# How far can police lying go? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 8, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121 "2025-05-08T21:51:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/1 "2025-05-08T21:51:46Z")
I don’t want to completely derail my thread over in FQ, so I’ll ask here since it could foster a debate. Police can lie to you but how far can this go? Suppose I’ve been stopped and a policeman asks if he can search my car. Many of us know that you can say no. But what if you don’t know that and the policeman says “You have to let me search your car.” So you say, “OK, you can search it.” Would that be a legal search? Or more absurdly, suppose you ask if you are free to go and the policeman says yes but then arrests you for resisting arrest because he lied when he said you were free to go. How far can a lying policeman go and get away with it? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/2 "2025-05-08T21:58:37Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > But what if you don’t know that and the policeman says “You have to let me search your car.” So you say, “OK, you can search it.” Would that be a legal search? They do that all off the time along with “If you don’t answer my questions, that’s obstruction.” “If you don’t identify yourself, that’s obstruction.” (assume not a stop-and-ID state) They can tell you that a witness has identified you, although there is no witness. > [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Or more absurdly, suppose you ask if you are free to go and the policeman says yes but then arrests you for resisting arrest because he lied when he said you were free to go. That I believe is entrapment because relying on the officer’s word led you to commit an illegal act you would not have committed otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/3 "2025-05-08T22:08:16Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > That I believe is entrapment because relying on the officer’s word led you to commit an illegal act you would not have committed otherwise. Clearly entrapment but not much need for them to do that. If they had grounds to arrest you they can just do it. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/4 "2025-05-08T22:11:10Z")
But remember, these are people that will suddenly grab you, throw you to the ground and scream at you just so they can add “resisting arrest” to the charges. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/5 "2025-05-08T22:15:21Z")
Reckless eyeballs. What about the dashcam? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/6 "2025-05-08T22:17:53Z")
So why bother with telling them they’re free to go? Arrest them and just say it happened. If the policeman is wearing a camera or there are witnesses the ‘resisting arrest’ charge won’t stick. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/7 "2025-05-08T22:29:33Z")
All I was doing was answering the OP. They asked, “Can they.” Not, “Why would they.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/8 "2025-05-08T22:33:35Z")
You are correct in what they could do. Even when there are no grounds you’ll still be arrested. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/9 "2025-05-09T00:53:51Z")
Is the OP asking how far this can go and remain 100% legal in a pre-trump world, how far this can go and remain 100% legal in a trumply world, or what is really the worst case that has happened out in the real world pre-trump, or what is really the worst case that’s expected to happen in the future out in the real world with trump? Those are four very different questions with very different answers. Until we know what the OP is really asking, we don’t really have much ability to answer. Or said better, unless folks give the question they’re answering along with their answer to their chosen question, the collective result of the thread will be all over the place with no consensus. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/10 "2025-05-09T05:08:35Z")
My understanding is that police aren’t allowed to lie about giving you leniency if you confess. Only the prosecutor can do that. But I have no idea how well that plays out in reality. In reality, cops will do whatever they can get away with. If they can lie when they’re not supposed to, and they think they can get away with it, they will. Police lying under oath in court is illegal but it happens all the time. But ‘in theory’ I believe police cannot lie about the following: - Lying in court under oath - Lying about offering you leniency if you confess - Presenting false evidence to a suspect\* - Claiming that your civil rights are not applicable (you do not have the right to an attorney, right to remain silent, etc) \*While police cannot, to my knowledge, give false evidence to a suspect they can pretend they have false evidence. Meaning a police officer can say ‘we found your fingerprints at the crime scene’ as a lie. What they can’t do is have a false document from forensics printed up showing proof of your fingerprints at the crime scene. I think thats how it works, I’m not entirely sure. Its kind of weird. I just get the impression they can lie about having evidence that doesn’t exist, but they can’t fabricate evidence and show it to you as ‘proof’ that they have evidence. FWIW, the biggest lie police tell is pretending they have more evidence than they really do. I think I read the majority of the time the police like to a suspect, its to pretend they have more evidence than they really have in order to elicit a confession. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/11 "2025-05-09T06:45:46Z")
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to determine whether or not the police are lying to you, the safest assumption is that everything they are saying to you is a lie. There are rules, as discussed above, but unless you’re a legal expert you can’t be confident you understand the nuances of the rules, and there’s no guarantee the police are following them anyway. All you need to know is that the police cannot be trusted to be honest if they are treating you as a suspicious person. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/12 "2025-05-09T17:00:53Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > But ‘in theory’ I believe police cannot lie about the following: > > - Lying in court under oath > - Lying about offering you leniency if you confess > - Presenting false evidence to a suspect\* > - Claiming that your civil rights are not applicable (you do not have the right to an attorney, right to remain silent, etc) > > \*While police cannot, to my knowledge, give false evidence to a suspect they can pretend they have false evidence. Meaning a police officer can say ‘we found your fingerprints at the crime scene’ as a lie. What they can’t do is have a false document from forensics printed up showing proof of your fingerprints at the crime scene. I think thats how it works, I’m not entirely sure. Its kind of weird. This is a pretty good answer. But do note some states vary. > **[Can Cops Lie to You in California? - Pointer & Buelna, LLP](https://www.lawyersftp.com/can-cops-lie-to-you-california/)** > > Can cops lie to you? Yes, but only in certain circumstances. Let's know more and find legal help if you are a victim of police misconduct here. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/13 "2025-05-09T17:10:29Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > My understanding is that police aren’t allowed to lie about giving you leniency if you confess. Only the prosecutor can do that. But I have no idea how well that plays out in reality. They can imply “Things will go easier on you.” or “I can help you.” if they confess. Are you talking about a specific deal like, “If you confess, you’ll get 1 year prison with 3 years probation.” if that’s not a deal the prosecutor has approved? > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > What they can’t do is have a false document from forensics printed up showing proof of your fingerprints at the crime scene. But it was legal to put a colander on a guys head as a “lie detector” and have a partner run a copier that said “Lying” every time the suspect answered a question. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > FWIW, the biggest lie police tell is pretending they have more evidence than they really do. I think I read the majority of the time the police like to a suspect, its to pretend they have more evidence than they really have in order to elicit a confession. That is due to incorrect use of the Reid Technique. If used correctly, the interrogator has the evidence they claim like video. > [@Cervaise](#): > > If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to determine whether or not the police are lying to you Am I free to leave? I invoke my right to remain silent. I invoke my right to an attorney. Repeat as needed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/14 "2025-05-09T17:19:05Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > But it was legal to put a colander on a guys head as a “lie detector” and have a partner run a copier that said “Lying” every time the suspect answered a question. I believe that is a Urban Legend. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Am I free to leave? > I invoke my right to remain silent. > I invoke my right to an attorney. > Repeat as needed. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/15 "2025-05-09T17:23:12Z")
Have fun in El Salvador then ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/16 "2025-05-09T17:23:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I believe that is a Urban Legend. Snopes agrees with you. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/17 "2025-05-09T17:25:01Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Snopes agrees with you. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/18 "2025-05-09T17:25:27Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > Have fun in El Salvador then Huh? What do you mean? Was this a reply to me? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/19 "2025-05-09T17:25:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I believe that is a Urban Legend. The story was published several times about an alleged incident in PA. Radnor Township was identified but has denied the story several times. I did read about this when it was first reported no later than the '80s. Having lived in the next township over and worked in Radnor I noted it with interest but no real confirmation ever turned up. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121/20 "2025-05-09T18:01:53Z")
To you or Saint Cad. I believe they were saying that these days, invoking your rights so as not to make cops’ lives easier might get you deported. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-police-lying-go/1018121.md?page=2)