Do I Have to Answer Questions by Law Enforcement Officers?

There are some phone calls you never want to receive. One of those is when you pick up the phone and a Police Officer, a Sergeant or Detective is on the other line and they say something like:

“Somebody has made an allegation against you and we just want to get your side of the story.  We’d like you to come down to the station and clear this up.”

So, what do you do? Should you go into the station? If you don’t cooperate, will they think you did something wrong? On other hand, if you go in, will they even listen? Will they try to trick you or simply arrest you?  Even worse, can they force you to talk to them?  Can they arrest you if you don’t talk to them?

All of these questions are important. However, here is the law here in Minnesota:  

You have a Constitutionally protected right to remain silent and with very few exceptions, you cannot be punished for that silence. If you are asked to identify yourself, there are rare circumstances when you must comply. However, you don’t have to answer other questions including what you are doing, where you are coming from, where you are going, where you were at a certain time, who you know or consent to a search of yourself or your belongings or property.  

As importantly, here are a few realities I have seen again and again over the last quarter a century as a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.

Police officers are extensively trained to get people to talk to them even if they don’t want to. They are good at getting people to tell “tell their side of the story” even if those same people have no real idea why they are even there or what the actual allegations are. Worse, that is when the real interrogation begins.

I have seen hundreds of examples of people who thought that could talk their way out of a criminal charge and walked themselves straight into a jail cell.

For example, police officers are trained to ask the same question multiple different ways to test consistency and use the inconsistency as a sign of guilt. They will try to trick you. They will purposely confuse you to see how you react. They can lie to you about evidence they say they have, what other people have said, what they “know” you did, even if they know nothing. They can even threaten you with arrest. This is true. In fact, this is actually a part of their training. I’ve seen this happen again and again, read transcripts of interrogations and watched videotapes of exactly this kind of behavior. Worse, the law allows them to do this.

Police officers have a very specific purpose for these interrogations, or conversations as they like to call them. They are trying to button up an investigation and acquire additional proof for criminal charges. If you think that going into the police station so you can say, ”I didn’t do it” and that’s it, then you really don’t understand how police officers work. Further, the police are depending upon this.

But for the statements they willingly gave to the police, they would not have been charged, let alone convicted.

At the same time, I have seen clients walk themselves into jail cells when they decided to cooperate. But for the statements they willingly gave to the police, they would not have been charged, let alone convicted. They think they can talk their way out of it. They can’t and the police know it too. This is why the police made the call. I have literally seen hundreds and hundreds of examples of this.

So, what do you do when that call comes?  Simple. Take down the Officer’s name and phone number. Then, call an experienced criminal defense lawyer immediately. Whether you have been charged or not, or whether the police are just investigating a possible crime, having an experienced criminal defense lawyer in your corner can make all of the difference. They can provide a buffer and some protection from the police and can help you understand your rights.

So what do you do when the call comes?

Jack Rice, the founder of Jack Rice Defense is a former prosecutor, Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist and award winning criminal defense attorney. If the police call you and just want to talk, take down their name and number and sit down with Jack Rice and his team.  Call for a free confidential consultation, 651-447-7650 or 612-227-1339.