BLM citations

[Don Muerto]

This year's brush with the law:

Pedaling at night near the esplanade with my wife. We are altered. Out of the dark a nondescript young man on a bike falls in next to us and claims to be lost though he "isn't even on any drugs."

This puts the red flag up immediately.

We continue to ride and he claims to be from SF too where he is a "chemist." Finally he asks if we know where he can get some E.

I give him the look and say: "No officer, we just say no to drugs"

Without a word he splits off into the darkness.

Fuckwad.

[unjonharley]

Government exists to promote the public's interests. And I cannot think of a less important use of government resources then arresting drug users at burning man. What does it accomplish? What plausible public interest is served?

It doesn't deter -- stop people from using drugs. It doesn't stop any supply lines into the country. It doesn't teach any lessons. It is just a total zero - waste of resources, and unhappiness for the people arrested.

The arguments on this board -- namely, that laws should always be enforced -- are just missing the point. The statutes are full of unenforced laws. Deciding to enforce a law is always a policy decision. And again, what plausible public interest is served by arresting drug users at burning man?

The arrests are wrong, plain and simple. They accomplish nothing.

~
One law two law three law four. How many do you want to ignore.
The decision to inforce comes from the missinformed. BM is looked upon as a Woodstock and no one is going to change a "goverment" mind. Right wrong or indifferent this is why I keep beating my old drum. If you poke a cop in the nose, what do you expect in return. "Your a damn fool the have anything to do with drugs at BM with that many cops in the house". Now "Smelly Sock want to disrepute and interfear with the law inforcement.

[schnoidl]

don't let this unjonharley douchebag get under your skin
find some other posts by him to see what a bitter old fart he is
the epitome of "more-playa-than-thou"
he loves rules and regulations and that smug feeling of certainty you get by being oh-so-fucking-right, and loves to bray on when he sees an opportunity. total gasbag, completely irrelevant.

Burning Man, like drugs, makes smart people smarter, and stupid people stupider. I'm guessing he's an alcoholic, certainly comes off like one.

[unjonharley]

don't let this unjonharley douchebag get under your skin
find some other posts by him to see what a bitter old fart he is
the epitome of "more-playa-than-thou"
he loves rules and regulations and that smug feeling of certainty you get by being oh-so-fucking-right, and loves to bray on when he sees an opportunity. total gasbag, completely irrelevant.

Burning Man, like drugs, makes smart people smarter, and stupid people stupider. I'm guessing he's an alcoholic, certainly comes off like one.

~
With nine post under the belt it smells bad of chicken shit sock.

[Kinetic IV]

Criticize ideas, not people.

Historically people with a very low post count that come on here and start running their mouths have for the most part but not always turned out to be sock puppets, trolls, or troublemakers. I haven't been around as long as some but after watching these boards for almost 5 years now that's my perception on it.

In any event agreeing, or disagreeing Unjon has every right to beat his drum as much as he wants. If someone doesn't like it the admins have given everyone the use of Plonk, it's activated by one of the smilies over to your left. Please consider using that instead of resorting to the personal attacks. Or continue and pay the piper....you decide.

On a personal level I happen to like Unjon's posts. He has a wealth of life experience which he has chosen to share with us that I've learned from and I feel that silencing his voice would be a loss for the board. I don't always agree with a few others on here...but the same can be said for them too.

[spectabillis]

I am a lawyer, and I believe that as Burning Man participants we should start a "legal camp." We should file a class-action lawsuit that makes it expensive for the BLM to decide to violate various 4th Amendment rights in Black Rock City. Due to legal antipathy, right now the BLM is getting away with what sound like flagarent violations of statutory and constitutional rights.

This was probably the strongest point that I would have liked to pursue, a legal grouping, but you are the first attorney to express it. I have always believed in group action, but as with other issues (ex: cafe and commerce, Discovery press conference...) sometimes the org is not the direct path to take this on.

There are some organizational structures of the org behind the scenes that I was told can effectively deal with these issues - but it is another "dont ask, dont tell" thing with the likes of LEAL that dont leave me much confidence.

