Encounters with the Police
i'm an attorney. police cannot stop and detain you, walking out of a building or while driving, unless there is a reasonable suspicion you have engaged in criminal activity (this is called a terry stop). like anyone else in public, they can ask you questions. in massachusetts, you are not required to identify yourself to police upon their request. if you are actually detained, the police can ask incriminating questions of you without mirandizing you (reading you your constitutional rights), though your answers and any information your answers lead to (fruit of the poisonous tree), can and will be excluded from evidence at trial. scotus has weakened miranda laws over the last few years.
if you are stopped by a police officer for any reason, remember this:
1. be polite. it will make the entire encounter easier for everyone.
2. ask if you are being detained. if you are not. if you reasonably feel you are free to walk away. wish the officer a nice day and walk away.
3. if you are being detained, see rule #1. don't fight. you're outnumbered and outgunned. you'll almost never win and your resistance will be used against you.
4. if you are detained and questioned, whether you are mirandized or not, invoke your fifth and sixth amendment rights to silence and to have an attorney present during questioning. do not think you can talk your way out of anything. these guys interrogate for a living. they know all the tricks. just keep your mouth shut.
5. do not think, no matter how nice they're being, that if you cooperate they will go easy on you. a police officer's job is to arrest people who violate the law, gather evidence against them, and assist in their prosecution. they do not have the power to make deals, though how you act towards police may be considered by the prosecutor. deals are the province of the district attorney's office. let your lawyer do all the talking and negotiating.
6. unless you're trafficking or pimping, someone's ****, or you've beat up a girl, crimes in this hobby are usually misdemeanors and difficult to prove. fines, probation, and embarrassment are what you're most likely facing.
my $.02.