Do police have the right to lie?

Question

I recently had a run-in with the law and caught the cop in a bunch of lies to me. A friend of mine who is a lawyer said that police have the right to lie. Isn't that called entrapment?

Answer 1

They can lie but they cannot entrap--and both the cops and defense attorneys know the difference.

Answer 2

F the police?

Yes, that's the way to get good answers.

Answer 3

No, its called lying.

Answer 4

No, it's not entrapment.  Whenever you have run-ins with police (or people bigger than you) you are skating on thin ice.

Answer 5

Yes, law enforcement has no obligation to tell you the thruth when they are conducting an investigation.

Answer 6

Never ever talk to cops they all lie to you just to get what they want.

Answer 7

Entrapment is if a police officer somehow coerced you to commit a crime that you would not have otherwise committed and then arrested you for it.

Answer 8

no they dont but they do it anyway

Answer 9

We need context.  What exactly happened.

No, law enforcement isn't prohibited from lying during the course of an investigation.  What do you think they are doing during a sting operation?

However, if they were to tell you specific lies, then it could be considered entrapment.  For example, most states recognize it as entrapment if the officer first tells you that the activity is legal.  For example, if he/she conducting a sting operation by trying to purchase drugs from a dealer, and he/she tells the dealer that the state just recently legalized it, then yes, that is entrapment.  

Another case in which they are legally are not allowed to lie would be something like this: "I have a right to search your vehicle because I have reasonable suspicion that a crime has be committed" just as a way of baiting the person into consenting to the search.  That would be a lie because they actually need probable cause to search a car.

Answer 10

If the police are lying to you or otherwise misleading you, with the objective of causing you to commit a crime that you would likely not have otherwise committed, that is entrapment. Of course, the "likely not have otherwise committed" part is the sticky area...

But if they are lying to you in any other situation, it is perfectly legal. Including attempting to garner a confession or other information about a crime.