If you decide you are serious with forming a legal group that is in more direct contact with the community, you have my personal support. (which means nothing except the effort I would put in to help set it up and operate).

[unjonharley]

I am a lawyer, and I believe that as Burning Man participants we should start a "legal camp." We should file a class-action lawsuit that makes it expensive for the BLM to decide to violate various 4th Amendment rights in Black Rock City. Due to legal antipathy, right now the BLM is getting away with what sound like flagarent violations of statutory and constitutional rights.

This was probably the strongest point that I would have liked to pursue, a legal grouping, but you are the first attorney to express it. I have always believed in group action, but as with other issues (ex: cafe and commerce, Discovery press conference...) sometimes the org is not the direct path to take this on.

There are some organizational structures of the org behind the scenes that I was told can effectively deal with these issues - but it is another "dont ask, dont tell" thing with the likes of LEAL that dont leave me much confidence.

If you decide you are serious with forming a legal group that is in more direct contact with the community, you have my personal support. (which means nothing except the effort I would put in to help set it up and operate).

~
Now you want to fuck with the "land lord"

[cornelius]

Okay, so I hits the Playa on Monday afternoon and roll right into our camp. I step outta my car and put my keys in the ass pocket of my shorts. I start talking to my pal Andy who is setting up. 2 Feds (man&woman) dressed in full kevlar, batman utility belts, weapons and all walk up and start chatting us up. "Say, this your robot?" he says and later "yeah we remember seeing your guys last year" blah blah blah. It's all "cool" this and "right on" that. They walk away for a second and then the dude walks back to me and says, "You gotta pipe in your back pocket bro?" (WTF) My car keys jack ass, I show him, he starts backing away saying "yeah, we saw you putting something in your pocket. You know how it is bro, you know how it is". Yeah I fucking know how it is, I was just about to smoke my car keys before they walked up. Thank Jeebus for good ol' boy / grrl Federal agents keeping B.R.C. safe from all the hop heads and E-tards.

[ubu]

who is a sock puppet here? I predate unjon on these boards as a participant by a few days, and have been involved with this BM nonsense since the getgo, so there you have it for seniority.

It is nonsense to assume that a large total numbers of posts shows anything or that a newcomer to the board is insincere. nonsense. I don't post often because I have better things to do with my time.

I was incensed by the attitude of the LEOs I encountered this year though and would like to exercise some power; power it seems is something that has been beaten out of unjon at some point in his poor life, and he has been reduced to a passive quivering mass of yes sir, no sir.

I like the legal group idea. I think the privacy angle is a good one, with excellent precedent, that and the use of a complaint of sexual harassment of campers while they are changing or engaging in private activities at their camp site are good places to get some legal leverage.

Don't passively assume like unjon that you have forfeited all your rights just because George Bush is President. That is nonsense. Unjon may have posted a ridiculous number of posts but in this thread he is a weak and whiny little troll afraid of the big bad wolf.

[HughMungus]

Sounds kind of silly doesn't it? If you want to partake in illegal drugs, do it in the privacy of your own home or your own sealed-up RV.... Or expect to get busted. Don't come crying to us about being unwise enough to do it in public.

I agree. If you're going to do stuff, do it somewhere non-public (e.g., behind your dome instead of IN it). You know it's illegal so if you choose to do something illegal, don't bitch when you get caught.

[schnoidl]

K4 you seem to want it both ways
unjon likes to poopoo everyone, kind of abusive, and that's cool with you.
but when I suggest others look up his record to put his aggression in context, you basically want to shut ME down. if he wants to run his mouth, I'm not going to try and stop him. but the distinction between saying his "ideas" are predictable and "he" is predictable, well, it seems rather trivial to me. done with this, enjoy his wisdom and lovely vibe. he makes some valid points, but the sauce reeks.

and yeah, I'm just a troll, nothing to see here.

