RSS Feeds: Seattle DUI Attorney Advice | Don't Talk to Cops
I write and talk about this all the time. Don't talk to cops. Just don't do it. Ever. Nothing good comes of it. You will almost always end up in trouble, and if you weren't doing anything or don't have anything on you to get in trouble, you feel dirty for getting put through the ringer. Take if from a Seattle DUI attorney – just don't talk to cops.
Most of the time my examples of what to do and when and how to do it center around situations where cops have stopped you for doing something illegal or when they are investigating illegal activity and think you might be a part of it. But there are other interactions with cops too. Judges have termed them "social contacts," and they fall within the community care taking function of police activity.
This basically means cops are expected to, and are allowed, to come up to people casually and engage them in conversation. For example, if you are out walking down the street a cop can come up to you and say hello and see what you are doing, where you are going, and ask for identification. He hasn't arrested you, you are free to leave, and the contact is "social" in nature.
So, what would I, a Seattle DUI defense attorney, suggest in this situation? I would suggest you very calmly, and very politely, inform the officer that you don't want to talk to him and slowly walk away. What you don't want to have happen here is the cop arrest you for fleeing. You just need to make it clear you won't be talking to him, you won't be showing him your identification, and you wish to end the conversation.
Again, as usual, the cops aren't going to like this. But the good news is, if they arrest you and find something illegal on you, then they won't be able to admit it into evidence. This is way better than them running your name, seeing you have a warrant, and arresting you. So, just say no.
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