Flex your Rights - BUSTED! Video

[athanatic]

This is a video that really helps people understand what their rights are when they are talked to by the police and what they can do to protect them.

http://www.flexyourrights.org/busted/

Happy Viewing!

- Matthew from Minneapolis

[And So there! A non-stick-based-food eating Avatar! :p]

[ninjaroach]

That is a GREAT video for college studends to watch, by the way.  I was a member of SSDP - Students for Sensible Drug Policy - when I attended school.  I joined after the first meeting I attended, which is also where I got arrested.  They had a smoke-out / movie watch / fundraiser that had been going on for years.  The previous year they set off a silent fire alarm, when the police showed up they saw stoners filling up the auditorium and laughed.  One officer was quoted as saying "That guy has been smoking for 15 minutes straight, I haven't even seen him catch his breath.  I'm simply amazed."  They hung out for a bit, enjoyed the atmosphere (pun intended) and left.

Not the case for the year I went.  Anyways, after being arrested I definitely wanted to be part of the group.  We showed Busted! a few times that year, trying to inform students how to throw parties and not get arrested in the process.  There's a lot to be learned about your rights, what cops can and can't do (Don't let them inside no matter what!!) and what precautions you can take to make sure things won't stand in court.  I love the video and highly recommend it.

[l_ron_hubbard]

I can't watch the video so i can't critique as critically as i want but let me lend a word of advice to everyone.

just because you have the right, doesn't mean excercizing it is the best thing to do.  Sometimes the mere use of your rights can either give them "reasonable suspicion" to violate your rights, or just plain piss the cop off.  The last thing you want is to piss a cop off.  Let them feel you're not doin' anything harmful and you're basically showing them everything there is to see.  If you do this, they feel respected and don't want to prod much further, otherwise you're about to get ass rammed by a nazi.

i speak from experience.  here is the story:

Summer in high school, a month before Senior Year starts:  After i drink 6 beers at a party people decide we need more beer, so my friend james, will, and i go out to steal more beer (we already stole a keg for the party).  We go to an am/pm but i'm too drunk to help and jump the fence to get the beer, so i stumble inside for a piss and a candy bar.  I come out to a scene of police lights.  I had legal training from a protest the week before, so i start walking away when two security gaurds come up to me and says, "this cop wants you to come talk to her" and i say "am i being detained?"  They looked perplexed so i explain to them, "i'm not required to be in the presense of a police officer if i'm not being detained, so if i'm not, i'm leaving."  Then i leave.  Then they come back and get me once getting authority to detain me.  I refused to give the cops my name or anything about the story.  the other two accomplices i'm with spill their guts about EVERYTHING including the party location and the plan to steal.  Even though they were the ones doing everything, they go home within an hour of arriving at the police station.  I, on the other hand, the one who used my rigths every step of the way, didn't get to phone my parents for 5 HOURS as i lay hand cuffed to a bench and poked out with night sticks when i attempt to pass out.  The entire 5 hours they're telling me i'm going to Juvenile Hall, they're just going through the paper work.    I'm in the main room mind you, where all the cops with nothing to do can come in and just rip on me.  finally at 5am they say they're just not going to take the time to go through the paper work.

i learned my lesson.  Be careful with your rights, you don't really have any.

[Russ84]

Torrent video download link. http://isohunt.com/download.php?mode=bt&id=3795606

[eukreign]

Torrent video download link. http://isohunt.com/download.php?mode=bt&id=3795606

Thanks for the torrent, I had found one earlier but it was really crappy.

[Russ84]

Thanks for the torrent, I had found one earlier but it was really crappy.

No probem.

[revmar]

I can't watch the video so i can't critique as critically as i want but let me lend a word of advice to everyone.

just because you have the right, doesn't mean excercizing it is the best thing to do.  Sometimes the mere use of your rights can either give them "reasonable suspicion" to violate your rights, or just plain piss the cop off.  The last thing you want is to piss a cop off.  Let them feel you're not doin' anything harmful and you're basically showing them everything there is to see.  If you do this, they feel respected and don't want to prod much further, otherwise you're about to get ass rammed by a nazi.

i learned my lesson.  Be careful with your rights, you don't really have any.

You are right about that.  I think it's all about helping yourself fight the arrest in court.  Because of my job I'm driving home at bar time a lot.  I've been pulled over several times for non-existent reasons.  Each time the cop tries to get me to confess to drinking.  They even say things like "I'm just trying to help you".  So far, I just politely put up with the bullshit and then drive home.  If the cop is a nazi, you're going to jail but at least you have a better chance of fighting it down the road.

[ninjaroach]

The video doesn't really teach the "get out of my face" method of using your rights.  They show a lot more simple things, like if an officer comes to your door while there's a party you should step outside to talk to the officers, closing the door behind you.  You can still be polite and respectful while insisting that the party inside contains only people over the age of 21 (Even though I myself am only 20, I've done this before hehe)  and that everyone inside is behaving.  I'm not sure if this was in the video or simply discussed afterwards, but don't let people drink on your lawn!  Keep things on the front porch, or fence off your yard with the orange construction stuff because if not cops can freely roam about on your grass.  It only takes 1 minor to get your entire party busted.

Always be respectful, corteous and insistent.  No need for name calling or "Stay out of my business, punk" - try explaining that you insist nothing is wrong, that you have nothing to hide but that you are in a hurry.  Don't be afraid to laugh and ask a really stupid question every now in then.  I've all but once talked my way out of a dozen or so confrontations with cops and not once was I ever a civil-rights weilding prick.  (The time I *was* arrested the officer watched me in the act before approaching me, I was screwed.)

[Puke]

Looks like a very good video.
Certainly has some good tips anyway.

[Grey]

yeah it's a good video.

It obviously could have gone on for hours - but it doesn't, it's only 45 mins long... but it covers the most typical run in's 20-something's have w/ cops (ie- traffic stops, party crashing). definitely worth DL'ing.

[Ambiguity]

I downloaded that. Great video. Just a question, anyone else run into a problem with the video lagging behind the audio? It did seems to do it to me in winamp, divx, wmp... Any suggestions?

[Russ84]

I downloaded that. Great video. Just a question, anyone else run into a problem with the video lagging behind the audio? It did seems to do it to me in winamp, divx, wmp... Any suggestions?

Yeah, it started lagging after a certain point. It must of happened during the re-encoding of the video.

[Ambiguity]

Oh good. Well, not good, but at least it's not a problem with my hardware or software.

[SandytheP]

Thank you soooo much for your suggestion on this video!!!!

So many do not know what to do when they are confronted by officers...............wether doing something illegal or not!!!!

I'm tired of hearing citizens getting bullied by officers and scared out of they're minds that they will do and say the 'wrong' thing.

Be informed and look for no one to protect you....except you. 

We need more of this type of info.
Thanks

  SandytheP

[Russ84]

New links to the video for those who do not use Bit Torrent.

The video is split into 2  archives. To open the archive you need a propgram like 7-zip or WinRAR and you need to download both of the split archive files to complete the archive.
Link to 7-Zip -> http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/sevenzip/7z423.exe?download

Here are the links to the archived video. (Remember to download both)

Split archive 1
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F4HTPU7R

Split archive 2
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XYDI1AHD

To extract the file you'll only need to open one of the archives.

Post here if you have any troubles.