[Kinetic IV]

I don't see why anyone needs to bring that stuff to BM anyway. I had as much fun this year without taking anything, illegal or legal. I maybe had 2 beers and a small 16 oz bottle of homebrew stuff through the entire event and had more fun this year than I ever have out there. This was my best burn yet.

As for the post count "nonsense" comments...notice I said historically and followed that up with not always. There are exceptions to everything but when I wrote that I was thinking of the splash certain colorful characters like WSPR and the Stop BM folks have made on their arrival here. Hopefully explaining my mindset at the time will clarify a few things.

Edit: If you run the same search and look at Unjon's posts you will learn his story...and get a better understanding of why he posts the way he does. What some people see as harsh or unpredictable I see a little bit differently based on the other things I've read. But don't take my word for it. Use that search tool and go much farther back. It's pretty informative.

And again post counts are not a fail safe method of determining a poster's quality...but they have helped calibrate the bullshit detectors a time or two so it's not info worth overlooking.

[Fat SAM]

We had a run in with the LEO's about mid-week. Neither my friend Jake nor I smoke pot; it just doesn't really work for either of us. We do, however, smoke cigarettes and because it's WAY cheaper, we take rollies out the Playa. We were sitting in camp, middle of the day, and this BLM cat rolls in and starts looking around at our stuff and checking out our evap pond. I asked him how he was and what was going on and to his credit, he was very polite. He said that he had heard that someone in the vicinity of 8:45 - 9:00 on Gestalt was improperly disposing of water and he wanted to know if it was us. He inspected our pond, said it looked good, and started to walk off. Jake was rolling a cigarette and LEO got this big sly grin and said "Whaddya got there?" Jake showed him the tobacco pouch and it became "Oh yeah, I saw it before. I was just joking." Then he was on his way.

So...He was doing his job. If he can get a bust out of it and lay down a fine, that's good on him.

Realistically, if you're out there doing drugs, be discreet. Clearly there are a number of rights violations being committed, but by not being obvious, you can put a stop to it to a certain degree...

The mea culpa rap only goes so far, though. I saw dogs on a lot of camps and wondered what the reason was. I wasn't there. I can't say whether or not searches were conducted legally. I'm sure there were plenty of legal and illegal busts and it probably leans toward the illegal end of it.

There are enough burners who think that everything is fuzzy and cuddly just because they're on the Playa, though, that the cops can often just say 'hey. can I come in?' and get hits 40% of the time. That's bad. Be discreet and DON'T TRUST PEOPLE IN UNIFORMS. At all. Never say "OK." Always say, "I am doing nothing wrong." If you can, BE DOING NOTHING WRONG. You'll always be in the clear, that way. If you can, make your drugs more subtle. Take hash oil with you instead of weed. Take mushroom tea. It's much harder to detect....

It sucks to have to be thinking of covering your ass, but it seems to be a fact of life. It's harsh and kind of kills the mood, but so does jail or a big ass fine.

Good luck next year.

[Ingram]

A survey was done, of petty MJ possession BLM citations in 2004.
Of 26 issued, most paid $250. (including 4 on installment plans),
9 didn't (got a federal warrant issued), and 2 fought and
got the charges dismissed -- How they did it, will be discussed
in a couple of weeks (when they get a chance to explain it).

[duster770]

fellow burners take notice...on wednesday afternoon my friend was walking to back to camp from the esplanade, it was hot and he was on foot and asked a fully decorated golf cart driven by 2 decked out burner girls for a ride. They replied "what do you have to trade?" He offered a up a little illicit offering and got a ride with them to the corner inersection near camp and was dropped off and thought nothing of it until the ATV's with uniformed officers rolled up on him a few minutes later. We observed all this from camp but didn't find out the rest of the story until after Burning Man. They proceeded to cuff him and then more cops showed up and soon they had his trailer open across the street and a drug sniffing dog in there. They took him away to Lovelock and he was bailed out but kicked out of Burning Man. His truck and trailer was impounded and he still hasn't gotten them back. He has multiple felony counts now based on what they found in his trailer. So watch out, he heard while he was waiting to be processed that there were 100 undercovers working the event. These are people posing as fellow burners that look completley legit...in these days at BRC you cannot trust randoms. Be careful people and even paranoid if you are doing anything illegal. The cops are getting more and more devious and relying more on going undercover to bust you and your neighbors, so watch out!

