Police officers are agents of the state. Their job is to enforce the law, investigate criminal activity and uphold social order. In some cases, police officers may engage in questionable behavior in misguided attempts to fulfill their professional obligations.
When police officers question those who may have broken the law, they may engage in a variety of interrogation tactics. Sometimes, officers pretend to develop a friendship with a suspect. Other times, they may insist that they can help a suspect obtain lenient sentencing if they cooperate by confessing and then pleading guilty. In some cases, police officers may lie about what evidence they have in an attempt to push a suspect into confessing.
Is it legal for police officers to lie about security camera footage, genetic information, confessions or witness statements?
Officers frequently lie to adult suspects
The federal courts have repeatedly affirmed that police officers can lie during questioning and investigations. They can tell an individual they want to talk to them as a potential witness when they are really a suspect. They can claim to care for or understand a suspect in an attempt to bond with them and manipulate their actions.
They can promise leniency that they have no way of actually extending to a suspect. They can also misrepresent what evidence they have. Police officers might claim that they have video footage of someone committing a crime or leaving the scene of a crime. They might claim that there are witnesses who can positively identify the suspect.
They may insist that there is genetic material or fingerprints connecting the suspect to the crime. They could even claim that someone else involved in a situation has confessed or made statements implicating the suspect. People who do not invoke their right to an attorney and their right to remain silent may end up manipulated into confessing criminal activity they did not commit because a police officer lies.
However, there are limits on when and how officers can misrepresent the truth during a criminal investigation. In Indiana, police officers generally cannot lie to minor suspects to trick them into confessing. Their age makes them susceptible to manipulation. While police officer lies to adults may not be a violation of a suspect’s rights, officers who lie may engage in other forms of misconduct as well.
Reviewing the conduct of law enforcement professionals with a skilled legal team can help people develop criminal defense strategies. Questioning the conduct of police officers might lead to the courts setting aside evidence or dismissing pending charges.