If I broke no laws (as far as the cop knows), I have a right to not talk to the cops and just move along, right?
I’m asking because this is what happened one time: I was outside a public elementry school, on the school property, with a bunch of friends who were minors (17 years old). We used the school parking lot, since it was completely empty. It was a little before 10 PM on a Saturday, IIRC. We were about to leave and go to a coney island when a cop pulled up and started questioning us.
I know not to talk to the cops, but let’s leave it at this: if I were detained and/or searched, it would not have been good for me at all. I didn’t want to talk to the cop, but I was afraid to be taken into custody or searched, so I talked to the cop a little bit when he questioned us. I figured if I gave him half-truth answers he wouldn’t do anything, which is exactly what happened.
Now, the question I have is: did I have to talk to the cops? Could I have just asked him if I broke any laws, and if I didn’t, would I have been able to deny any questions he had for me and just leave?
It just seems absurd to me, even for these times, to give cops the power to stop any law-abiding citizen from doing what he or she is doing, just so the cops can question him/her.
EDIT: Thanks to the responses below, I found the answer. In addition to the “Never Talk to Police” video posted above, this video is super informative and answers my question:
A cop can only hold and search you if he/she has probable cause. You can actually ask him/her ‘Am I being held against my will?’ If they say yes they have to have some form of probable cause to it to which then I would say don’t talk to them anymore and only say you want to talk to a lawyer. Very important, do not remind them to read you your Miranda rights. If a cop does not do this and starts asking you questions concerning the crime in question then they are violating them and your case can be thrown out due to that. If you are not being held against your will then you don’t have to say a single thing to them, they can’t search you, detain you and you can say ‘I don’t feel comfortable talking to you’ and walk away. Now don’t say things like ‘F^ck you pig, you statist oppressor’ I mean that is just common knowledge.
Be wary of spouting the law to an officer. He knows more laws than you. He can put you through the humiliation of an arrest. He can cost you court and attorney’s fees. He can lock you down in county for 24 hrs. Speak with the officer as if he were a friendly stranger (your goal is to disarm him mentally) tell him you are enjoying your day, inquire as to his, and then ask him if you are free to go. Once you ask this he has to let you leave or arrest you. Get to this question within the first minute or two while being friendly, and force his hand. If you get arrested STFU and use your phone call to get bailed out. Then get a lawyer.
I have a question. Say I get pulled over for speeding. Is it best not to say anything at all? If he asks me how fast I was going and if I know what the speed limit is, can I just not even reply? I’d think it’d piss him off dearly if I refused to even utter a sound or response.
Social graces. You treat the officer as you would a guest that you invited to your house. Don’t show fear, don’t show contempt. don’t assert your rights immediately. The officer will tell you why he pulled you over. If he is silent, then a good evening, morning, afternoon officer will get the process rolling on an amicable note. The officer has to tell you what law you violated. He will ask you some questions. My advice is to tell him the truth. The truth is your cruise control was set to the speed limit.
What happens next is completely arbitrary. The officer will let you go, give you a ticket, or escalate in anticipation of a bust. (always try and effect the first situation.) This means no smoke filled cars, no beer caps on the dash you get the idea. Remember stereotypes. Cops and Soldiers will always react to the indoctrinated stereotype. Try and avoid looking like what police stereotype.
It’s a fairly long video, but worth a watch, no matter the circumstance. It basically outlines how cops can incriminate you based on even neutral and non-criminal statements.
If you get stopped by the cops when driving over the speed limit, shouldn’t you just say that you don’t know how fast you were driving? That way you aren’t rely lying but you aren’t incriminating yourself? Or should you just not respond?