[Mr. Mellow]

People, in 2004 the number of drug citations was 173. In 2005 it was 11, over 90% less citations. All were drug related. If I count up the number of posts about supposed busts some of you must be reporting twice or repeating urban myth because that seems like more than eleven to me. Some of the things you are talking about I recognize as incidents from 2003.

The BLM visited our camp this year. They were exceedingly friendly and polite. They reminded us about drug use on BLM lands. They made sure that the salmon we were serving was smoked because of food poisoning problems from bad fish on the playa. They gave us temporary BLM tattoos. We had a nice chat about how much they enjoy working at Burning Man. We thought they were pretty nice guys.

Maybe we should chill on rumors about the LEO's, they seem pretty chill with us, everything considered.

[lovethelife]

I think this thread is great and Unjon is a prick.

With that said a friend was staying at Brane camp and told of dogs and officers going into the camp and arresting 3 people. Each had 25,000 bail. They were selling ecstasy and I guess it didn't take long for them to find them. This happened on wednesday.
I was walking down one of the streets and took a hit from my bowl when a random person said I should be really careful because the cops were busting anyone smoking in public. (this was on Day 1 for me) I saw a lot more cops than last year, a lot more people being questioned, and even more searches than last year. I don't think i saw any at ALL last year.

Anyhow, it's best to do your shit in your tent/trailer and at the least use a bowl with small amount of weed so the smoke from the joint cant linger.

[Mr. Mellow]

With that said a friend was staying at Brane camp and told of dogs and officers going into the camp and arresting 3 people. Each had 25,000 bail. They were selling ecstasy and I guess it didn't take long for them to find them.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing a dealer get busted at Burning Man. The no commerce rule also applies to drug dealers, and some of those dealers are annoying pricks who seem to regard Burning Man as some sort of annual trade fair where the rules don't apply to them.

[ubu]

alot of those "dealers" are foolish kids used to financing their expeditions with some commerce. I don't condone their activities, but I would like them to know their rights.

So, how about a legal camp?

There are courteous BLM rangers such as brlover. There are rude and presumptuous rangers such as the lot I encountered this year. Those need to be "learned" as unjon might say.

[Kinetic IV]

The playa already has medical services and a sanctuary team for mental health issues so why not form a legal team (if such a thing is possible)? The justification for it could boil down to event preservation, ie: it gives the BLM one less arrow in the quiver for permit denial reasons in the future.

I don't know diddly about legal stuff except you pull out the checkbook and sign here after adding some 0's up there in the dollar box. If a legal team could be formed out there that could dispense some basic pro-bono advice for playa specific issues I'd sure welcome it.

[b00m3rang]

I don't see why anyone needs to bring that stuff to BM anyway. I had as much fun this year without taking anything, illegal or legal.

That's been my pattern for my last 3 burns, but this year I decided to go farther than that... and it was MY best burn ever, too! Do you really think that someone else shouldn't use drugs because you don't see the need for it? Do you see a "need" for 99% of the stuff on the playa?

Some of us feel that "radical self reliance" should translate into taking the personal responsibility of getting as fucked up as we choose, without government intervention... on the playa or in the default world.

I dont' have a problem with breaking unjust laws against victimless "crimes". I also realize that it's your responsibility not to get caught.

[Kinetic IV]

Do you really think that someone else shouldn't use drugs because you don't see the need for it?

it's time to quit my tap dancing.... When it comes to drugs I have a pretty wide open view on them and yes I fully support legalization. But when I'm travelling and going through 5 to 7 states with publicity hungry cops looking for federal matching grants for more drug interdiction money, and I'm spending a week in a place where the cops have sophisticated training and equipment for drug interdiction efforts....I leave the shit behind. The rewards are not worth the risk IMHO...so if anyone brings the shit to BM and gets busted, boo-hoo-hoo. You fucking knew what you were going into, you know the cops are out to tag your ass through any means ncecessary, and if you are too stupid to do it in a private space, take steps to cut the smoke and smell or hide your shit...well it's just Darwin's Law at work and you got culled out. Tough shit. Play the fucking game, know the rules, and ignorance is no excuse.

