When and if you're stopped by police for any reason, are you compliant in answering basic questions, or are you a constitutionalist?

Question

I'm indifferent about this. One, if you can't answer basic questions, to let police know you're not doing anything wrong, if you know you're innocent, and you're in an area that has been receiving police activity before, why can't you cooperate with police to show that you are innocent, and be on your way?

There are thousands of videos online showing people being rude to police, saying the usual phrases - "am i being detained?"; "am i free to go?", or "i'm not answering questions". etc. while we have the right to remain silent, i feel it's quicker and easier to answer basic questions to inform police of what you're doing, instead of being jerks and probably causing a bigger scene than before. When this happens, often times you end up being detained or arrested, because of miscommunication and just lack of cooperation.

Just wanted to throw that out there and see what you're thoughts are.

Answer 1

It's the best thing to do with traffic police, definitely. Traffic police don't really care about intent: they only care about keeping the streets safe, and if you're "accidentally" speeding, arguing that you didn't mean to, or that you're exempt from the law because you're a sovereign citizen, isn't going to help your case. Just be polite, apologize, and cooperate



If you're being charged with a much more serious offense, like murder, it's best to ask (politely) for a lawyer before answering any questions. It's not an admission of guilt: it's so you don't say something that they might construe as incriminating because they're under pressure to make an arrest (or worse.) If they're charging you with murder, most likely they're assuming you're the one that did it and they have enough evidence that points in that direction, and they can't read your mind and know that you are actually innocent. There are still plenty of cases of the wrong person being arrested, so your best course would be to get your lawyer to help you communicate your side of the story in the best way.

Answer 2

You have to do what is best at the time. That might mean shut up, it might mean talk. Most of the time, if you're stopped by police they've already decided you're guilty of something, so you're not going to talk them out of a ticket, an arrest, whatever.

Answer 3

Comply to the limit of the law.



But - know the law.

Answer 4

I am compliant with basic questions BECAUSE I am a constitutionalist.

If YOU are uncooperative, you ARE NOT a person that respects the Constitution of the United States of America.

Answer 5

no



Source(s):

I am a retired police officer. I retired as a sergeant, after 29 years, from a very large department, about 12,000 officers. I was a patrol officer for 4 years in a very diverse area. I was a tactical officer in the high rise project areas of my city. We called it vertical patrol in that we walked the the stairways of the high rises most of the time. I did that for 5 years and was promoted by test to detective. I worked violent crime (homicide, sex, officer involved shootings, robbery, kidnapping, serious non property incidents) for 11 years until I was promoted to sergeant. I worked as a street supervisor, a bicycle patrol supervisor and a desk sergeant/watch commander.

During my time as a tactical officer and a detective I was a unit representative for the police union.

I have a B.A in English and an M.S. in Law Enforcement Administration