Police TRAP YOU with Small Talk (How to Avoid It)

How do you respond to police small talk? Why do they even engage in small talk to begin with? Learn the ins and outs of avoiding a TRAP that the police may be setting for you.

[JackhammerJesus]

Mom (when I was a kid): "Don't talk to strangers, even if they are nice."
Lawyer (now): "Don't talk to the police, even if they are nice."

[elliebellie]

I had a cop knock on my door and ask if he could come in. I said, "no", and he said is there some reason why he can't? I said because he wasn't invited to come in. He then asked me if there was some reason why my car was backed into my driveway to which I responded yes then remained silent. "Care to share what the reason is"? No, but thanks for asking. After some mumbling about search warrants, I told him to get one if he could and come back with it. He finally left and I found out later my neighbor reported me for an expired tag which turned out to be completely untrue. They will try anything to get inside your house but don't let them come in.

[SueDohman]

The one I love, is when a citizen is genuinely ignorant to a particular obscure laws existence, but that notion is met with “ignorance of the laws is no excuse.”
But yet, time & time again, as I have even experienced personally, when a leo is ignorant to some of the very laws they’re sworn to uphold & enforce, the same notion doesn’t apply in any way whatsoever, to them.

[ronrobertson]

I'm a former police officer my advise is use your right to remain silent.

[christybradfield]

My husband (now ex) had been charged with brandishing a weapon on the neighbor's son.
I was sitting at the kitchen table with the window open. The police came up to the window and were making small talk, asking about the craft that I was working on and asking where did I work and did I like my job. I was okay with answering their questions, but then they began asking about my husband's various firearms. From the window, the police could see a collection of locked gun safes (small boxes). They asked me if that was what those were or not. I smiled and said, "I'm going to call my lawyer now." I started to close the window. The younger police officer had put her hand on my window and told me, "if you close the window, we cannot help you. You could lose your job because of your husband's actions." I smiled again and asked her to let go of my window, I am going to call my lawyer and share that bit of news that you told me." I was informed that she was wrong, but. I just closed my window. Called my lawyer, and he could hear them pounding on my door threatening to kick it in. He told me to stay on the phone and pretend that I am talking to him. He left his office and showed up at my place. He informed them that he recorded their conversations and looks forward to seeing them in court. They took off. The city settled out of court.

[LucidDreamer]

I was being investigated by the police (for something I didn't do). A police detective showed up at my door and wanted to ask me some questions. I told him he would need to ask all questions through my attorney. He then asked who my attorney was. I responded "I can't answer that. I just told you that you need ask my attorney." And then I closed and locked the door. That was five years ago. I never heard from the police again.

[jamessmith-hqmr]

You can never talk your way out of an arrest but you can certainly talk your way into one.

[CozyButcher]

Good lord, great video. Cops arrested me for drunk in public while treating a dude who passed out from cheap vodka. I'm a biochemist and a nurse, but talked too much after questioned by the police and was arrested for treating *my* patient. After some distance, asked the EMTs what his pulse-oxygen level was, got my arm locked and cuffs on.
Thanks mate. A million times, thanks.

[Hawk]

Several years ago my neighbor's house was burglarized. A cop showed up at my door to ask if we'd heard anything. We hadn't. He then demanded ID then when I stepped away to get my wallet he entered my home uninvited and actually turned his flashlight on to look around my darkened dining room. I got annoyed and asked what the hell he thinks he's doing. He said he 'just wanted to clear me as a suspect.' My neighbor who'd approached me earlier had told me whoever was responsible entered and left over his six foot tall fence. I looked at the cop from my WALKER and said "Seriously?" Then I asked him to leave and thankfully he did. Pissed me off to the extreme.

[williammorris]

Is it terrible that since my son was able to speak I told him to never speak to the police. I always told him if the police start talking to him to tell them he wants his dad and not to say anything else. So when my son was 8, in school, they had a dare program and the officer tried to speak to my son, and the school called me in because my son demanded my presence. Good boy!

[BattleBound]

"You're not lying, I'm your lawyer friend, and I advise you not to talk to the police." I laughed so hard. That got a like and a sub out of me!

