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MasterOfNone wrote:

Jumping Frog wrote:My strategy hasn't changed, and I think Zimmerman did himself a disservice by speaking without his attorney.

Massad Ayoob's 5 Critical Things To Do After a Shooting

Although the link provides a description of the thought process, in brief they are:

1. Officer, this man attacked me.
2. I will sign the complaint.
3. Evidence is here.
4. The witnesses are there.
5. Officer, you will have my full cooperation in 24 hours after I have spoken with counsel.

Too many things can be missed if the cops don't know where to look.

Especially pointing out the witnesses.

The witnesses are over there thinking could this be some drug shooting or vengeful gang-banger. They don't know what's going on. "Do we really want to get involved?"

f they leave, the testimony that would have proven you innocent leaves with them.

bdickens wrote:Better to sound rehearsed than experience diarrhea of the mouth and end up unwittingly incriminating yourself.

Yep.

I'd also like to point out that there are is a lot of research data now on officer-involved-shootings in the law enforcement community. Best practices for law enforcement include waiting until the next day to give a statement and legal representation for the police officer. There are simply too many things that go haywire with memory while still under an adrenalin dump, and diarrhea of the mouth is a common problem.

The same officer that wants to interview you immediately after a shooting without an attorney would never consider for an instant doing that himself if he was involved in a shooting. He knows that too.

My strategy hasn't changed, and I think Zimmerman did himself a disservice by speaking without his attorney.

Massad Ayoob's 5 Critical Things To Do After a Shooting

Although the link provides a description of the thought process, in brief they are:

1. Officer, this man attacked me.
2. I will sign the complaint.
3. Evidence is here.
4. The witnesses are there.
5. Officer, you will have my full cooperation in 24 hours after I have spoken with counsel.