Rick Collins Esq. details gym’s rights, and general rights, dealing with police officers during mandated lockdowns.

As cases begin to rise again in the United States, governors have been returning to mandated lockdowns for certain industries. Unfortunately, gyms are one such industry being deeply affected by lockdown mandates. It’s gotten to the point where certain gyms have chosen to remain open against state law. But what are the real legal ramifications for doing this? And what are gym owners’ rights if the police show up to shut the gym down? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Rick Collins Esq. explains your rights when dealing with a police encounter.

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many mandated lockdowns across the world. This affected local and chain gyms as they were forced to temporarily shut down business. Unfortunately, there are some businesses that could not financially handle the strain of being forced closed for months on end. With a second wave hitting the United States, gyms are being forced closed in certain states yet again. This time, it seems businesses are less willing to close their doors. But what are the legal ramifications for disobeying a lockdown?

While speaking with Rick Collins Esq., we asked him this very question. He made it clear that each state had their own specific laws, meaning that there is a variety of ways a gym owners could be affected should they choose not to follow the mandates. Collins had heard of instances where owners were literally arrested and other situations where they were simply fined.

But what Rick Collins was most concerned about was making sure individuals know their rights when being engaged by a police officer. This information applies to now only gym owners who might be taking risks to save their business during the lockdowns, but for any individual who has an interaction with a cop.

Rick Collins claims that one of the biggest issues he sees when dealing with clients, is that individuals do not know what they can and cannot do while dealing with the police. In our interview above, he breaks down the key rights that an individual has while speaking with a police officer. To quickly break it down, you most comply in general with what a police officer asks you to do. If you deny it, they can use that against you. But when it comes specifically to searching your property, they need a warrant or probably cause to proceed. If they don’t have either of those two things, you can deny their request to search your car, house, or establishment.

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Lastly, and probably the most important, you are not required to answer any question a police officer asks you. This doesn’t mean you should tell them off – as that can be seen as verbal or aggravated assault. Instead, you can calmly let them know that you cannot answer any questions until a lawyer is present. Often times even answering simple questions can ultimately be used against you in court later.

Ultimately, this is easier said than done. Police encounters are not in a vacuum and sometimes individuals on both sides make the wrong call or break the rules. In Rick Collins’ person experience though, it’s often lack of knowledge of rights that hurts an individual rather than purposeful wrongdoing.

As we return to potential stressful times with a second wave and future lockdowns on the horizon, it might be best for gym owners to watch Rick Collins’ comments for their own protection. We are still far from normal but knowing our rights is a key factor in maintaining some sort of order and justice as we get through this together.

You can watch Rick Collins full explanation in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.

DISCLAIMER: This article and video is meant for educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed above are not necessarily that of Generation Iron.

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