The Police Want You to Talk

Attorney Vincent Rivera

What do you do if the police want to talk to you? Should you make a statement or not to them?

One way to think about that situation is in two scenarios.

the First scenario, they've already got enough to arrest you.

If that's the case, if they already have enough to arrest you, then nothing you can say is going to talk them out of it. No explanation you can give is going to be good enough for you to be unarrested. So if they already have enough to arrest you, don't try and talk your way out of it. Ask for an attorney and shut up.

the Second scenario is if they don't have enough to arrest you.

If they don't have enough to arrest you, then don't give them something to use against you. Anything you say will be used against you. Anything you say that's ambiguous is gonna be interpreted against you. So if they don't have enough to arrest you, don't give them anything. Ask for an attorney and shut up.

Always remember three things.

#1) You have the right to say no to a search.

#2) You have the right to ask for an attorney before answering any questions.

#3) If you're in a situation and you're unclear of what to do ask, am I free to leave?

Police Encounters Flow Chart