What Should I Do If I Am Detained, Pulled Over, or Arrested in St. Louis, MO?

If you have an interaction with the police (whether you were pulled over for a common traffic violation, or you are involved with some sort of alleged crime), then you should always remain calm and in control of your emotions. Regardless of how rude the police officer is behaving (or how difficult the officer is making the situation), you should never do anything to provoke the officer (like saying offense things, or making threatening statements, or physically touching the officer). You should at all times show a degree of respect and deference to the officer (even if the idea of doing that doesn’t sit well with you).

Why should you maintain this level of control over yourself when dealing with the police? Because if you do not, then the officer will likely use your poor behavior as an excuse to exert physical force against you, to charge you with a crime that he might not have if you were behaving well, or even to arrest you on the spot. So it is far better to keep your cool.

Now what if the officer insists on agitating you, or saying things that are discriminatory, or does something to upset you? Even under these circumstances, you should still maintain you poise. It is far better to have a situation in which you can honestly claim that you did everything in your power to comply with the officer’s requests.

Beyond the behavioral aspects, you should also know that you are under no obligation whatsoever to answer any of the police officer’s questions. You have a right to remain silent so that you do not incriminate yourself. And you do not have to wait until the officer reads the Miranda warnings before you invoke the right to remain silent (a lot of people do not realize that everything they say before the Miranda warnings are read can be used against them).

You also do not have to give your consent to the officer to search you or your belongings (like your car). Most people incorrectly believe that if an officer requests your permission to search your car that you have to consent. This is simply not true. But if you do in fact give the officer permission, you cannot very well turn around and later claim that he searched your vehicle illegally.

These are only a few things that you (and everyone) should know. But this is in no way a complete list of every tiny detail of what you should do when you have an interaction with a police officer. The only way you can know for sure if your rights have been violated is by meeting with an experienced St. Louis criminal defense lawyer.

The affordable St. Louis criminal defense attorneys at The Bankruptcy Company, have been helping people with their misdemeanor charges for over ten (10) years. Our goal is to make sure that the charges leveled against you do not stay on your permanent record, and do any lasting damage. And we want to do all of this at an affordable price. The fees for a typical misdemeanor case start at $450. But the initial consultation to discuss your legal issues is free of charge. So contact us today!!

We have two main locations: in the Central West End of St. Louis, at 1 North Taylor (on the corner of Taylor and Laclede), 63108; and in the Twin Cities of Festus / Crystal City, at 1000 Truman Blvd (Highway 61/67), 63019. The initial consultation is free of charge. So contact us today to learn more!!