And if you get busted and your bitching about it here you have access to Google, Nolo and other resources. Get off your fucking ass and dig for info, make phone calls and bail yourself out of the fucking self-made mess you got yourself into. The tools are right there, get off your ass and use them. </soapbox>

[ubu]

thas cool, Kinetic. You know and I know the risks and prudence would dictate that one should act as you suggest. But burners are notoriously imprudent and could use some on-site education and pro bono advice and the LEOs could use some encouragement to remain courteous and to respect privacy.

I'm curious about this don't whine trope I keep seeing. I have not seen a single person busted or not busted whine on this thread. or mewl. or cry.

I have seen requests for advice, and requests to ban together, and I have seen people sharing information. I have also seen ignorance and passive powerlessness on this thread as well as some poor spelling, but hey, I'm not the spellchecker police or anything. I'm not going to bozo filter anyone. I can deal with the crazies on or off the playa or eplaya.

[ckburn]

The playa already has medical services and a sanctuary team for mental health issues so why not form a legal team (if such a thing is possible)? The justification for it could boil down to event preservation, ie: it gives the BLM one less arrow in the quiver for permit denial reasons in the future.

I don't know diddly about legal stuff except you pull out the checkbook and sign here after adding some 0's up there in the dollar box. If a legal team could be formed out there that could dispense some basic pro-bono advice for playa specific issues I'd sure welcome it.

I agree, although I think such a team should be completely independent of the organizers. The law enforcement folks out there would frown upon anything organized by the LLC, and it would do nothing to keep up good relations. Participants, however, could start such a thing and avoid causing any rift with LE relations. In fact I remember seeing something in the What When Where guide this year that looked like a seminar on knowing your rights when dealing with LE. Very cool.

One other note: The Black Rock Rangers have a Law Enforcement Agency Liasion team that deals directly with the top LE folks on the playa on a daily basis. They are available to take reports of inappropriate behavior by LE officers, and can get something done about it. They cannot offer legal advice, although many of them are lawyers. They can certainly point participants in the right direction, and clear the air about what is and is not appropriate behavior by LE officers.

CK

[unjonharley]

lovethelife, Now I'm a prick for trying to wave you off from the arms of the law?
.
There are more cops per square at BM than any city for any given one week. Telling you: Your a damn fool for having anything to do with drugs with that many cops in the yard. If this makes me wrong in your mind. Maybe you should put the pipe down and back away. Or could it be your the type to pok a pit bull in the nose and just stand there.
.
Now some want the BMorg to step in and fuck with the BLM/landlord so you can do what you please. Or think BM shold be moved to a place you can hide. (don't work that way.) On my way to a biker run cops were lined up along the road. They were taking turns stoping any one. Me (old grampa) stopped for one out of eight tail lights not coming on. Insisted I remained parked until repaired. Fixed the ground nd left.

[ScorpionSean]

First, let me say that I fully support The Man and their presence on the playa. I think it's great that they caught that sex assault guy, and I think that with all the crazyness at BM you need some kind of police out there to make sure everyone is having a good time.

I also don't have any problem with discretion when it comes to drug use. It's perfectly reasonable that people smoke in tents or domes. Burning Man has enough of a reputation as a big druggie rave as it is, I think it's a good thing to keep it on the down low. Maybe we'll get less kids showing up on Friday evening just looking to score and more people genuinely open to the art, the philosophy, the community, etc.

But we had two neighbors busted this year, one of them busted twice. Each time was a $500 ticket. Twice the cops spotted people smoking using high powered binoculars from some high up perch in the distance, and in one case the cops walked into a dome after smelling pot outside. In each of these cases the people thought they were safe and hidden from view and were trying to be discreet.

