Know your rights: Subway search tips from Alert Reader Matt


When Refusing a Search, Be Cool
If you choose to walk through a random search area and are stopped, you may refuse to be searched. In fact, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said that you are free to "turn around and leave" any subway system where police are conducting random searches.So if you are stopped, remain calm and courteous. And don't ever -- under any circumstances -- talk back or raise your voice to the police officer. You have nothing to gain -- and everything to lose -- by escalating the hostility level of the encounter.

Calmly and clearly say "Officer, I do not consent to any searches. I'm going to exit the station." Then immediately exit the station -- and do not return through the same entrance.

Refusal is Not Guilt
The police directive states that individuals who refuse to be searched can leave the subway system, and that such a refusal "shall not constitute probable cause for an arrest or reasonable suspicion for a forcible stop."
Warning: If you refuse to be searched and attempt to enter the turnstile anyway, you may be arrested.

Shut Your Mouth and Your Wallet
Some media reports state that police are requesting identification and in some cases immigration papers.You do not have to answer any police questions or give any information -- including your name, ID citizenship or immigration status -- whether or not you consent to a search. But remember, anything you say can be used against you.

Do Not Physically Resist
Again, it is illegal for police to search, detain, or question you just because you refuse a search. But if the police proceed to detain, search, or arrest you despite your wishes -- do not physically resist. You may state clearly but non-confrontationally: "Officer, I am not resisting and I do not consent to any searches."

WARNING: DO NOT RUN!If you refuse to be searched and run into the station, you could be shot to death! On Friday, an innocent man was shot in the head by police in a London subway station. The man had run away after being approached by an undercover officer.If you're approached by anyone suspicious in the subway, walk to the nearest uniformed officer for help -- but don't run away.

For more tips on maintaining your civil rights and safety while helping to prevent terrorism, look here http://www.flexyourrights.org/subway/

one thing here: while i may occasionally have left my house with a small amount of pot for recreational purposes only, and would prefer not to be searched, or for there to be any reason for searches at all, i'm also grateful to the nyc police in particular and law enforcement authorities in general for putting their lives on the line to stop the bad guys who want us all bloody and crying and then dead. fuck you, terrorists.