[USSResolute]

During quarantine, squatters moved in next door. When I called the cops, they told me that, since nobody answered when they knocked and the house looked secure, that they were unable to act. I asked, "So, all I have to do is not answer the door when you come and you can't do anything?" He did not answer, which I took as silent consent.

[ronparker]

Odd how cops know all the tricks but citizens are actually learning law. Keep up the good work.

[thunderheadcinema]

It's so sad that the people who are supposed to protect us are so bad at their jobs that everyone is afraid to talk to them

[jammygitt]

From watching countless auditing and cop watching videos it has become apparent that the one question most police don't like to answer (on camera at least!) and will skirt and deflect and point blank refuse to answer is, "Am I free to leave?/ Am I being detained?"

[geneobrien]

The police can be really obvious with their attempts to get you to open up to them. I pulled in to a 7/11 parking lot one evening, I don't know why the police were called but as soon as I got out of my car I was questioned by a female officer. I don't recall how the questioning started but she tried to make conversation and said "there's nothing like that first hit on a crack pipe", as if she was a drug user herself and that would get me to open up to her and let my guard down. I've never smoked crack but it was such a ham-fisted attempt at manipulation I couldn't let it slide, I asked her, "does that work?" She turned a bit red and dropped the, "hey I'm cool, we can talk" act. It was really dumb but maybe she used that line before and someone actually fell for it.

[sanjurohanamizuki]

When I was 16 I was hanging out outside of a 24 hour laundromat that was across the street from my apartment, which I worked very hard for with crap pay . Anyway cops roll up on me and start demanding that I empty my pockets, I asked for what reason, they didn't give one so I said " have a good night " and turned to go into the laundromat to check on my laundry . Next I know I'm bent over the cop car and they are ripping through my pockets, they find a butterfly knife that was only good for cutting string and cleaning my nails on breaks at work . So they charge me with a class E misdemeanor weapons charge for having a " gravity knife ", but in upstate NY butterfly knives are not considered gravity knives due to the steps needed to expose the blade and lock the handle . So illegal search and seizure and a false charge, I sit in jail 2 months, the judge wanted to try me as an adult for " knowingly committing a crime as an adult " and bump the charge up to a felony weapons charge . The court appointed idiot would not listen to me when I handed him the copy of the ruling from 1962 stating htat a butterfly knife is not illegal in NY and therefore I did nothing wrong, and insisted that I take the deal of 3 years probation and time served for the 2 months in jail . Also lost my laundry and my apartment in the process, so I walked out of jail homeless . The legal system is a shit show in this country

[Zoki]

As long as officer is wearing that uniform and badge, he is on duty and that means EVERY word that he says is designed to interrogate you. NEVER make small talk with police officers, they are not your friends and they don't care about "how you're doing". They want to use any little excuse to charge you and/or arrest you. That's it.

[RabidNemo]

About 30 years ago my friend's grandfather was dealing with the Seattle Police department there were some troublemaker kids in the neighborhood who would often claim that other people had done things they were responsible for. One night when the kids had been home because three of them were sick out of four kids some police knocked on the door claiming that his kids had been out throwing eggs to what she said that was not true because they were sick and they had only just finished up dinner.

My friend's grandfather was talking to them through the screen door with it locked they asked him if he had been drinking and wanted him to step out onto the front porch to talk with them and of course he knew that was a trap so he stayed inside. I get that in law enforcement sometimes it can be beneficial to do these things but a vast majority of the time it isn't and innocent until proven guilty is very important I'm so sick of authority being abused

[sebastienbolduc]

Back during the 50s a police officer went to my grandmothers home accusing one of her sons of mischief within the neighborhood. She told the cop that her son was sick and spent the day in bed, which was true. The officer didn't believe her so she took a broom handle and started to beat his rear end with it. She chased the cop down the road and eventually knocked his hat off of his head with the broom. The next day the sheriff showed up at her place to question what happened. She told him that his officer was being rude and called her a liar. So she gave him a licking. Then she said, "Oh, and here's his hat." The Sheriff laughed and said, "He got what he deserved. Next time he'll learn to be more polite with people."
Those were the good old days. LOL