Truth

It is fact, well known and oft joked about, among my colleagues, that I hold to a belief that it is never the right thing to do to tell a lie. Although it’s not what this piece is about, this also had a lot to do with my coming out of the closet as a gay cop. This, as you can imagine has made me a peculiar person in the eyes of some. It has however been of great help to me make good decisions in my law enforcement career; a career that has included being, at one time, the youngest lieutenant on the Cleveland Division of Police.
I’ve come to depend upon honesty as a light in the dark and made of it a way of life. Not so much in the “holier than thou” sense as in the “don’t ask if you can’t handle it” sense. When I first started I found that the power of truth was like a drug and it took some practice to learn to use it with some finesse in order not to hurt feelings etc… but used consistently, I’ve found that the truth offers me a cloak of protection thicker and more dependable than any armor.
Here is just one example of the contrast between truth and the rationalization of a “justifiable” lie in police work:
Jimmy Blow is a career criminal. Detective Slob is a good detective and has arrested Blow several time in the past year. Each time he has arrested Blow, Det. Slob has read Blow his Miranda Rights… “You have the right to remain silent” etc… On his last occasion to arrest Blow however, Slob was in a hurry and knew that Blow knew his rights so he didn’t bother. He tossed Blow in the can on a minor offense and didn’t question him so “why bother”?
The next day, Detective Slob was enjoying his regular day off when Detective Pain came into the jail to find the prisoner he was intending to question, Blow’s cellmate, hanging from the cell bars with a torn bed sheet around his neck. Blow appeared to be asleep on the floor. Detective Pain called for the jail guards and roused Blow, asking him what had happened.
Blow initially feigned innocence. Det. Pain quickly surveyed the scene and determined from the way the knot was tied that the deceased could not possible have hung himself. He confronted Blow with his evidence and Blow confessed to having suffocated his roomy for snoring. When Sgt. Flat asked Det. Pain if he had read Mr. Blow his rights before questioning him about a felony crime, which he was suspected of committing, and while he was in custody, what should Det. Pain say? Should he tell the truth? That he was in a stressful situation and simply forgot?
In this case it falls to Det. Slob who should have read Blow his rights upon arrest. Then when the subsequent questioning came, it could be argued that he had been advised of his rights and stated that he understood within a day of being questioned. So, should Det. Slob lie to make sure this killer doesn’t “get off on a technicality”?
Possible scenarios? Both officers get away with lying and the killer gets convicted based on that lie. In the killer’s mind however, he was convicted based on a lie. Who cares right? But what happens when he gets out on parole? What will a police officer’s life be worth to him then? Will he get his conviction overturned on appeal when one or both of the officers who lied on the witness stand are found out. What happens to the detectives’ credibility if they don’t convince the jury of this one little lie? Will the jury suspect everything else they say refuse to convict?
But if Det. Pain was a person in the habit of telling the truth, then he does so as a matter of course. They can simply deal with it at the time; take the prisoner aside and question him again immediately after having advised him of his Miranda Rights. If you lose the confession, then you do the best with what you do have; but right is right and wrong leads to real ugly!
In the end, I know that some, nay most, people will never be convinced that it is best to ALWAYS be truthful. I challenge you however to try this. Just try to practice in little ways, being more truthful in every instance you can and see if it doesn’t begin to make your life easier.