On March 1st, I was at school and I saw a bomb threat. I reported it to the college and gave a written statement of what I saw. The college reported it to the police and the police got in touch with me to come in for a written statement. I went in and wrote my statement. My statement is as follows:
"On Thursday, March 1st, 2012 at around 11:50am, I left class to use the restrooms. While in the bathroom stall, I did not see anything written. After class, I returned to the same restroom stall to get tissue paper at approximately 12:17pm. (Our bathroom does not have paper towels anymore). It is then when I saw the threat written in the stall. I immediately contacted the security office and notified them of the threat at 12:21pm."
After filling out my statement at the police station, the police pulled photographs from the security cameras. They said that they saw me leaving the bathroom the first time, but did not see me coming back the second time at around 12:17pm. I swore to them that I was there right after class and saw the threat written. And that is when I called security. The police insisted that I was not there. Then they told me that they were going to fully review the tapes after I left. They also asked if I would be willing to take a polygraph test. I instantly replied, "Yes of course". But that was all before I knew by rights concerning the polygraph test. I am definitely going to speak to a lawyer as soon as possible.
I have a few questions.
1. Can I still refuse the polygraph test if it is asked of me again?
2. Can the police tell me that they did not see me on camera the second time around to elicit some type of confession?
I feel like I did the right thing by reporting this threat and am being accused of it. Maybe this is why people don't do the right thing more often; they feel as if they will get in trouble for something they did not do.
Sunny,
You can refuse the polygraph and you should consult an attorney. Anything dealing with a bomb threat is extremely serious and you should seek legal advice before talking to the police again. This is coming from a polygraph examiner and retired police officer. You did what is expected of you, you reported a bomb threat. Thank you for caring about others. Now take care of yourself and seek legal advice.
Sunny,
As Bill noted, you can indeed still refuse the polygraph, and I think you would be wise to do so.
With regard to your second question, yes, the police can claim not to have seen you on the camera the second time in an attempt to elicit a confession.
Sounds like someone did a half ass job of getting and verifying the tapes.
If I was the investigating officer, your use of exact times for something innocuous like getting a piece of toilet paper would make me suspicious. It sounds like that happened in your case as well.
That doesn't mean they think you are guilty of writing the threat, but it means they want to investigate a bit more.
"If you see something, say something!"
Bwah hah hahahahah.
-Aunty Agony.