Burning man should be a place of safety, not paranoia. LEO should focus on contributing to the public good, not lining their pockets with money. The very fact that they're underreporting the actual number of citations issued means they are more interested in making money than actually eliminating drug use on the playa.

LEO's shouldn't have a financial stake in how many tickets they give out. I think the best thing would be if 100% of any drug related fine went straight to addiction treatment centers or similar programs and not law enforcement. That would remove the quotas and free up officers to enforce the laws i'm sure 90% of them would rather be enforcing - those with actual victims.

Scorpions Ride!

Sean

[tisha2]

People, in 2004 the number of drug citations was 173. In 2005 it was 11, over 90% less citations. All were drug related.

cites?

[ubu]

First, let me say that I fully support The Man and their presence on the playa. I think it's great that they caught that sex assault guy, and I think that with all the crazyness at BM you need some kind of police out there to make sure everyone is having a good time.

Sean

The issue and the leverage point is with Privacy on the Playa, as far as I am concerned. We cannot publicly condone the breaking of laws or the breaking of codes of decency by participants or by LEOs. I don't think we need the LEO presence to "make sure everyone is having a good time." That reads as absurd to me. I can and do handle my own problems or at the worst I think a Black rock Ranger can help negotiate a problem.

There is no financial incentive to the BLM at least to bust people. that is a myth. it is just what they do. If you want it from a nice blm guys perspective just search for brlover on the site.

I strongly feel that they need to be curtailed and educated on rights of privacy regardless of what people are doing in their tents and camps, whether that be changing, having sex, or what have you.

There are way too many LEOs for my taste, and I see them as parasites. The BLM is mostly there to manage very large tracts of lands and oversee the use of those lands. They are not good with crowds and have no experience outside of burning man with crowds. They have no other comparable source of revenue from an event and no precedent for the rules and protocols they assume at BM. They are frankly baffled for example that MJ possession is a citation and not a felony out there, but that is the deal that has been worked out, count your lucky stars kids.

You have to differentiate, moreover, the Nevada state troopers from the Washoe county sheriff's dep from the Pershing count sheriff's dep from the BLM from the DEA and on and on.

We can work with them to ensure that they give participants greater respect and respect our privacy, but not much more than that. And we can exert citizen oversight. That is pretty much it.

But don't be afraid to assert your rights and confront them. They may have guns but you have rights and power if you exercise them. I talked to a poor little BR ranger who seemed so intimidated by the big bad leos she was working with on somesuch telling me fearfully not to enquire too much which is nonsense. I was breaking no law at that point and only exerting oversight.
The BR range struck me as a little wimpy in that regard.

You have to be respectful, but do not be afraid. Stand up for your rights.

[thinkcooper]

Having assisted over several years in live scenario/firearm training excercises with both NPS and BLM Rangers, my first hand experience is that there are some very cool, level headed staff in their ranks. But the majority I've encountered are under-utilized and bored day to day, making them extremely gung-ho to put their training into action, oft times escalating a situation to justify their involvement. They're not like regular street cops with enough experience to mellow them out. They're easily excitable, trying to prove themselves, with lots of toys and techniques to put to use.

These guys are the africanized bee of the law enforcement world.

Be careful.

[bgirl]

Survival Guide,LAW ENFORCEMENT SECTION Public and Private; Your right to privacy.

Burning Man is a state of mind, and Black Rock City is an extremely interactive environment, ordered by gift giving. Many distinctions between what is private and what is public tend to soften and disappear. However, Black Rock City is also subject to county, state, and federal laws. If you violate these laws you may be subject to arrest or citation. If a law enforcement representative requests to enter your home - your tent or your RV - you do not have to admit them unless they have a warrant signed by a judge. However, with probable cause and in some emergency situations (as when a person is screaming for help inside, when the police are chasing someone, or when an officer witnesses illegal activity occurring within your home) they are allowed to enter and search your domicile without a warrant. Both sight and scent of illegal activity may be held by a court to represent probable cause.

