Take the Fifth–Unless You’re a Cop

Take the Fifth–Unless You’re a Cop
By Lance Thompson - Contibuting Editor
1/24/07

Everybody has rights. Police officers just have fewer of them.

The Fifth Amendment holds that no person "shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." This protection applies to suspects with long criminal records, perpetrators caught in the act, political figures mired in scandal, and any citizen who has any occasion to deal with the justice system. The protection applies to every citizen, except the citizen who carries a badge.

Police reports are considered evidence. An officer is sworn to tell the truth in his reports, as a witness is before testifying in court. An officer who falsifies any report is subject to reprimand, dismissal, and criminal prosecution.
When an officer makes an arrest, his report must include all the facts, actions and observations the officer is aware of that bear on the case. In the event of an officer involved shooting, an occurrence which can expose the officer to criminal prosecution and civil liability, he is not absolved of the responsibility to submit a factual, complete report. An officer may in fact be giving evidence against himself as part of his official duty. He cannot refuse to submit a report on the grounds that it may incriminate him. A police officer is thus denied the protections that every other citizen, including criminals, enjoy under the Fifth Amendment.

Further, due to the rights that even criminals enjoy to sue for libel, the media has tacitly agreed never to describe a murderer as a murderer, a drug dealer as a drug dealer, a terrorist as a terrorist, until a verdict has been reached in a court of law. This agreement extends even to armed robbers caught on security camera video, or criminals who have admitted their crimes. However, this agreement does not extend to police officers.

Media reports of arrests or law enforcement activity always refer to the perpetrators as "alleged" or "suspected" as in "the suspected bank robber was arrested a block from the bank, in possession of the stolen money and identified by several eyewitnesses," or "the alleged carjacker was filmed by a traffic helicopter as he fled from police, narrowly missed striking several pedestrians, and crashed into an orphanage."

However, when describing the actions of police in such instances, there is no such tiptoeing around responsibility. The media reports will tell how many officers were involved, how many fired their weapons, how many bullets were fired in total, and how many "suspects" were wounded or killed by police. There are no "allegeds" or "suspecteds" when it comes to police. If videotape exists, especially if it shows force used by police, it is shown endlessly. If interest wanes in the case, the video is not omitted, but merely trimmed to the most violent and provocative few seconds.

How are the details of these cases revealed to reporters and journalists who provide all these details to their public? Do journalists do their own investigations? Do they hire independent detectives? Do they send out their own teams of CSI wannabes to gather evidence? No, the provocative details of the stories are largely gathered from police reports, submitted by the officers involved. Not only do the police provide evidence against themselves that can be used in criminal and civil trials, they also provide the raw material for their own prosecution by media.

There are some who don’t trust the police, who believe that they must be constantly monitored, their powers regularly reduced, their initiative limited. But with each limitation on police powers, an equivalent benefit accrues to criminals and enemies of this nation. Every search a police officer can’t make, every question he can’t ask, every investigation he can’t undertake creates another realm in which criminals can operate with impunity.

A 29 December 2006 Wall Street Journal article by Robert Block noted that large city police forces are taking the lead in combating terrorism by enforcing local laws to break up terrorist cells and terrorist support groups. The Los Angeles Police Department and other municipal law enforcement groups are arresting suspected terrorists for violating ordinances that don’t require the making of a federal case. Police officers not only enforce local laws and protect us from harm–they are also a vital and active part of our national security system.

Police officers bear an awesome responsibility–to protect all citizens from harm, lawlessness and anarchy. Whenever they are called upon to use force to accomplish this mission, they are pilloried in the press, sacrificed to public opinion, second-guessed by civic authorities, and placed in jeopardy of their livelihoods and liberty. Of all the people who should be shielded by Constitutional rights, police officers are the most deserving, and the least protected and served.