法律英语导读(5)

2. Can I Walk Away From a Police Officer Who Is Questioning Me?

Unless a police officer has ''probable cause'' to make an arrest （see Chapter 3, Question 4）, or a "reasonable suspicion" to conduct a "stop and frisk" （see Chapter 2, Section VI）, a person has the legal right to walk away from a police officer. However, at the time of the encounter, there is no real way to tell what information the officer is using as a basis for his or her actions. In fact, an officer may have information that gives him or her a valid legal basis to make an arrest or to conduct a "stop and frisk," even if the individual is, in truth, innocent of any wrongdoing. If that is the case, an officer may forcibly detain an innocent individual who starts to leave the scene of an interview. Common sense and self-protection suggest that people who intend to walk away from a police officer make sure that the officer does not intend to arrest or detain them. A good question might be, "Officer, I'm in a hurry, and I'd prefer not to talk to you right now. You won't try to stop me from leaving, right?" If the officer replies that the person is not free to leave, the person should remain at the scene and leave the question of whether the detention is correct to the courts at a later time.

　　3. If I Start to Answer a Police Officer's Questions, Can I Change My Mind and Stop the Interview?

　　Yes. People can halt police questioning at any time merely by indicating their desire not to talk further.

　　本节常用法律术语:

　　1、stop and frisk

　　"stop and frisk," authorized by Terry v. Ohio, U.S. Sup. Ct. 1968. For an officer to "stop and frisk" a person, the officer must have reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is involved in criminal activity. The reasonable grounds give the officer a legal basis to detain and question a person （the "stop"）. And for self-protection, the officer can at the same time carry out a limited pat-down search for weapons （the ''frisk"）.

　　2、innocent无辜的
 

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