What Happens When CID, NCIS, OSI, or CGIS Opens a Military Investigation?

My name is Michael Waddington and I’m a criminal defense attorney. I want to talk to you briefly about what you can expect if you get brought in to CID, NCIS, OSI, or SJA. First of all, they might not give you a heads-up. So, you might have a commander drive you there thinking you’re going to turn in some equipment or run to the PX and next thing you know you’re dropped off at law enforcement. The first thing you should do is make sure your phone is off and don’t bring it in there.

Cuz once you bring it in there they’ll take it and you’re probably never getting it back. Even if it’s unsubstantiated, it is a fight to get phones back from law enforcement once they seize it. Now, obviously if they have a search warrant, they have to take it. But, what you don’t want to be doing is volunteering your phone to them. What they’re going to end up doing is digging through your phone, maybe with your consent, and looking for anything they can use against you.

Once you get inside, they’re probably going to tell you to have a seat. There’s usually some crappy chairs in there with some outdated magazines or some hunting magazines. And they’ll often leave you there with the camera on you for hours. And so, they do that on purpose. They’re probably watching behind the camera cuz there’s a camera in almost every one of these offices.

They can see who’s there and they’re back there eating Twinkies, joking around. Just trying to build up your anxiety. So, what you can do when you get there is immediately tell them that you want an attorney, you’re being ordered to come here, you know that they may be taking your fingerprints or DNA, which they can do, and your photograph. And tell them that you’re not speaking to them, you want an attorney, and ask them am I free to leave? When they know that you mean business and and not going to make a statement or consent, then you you just made their day easier and they want to get rid of you.

But when they think you’re going to try to talk to them or explain yourself or that you’re easy prey, they will leave you sit there. So a lot of times once they bring you back though into their offices, they’ll put you in a room. It’s an interrogation room. It has usually a two-way mirror with a video camera. It has some crappy chair in the corner and they’re going to put you in the corner.

They do that if they think you’re going to talk. If you tell them again, “I want a lawyer or I have a lawyer.” That’s the best scenario. “I have a lawyer. Here’s their information.

Please call them right now.” That’s usually the end of it. They’re going to be like, “OK. Uh let me just get your fingerprints, DNA, and photograph and we’ll get you out of here.” But when they don’t think you have a lawyer, then they’re going to move into what’s called rapport building.

Rapport building is where they just BS with you. Like, “Oh hey, I hear you’re from Pittsburgh. Hey, about the Steelers this weekend? Hey, what about interception? Hey, I heard you deployed.

What unit were you with?” And they By the way, when they think you’re going to talk, they put someone in there that they can identify with you. So, if you’re an African-American person from St. Louis, they might put someone in there that is from your, you know, racial background or uh religion or, you know, demographic area and they’ll put them in there with you to try to build rapport. By rapport, what I mean is build up like some some friendship, some bonds, right?

Like, we’re buddies. And they usually do that from anywhere from 20 minutes to 30 minutes. But they’re following a script, okay? Their script tells them to do these things. Their training tells them to do these things.

So by the time they’re doing rapport building, they think they have you on the ropes. Like, “We’re going to get this guy to make a bunch of statements. We’re going to use them against him.” And then they say, “Ah, I got a little legal technicality here.” Uh and they’ll whip out like a legal technicality, which is your constitutional right to an attorney.

And they’ll make it sound like it’s nothing. Just sign right here and you know, that’s when you realize what you’re being accused of, okay? Now, even if you tell them in the beginning, “Hey, I want a lawyer.” they’re going to make you sign that document invoking on paper, so they have it documented. So, you’ll get to see usually what is on the paper anyway.

A lot of times people see what’s on the paper like, “What the hell? Kidnapping and child rape? Like, I thought I was brought down here for underage drinking.” And they’re filming this whole thing, okay? And they do that for the shock.

And then they say, “Listen, you’re not accused. We just We got some information. We need to clarify a few things.” And they start trying to BS with you. And a lot of people want to start talking.

What they’re doing is these are professionals and they have someone outside the room who’s usually very seasoned, some warrant officer in many of the branches, telling them what to do. And what they’re doing is little by little getting you to admit to things. It could be very simple things like, “Hey, do you know this person?” Yeah. “When’s the last time you saw them?”

And they’re looking to see if you admit to certain elements or if they think you’re lying about certain elements. Cuz in their mind they have it made up like, “You’re guilty. This person said something happened.” They believe the victims. They’ll all tell you that nowadays.

They’ll just admit it. “We start by believing the victims. We don’t investigate the victims.” and so forth. So, they will continue to interrogate you and escalate it.

If you say, “Hey, I didn’t I didn’t do that.” That’s a denial, right? You’re denying it. They have a manual. It tells you how to deal with denials.

So, the way they deal with denials is framing the next questions that have two incriminating answers. We think it’s one of two ways. You either had sex with someone who maybe had a little bit too much to drink and you maybe thought she wanted it, right? Or you’re a goddamn rapist. Which is it?

Now, notice there both of those can point to guilt. Like you had sex with someone that was too drunk to consent or you just straight up raped the person. So, they’ll keep going and going. So, until you tell them, “I want a lawyer. Am I free to leave?

I want a lawyer. Am I free to leave?” You’re going to be stuck there going round and round, sometimes 6 7 8 9 10 hours. They’ll bring you food, coffee, snacks on the camera looking like, “Oh, you want a Burger King? Well, here you go.

You What’s your favorite Coke?” They do that so that on cross-examination at your trial, they can say, “Hey, I offered this guy a Coke and I even bought him a double Whopper, the Baconator.” And he ate it all and we sat there together. So, there’s no coercion. That’s what the reason they do that.

Once you ask them repeatedly, “Am I free to leave? I want an attorney.” You will be allowed to leave and you’ll go back to your unit. Unless and until you do that, they will keep you there. So, the bottom line is it’s advisable to seek out an attorney immediately if you’re brought to any of these law enforcement investigation offices or questioned or read your rights.

That is the best way to make sure that you know what you’re dealing with. You’re not going to know how to deal with professional law enforcement agents and their team of prosecutors. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to my firm or any other lawyer that is competent to represent you in a military criminal case.