You might feel like you’re living a pretty good life, and you have few immediate concerns. If the police suddenly arrest you one day, you might experience a nasty shock. You didn’t expect it, and it may completely blindside you.
If that happens, your life can change in several crucial ways. We’ll talk about some of them right now.
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Your Family and Friends Might Look at You Differently
An unexpected arrest can have severe consequences, and until it happens, you probably won’t ever think about them. You may notice almost immediately that your friends or family members look at you differently.
Let’s say that the police arrest you. You have a hearing, and the court releases you on bail. You might have a trial coming up, particularly if you feel you’re innocent and you decide that you’ll plead not guilty.
In that situation, you would hope that your friends and family members will believe your innocence.
Maybe they won’t, though. If the police bring particularly egregious charges against you, then the scandal might turn your friends and family members against you.
You would hope that you can convince your friends and family members that you didn’t do it. If no real evidence exists, then that makes your claim easier to accept. If you have friends you’ve known for years, they may stick with you during this difficult time.
You might catch them looking at you with a new attitude, though. Even if they say they believe you, maybe you can tell that they’re at least pondering somewhere in their minds whether the police have the charges correct.
Your Significant Other Might Look at You Differently
You may also tell your spouse or significant other that you didn’t commit the crime or crimes for which the police arrested you. You might plead with them and tell them you could never do this.
Ideally, your spouse or significant other will believe you. Maybe they won’t, though. In extreme cases, they might order you to leave the house and sleep at a hotel.
They might leave instead. If the police say you committed a sex crime or something equally horrendous, maybe the crime’s salacious nature has turned your spouse or significant other against you.
Your Neighbors May Look at You Differently
As you drive or walk down the street, your neighbors might look at you differently. You may see them standing around in circles in their driveways or on the sidewalk and gossiping. If you wave or look at them, they might pretend they don’t see you.
That probably doesn’t make that much difference since a neighbor’s opinion doesn’t matter as much as a friend’s or family member’s does. However, maybe you feel like, up to this point, you’re well-liked around the neighborhood. If so, having this fall from grace may hurt your pride and make you feel ashamed or embarrassed.
Your Business Might Suffer
If you own a business or operate one, this sudden arrest may adversely affect it. You might have a situation where not as many people will come into your store or buy things from your website.
Your workers might also look at you differently. You can probably tell that they’re wondering whether you committed these crimes or not.
Perhaps you can address your workers and tell them you didn’t do it if you feel that will help. You might also hire a crisis management team and have them come up with some ideas regarding what you can do at this moment.
Maybe things will get better if you prove your innocence in court. That might take weeks or months, though. In the meantime, your professional life might suffer.
You May Have Unexpected Expenses
You will likely have some unexpected expenses during this time. You might know that you didn’t commit these crimes, but you must still prove that. That means you must hire a skilled criminal defense attorney to stand by you in court.
They can come up with the physical evidence that might exonerate you. They can produce eyewitnesses that can verify you didn’t commit these crimes.
You must pay that attorney well, though. If you’re also not making as much money at your job as you usually would because people aren’t buying anything from you, that will complicate your life even further.
When the police suddenly arrest you, it can turn your life upside down. Hopefully, you can prove your innocence and quickly get things back on track.