” bond, basically a promise that you will appear in court when ordered.

Once you are out of jail, you will need to start thinking about your legal defense. You can hire a lawyer if you can afford one, but we have had good luck contacting the West Michigan chapter of the ACLU. They will sometimes represent protesters.