Groups to screen '10 Rules for Dealing With Police' movie tonight

Two student groups at the University of Iowa hope to help equip younger students for their first encounters with law enforcement.

The groups, Project for a New American Citizen and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy are sponsoring a late showing of the film, “10 Rules for Dealing with Police” at 10 p.m. tonight in the Iowa Memorial Union.

In a city where bars are restricted to having customers 21 and over after certain times of night some students under that age may find themselves in a situation where they're facing law enforcement for the first time, said Zach Halstead, 19, president of the Project for a New American Citizen group.

“This film is really geared toward being a beginner's knowledge of their Fourth Amendment rights,” Halstead said. “It really shows the viewer when you may be pressured to say something you don't want to say or to do something you don't want to do, and what your rights are. This might be someone's first time they've had contact with a police officer and it can be intimidating.”

Halstead said he first saw the movie this summer as a member of the Cato Institute, a public policy research organization based in Washington, D.C., and thought it was something the student group should offer.

“It really focuses on what you can say in different situations and being able to stay silent because of your amendment rights,” Halstead said.

He said the groups have invited police officers and attorneys to the showing but that the officers had declined. Halstead said he was still waiting to hear whether local attorneys would attend.

Here are the 10 rules:

• 1. Always be calm and cool.
• 2. You have the right to remain silent.
• 3. You have the right to refuse searches.
• 4. Don't get tricked into waiving your rights.
• 5. Determine if you're free to go.
• 6. Don't do anything illegal.
• 7. Don't run.
• 8. Never touch a cop.
• 9. Report misconduct: Be a good witness.
• 10. You don't have to let them in.

WATCH THE MOVIE HERE: