What It's Like When the NYPD Raids Your Apartment At Dawn-- Because Your Roommate is in Occupy

reply to post by azureskys


Despite what you have posted, and correct though it may be, simply questioning a police officers authority or lack of knowledge of the law will get you arrested. The catch 22 situation of NOT consenting to a search thus hands the police "probable cause" to suspect you have something to hide. They can then dream up any BS excuse to justify it.

It's all carefully stacked against the individual so that the police can get away with anything they want. The idea that the police must provide evidence of wrongdoing or even suspicion of a criminal act in order to harass you is laughable. The onus has shifted onto the individual to prove innocence.

I know your comments are obviously meant for the US, but it's getting just as bad here in the UK.

This belongs in the Hoax bin.
If the cops had come in with a warrant, you would still be in jail.

Originally posted by Britguy
reply to post by azureskys

 

Despite what you have posted, and correct though it may be, simply questioning a police officers authority or lack of knowledge of the law will get you arrested. The catch 22 situation of NOT consenting to a search thus hands the police "probable cause" to suspect you have something to hide. They can then dream up any BS excuse to justify it.

It's all carefully stacked against the individual so that the police can get away with anything they want. The idea that the police must provide evidence of wrongdoing or even suspicion of a criminal act in order to harass you is laughable. The onus has shifted onto the individual to prove innocence.

I know your comments are obviously meant for the US, but it's getting just as bad here in the UK.

In any encounter with police, turn off the drama. Don't argue with or debate them. These people today are powerless except for brutality and their intellect today is .... well .... I think we can agree they aren't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Calmly ask for a copy of the warrant. Keep your hands at your side but if you can activate your cameras or mics without being noticed, do it. Calmly, repeat after me "I do not consent to searches of any kind". Repeat this quietly and calmly as often as necessary. Also repeat after me "I wish to speak with an attorney". Repeat quietly and calmly as often as necessary (remember you are talking to a bully gangbanger backed by the state). If you get arrested -- so what? You bail out of jail and prep for court. Depending on your proof and their behavior, you may be prepping for a lawsuit against the police.

Going along with the demands of police is what brought us to this place of endlessly corrupt authorities. We can't stop this illegal and shameless conduct with passive compliance. The half dozen police breaking down the door for an "open container" citation is pretty much the apex of a runaway police department.

Here's another story that drives home the quality of our police and what happens when people comply with out-of-control cops. Only problem is, it took them five years:

reason.com...

So did he kick his roommate out?

I would have.

reply to post by emberscott


Saying you could have fought for your freedoms is such a vague cliche that it has basically no meaning. Our country is set-up so that we take all our power and give it away willy-nilly to a career liar and crook. (More often than honest lovers of freedom.) Since our only way to get direct voting power on bills and the ability to introduce legislation only exist in Congress, it would be logical to run for office. The problem is that you require large sums of money to run a campaign and if you are anything but mainstream it is almost impossible to get elected, and you will also have problems if you do not belong to either Republicans or Democrats and adopt their respective ideologies. That's how I feel anyway. Protests are great and all, but they are such an ineffective way to exercise our power.

On topic:
I was gonna type about how unbelievable your situation was, but the sad truth is I actually expect this. We all know how corrupt and rotten the NYPD is. I would wager that more stories involve corruption or violations of basic constitutional liberties than stories of helping citizens or actually protecting them from harm concerning the police department. There is a reason they wake you up when you are in a deep sleep. They want you to be disoriented and caught off guard so you are easier to not only arrest, but control. You wouldn't be able to think on your feet and think ahead and get badge numbers and names along with their reason for breaking and entering. They are thugs and tools of the state so why would anyone consider the department to respect our rights. If you don't have any information about the officers and if you don't get any charges against you, the least you could do is provide information and suggestions to others about what to do in a similar situation. They clearly had a bullpoop excuse to raid your apartment/house so suggesting to others to immediately think of getting identifying information about the officers would be key. Any other things you wish you did differently, you can write up and tell other members of occupy in order to prepare them for what's coming. Does that make sense? lol You can't turn back time and do things differently, but you can use your information about the situation to prepare others and allow them to have a fighting chance. Lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit. That would be the only way to get through to them. Perhaps, creating your own surveillance system would be appropriate. It can be set-up very cheaply if you use a computer, dedicated or not, and by getting the appropriate cameras off ebay. I hope you are alright from this ordeal, and knowing that you aren't alone maybe you could spread the word and train would-be raid victims on how to act and what to do prior to and during the raid.

reply to post by DaTroof


For what? The police doing the wrong thing?

Others detained by the NYPD leading up to the May Day protests tell similar stories. While police legally execute search warrants every day, it is illegal to execute them to monitor political speech. Police must prove that they would have executed them regardless of any First Amendment activity.

gothamist