Police officers get special protection—their own “Bill of Rights.” This article by Eli Hager at The Marshall Project explains how police unions have obtained special legislation to give police officers who are accused of misconduct rights far beyond those of the rest of us. Police officers get a “cooling off” period after an incident with time to speak to their lawyers and union representatives before writing reports or being interviewed about an incident. If a civilian exercises his or her right to speak to an attorney, those same police officers take that as a sign of guilt. If only the guilty need time to get their thoughts together, why do police officers get this special treatment? This article explains the way these laws shield police officers from the consequences of their misconduct.