Q: I was charged with some serious felonies, burglary being the worst of the 11 felonies. The cop has been messaging me on Facebook from his personal account saying that he’s all for God given second chances as long as someone who does the right thing and saying it’ll all pay off for me. So now it’s getting closer to the trial date and he acts as if he never said it. That’s the whole reason why I wasn’t bringing my evidence to the table completely. But now he hasn’t spoken of the two remarks he messaged me on my Facebook from his personal account. It’s almost like he told me that he’s all for giving second chances, so I wouldn’t try to prove my innocence so hard and assume that he was going to help with charges. Can he do that? Can he message me from his personal account on Facebook and say he’s all for giving second chances and then completely fall through on everything? (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: I know of no law which prevents a police officer from doing so if it is related to police work. Police are permitted to use trickery and deception to entice people to admit to criminal activity. It is only when such behavior crosses the line so as it induces someone not normally inclined to commit a particular crime at a particular moment, the entrapment defense can be raised. I would need to know more so I strongly encourage you to discuss this with your attorney