*** The more steps you take to make your vehicle or tent private, the more expectation of privacy you will have against an unwarranted search. On the other hand, if your tent has no walls, or your vehicle doors are always open, then your right to privacy is diminished and police may search without a warrant. Illegal behavior conducted in plain sight is subject to acts of law enforcement in Black Rock City. You have the right not to consent to a search if the police officer asks for your permission to search. If you are arrested, the police can search you and the area "close by", which usually means just the room you are in. This does not mean adjacent tents or RV's where there is no evidence of criminal activity.***

How to behave

It is the duty of all law enforcement personnel to enforce the law. Any illegal action witnessed by the police can lead to your arrest. Therefore, your best protection from arrest is to obey the law. However, everyone has a right to courteous, respectful and legally correct treatment by police officers. If you feel you have been mistreated, or have been threatened with consequences if you do not surrender your rights, you should remember the officer's name and badge number and write down everything you can remember about the incident. If you feel your rights have been violated, file a written complaint. You should also inform the Black Rock Rangers of any such incident promptly.

On the other hand, you should always remain polite and respectful. Stay calm and control your words, body language and emotions. Never touch a police officer. Do not resist, even if you believe you are innocent, and don't complain at the scene or attempt to rally support from bystanders. Don't tell the police they're wrong or that you're going to file a complaint. Be prepared to exercise your rights, but try also to imagine what occurs from their point of view. Law enforcement is a difficult and dangerous job. It is likely that the police are just as apprehensive as you are. Your actions can allay this anxiety and prevent harmful consequences.

In some cases you may be called upon to assist in an investigation. Participants should cooperate to the best of their ability with law enforcement.

Some text provided by the American Civil Liberties Union, visit http://www.aclu.org for more information.

If you are stopped for questioning:

If the officer asks for your name then you should answer the question truthfully. Failure to identify yourself to a requesting police officer is a crime in Nevada and does not violate your right to remain silent.

Other than providing your name, it's not a crime to refuse to answer questions, although refusing to answer can make the police suspicious of you. It is your constitutional right not to incriminate yourself, but, at the same time, law enforcement does have expectations of reasonable cooperation. While you cannot be arrested merely for refusing to supply information, a refusal to do so could cause you to be taken into custody as the suspected crime is investigated.

Police may "pat-down" your clothing if they suspect a concealed weapon. If you do not want to consent to any further search, make this clear.

Ask if you are under arrest. If you are, you have a right to inquire as to what you did that compelled the law enforcement officer to take action.

Don't bad-mouth the police officer or run away. Even if you believe what is happening is unreasonable, this behavior could lead to your arrest.

If you are a bystander:

If you are witness to an arrest or questioning or present at a crime scene, do not interfere with law enforcement officers or attempt to offer advice to persons being detained.

If you are arrested or taken to a police station:

You have the right to remain silent and talk to a lawyer before you talk to the police. You may choose to tell the police nothing except for your name and address. If you choose to exercise this right then you don't have to give any explanations, excuses or stories. You can make your defense later, in court, based on what you and your lawyer decide is best. Arrested individuals often feel the need to prove their innocence by speaking to police. You do not have to prove that you are innocent.

Within a reasonable time after your arrest or booking, you have the right to make a local phone call to a lawyer, bail bondsman, a relative or any other person. The police may not listen to a call to the lawyer.

If you can't pay for a lawyer, you have a right to a free one, and should ask the police how the lawyer may be contacted.
Good reading eh,folks? There are an awful lot of loopholes in the way a law officer can make an arrest at Black Rock or otherwise folks.Read carefully now....................................................................... alot of people seem to forget that America has been in a ,''War on Drugs," for a few years now,understatement of the moment.The police are going to try to bust your ass,it's their job and all,within legal boundaries or not.Has it occurred to anyone that some people(possibly police officers) might see BurningMan as one of the most subversive counter-culture events on U.S. soil? I am not saying,"Don't assert your self!" I am saying pick your location and timing carefully.