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Forum Post: What happens once you are arrested for an act of civil disobedience?

Posted 9 years ago on Aug. 6, 2014, 12:54 p.m. EST by BlissBliss (0)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

I do not know how this arrested-for-civil-disobedience stuff works. Do you get arrested and get fined? If that is the case, and you pay it, don't the cops just laugh all the way to the bank and you, who maybe were already pretty poor, are even poorer? If there is a fine, and you refuse to pay it, do you just get kept in jail indefinitely?

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2 Comments


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[-] 2 points by trashyharry (3084) from Waterville, NY 9 years ago

Being arrested for civil disobedience is the same as being arrested for any other reason.You don't say at what sort of action or over what issue you are contemplating civil disobedience.In a city near here small groups of people are being constantly arrested for blocking a road that provides access to an airport where military personnel control both lethal and surveillance drones which are dispatched by policymakers to Pakistan and Yemen.I have heard these drone flights are 98% kill missions.The penalties for doing these kinds of civil disobedience vary widely.A woman was recently sentenced to more than 12 months in the county jail for repeatedly obstructing this road.I can offer you some advice about dealing with the NYPD.Firstly,if you are detained by an officer of the NYPD or NYTP,that does not mean you have been arrested.You may very well be released,or questioned and released.If you have not been told point blank,you are under arrest,you should ask the officer who cuffed you if you are under arrest.The person who cuffed you is the only person who can tell you yes or no.In all of your interactions with the NYPD,you need to be courteous and respectful.If you ask a police officer a question and they don't answer,just drop it.If they ask you a question,you must respond.Either answer the question or tell the officer that you can't answer the question-in a polite way.If the officer asks why you won't answer,you should say that you want to confer with a lawyer.Say that whether you have a lawyer or not.Never lie to an officer of the NYPD,whether you have been arrested or not.Either answer truthfully or politely decline to answer.It is generally,at all times and in all places,foolish to submit to interrogation without an attorney present.Never try to run away from the police in NYC unless you are 100% certain that you will get away and that your identity is unknown to them.Never,never resist arrest in NYC.or treat the arresting officer in a rude or disrespectful manner,even if they are being a little rough.Don't whine or complain.the NYPD officers don't like that.Generally,they are a fairly relaxed and professional force.If you are a person of color,you need to think deeply about whether or not your cause really needs for you to be arrested.In NYC,and many other cities in this country,most of the people who die in bungled arrests are African American or Hispanic.If you get arrested and fined,you may not be released right away if you don't pay the fine.You will get a chance to tell a judge that you can't pay the fine.The judge may or may not ask you questions at that time.They can't really keep you locked up very long,regardless.If you live in NYC you will have to pay the fine after you are released,or else your driver's license will be suspended.This may also be the case if you live elsewhere in NY State.If you don't live in NYC and don't hold a NY State driver's or other NY State issued license,you won't get in trouble until the next time you get arrested.I am not 100% certain about that last part,but based on my past experiences,that is what I think would happen.You would get an opportunity to be released on bail,to the custody of another person or on your own recognizance at your arraignment.BTW,I was born in Brooklyn,NY and I have lived all but a few years in the Empire State.The county lockups and penitentiaries of NY State vary from Quite Awful to the worst in the country.right now,the word is that Metropolitan-the lockup where most arrested people in NYC are taken,has become extremely squalid and understaffed.Vincit qui patitur..

[-] -1 points by shortNbaldNfatBUTSexy (-79) from New York, NY 9 years ago

It depends what your offence is and where you did it. There is no one consequence which overs all offences and jurisdictions.

Generally, you would do civil disobedience in big groups for it to be effective.