A police officer called and wants to ask me questions. What should I do?

Unfortunately, we normally receive this question too late. The police are trained to try to make contact in person so that they can surprise the subject. When a police officer shows up at your work or home and starts asking questions, it is much harder to resist and exercise your right to remain silent. This is in part because we were trained as children to respect authority and to be polite. It often feels rude to tell a police officer that you’re not going to talk to him.

Because the police know you’re more likely to answer questions, if you’re surprised, they’re likely to approach you without warning. That way, you’re unable to seek legal advice before speaking to the police.

If you’re approached by a police officer who wants to ask you questions, you should tell them that you don’t want to answer any questions without an attorney being present. You have a constitutional right to have an attorney present during any questioning and the police can’t hold this against you. You might also want to watch this video explaining the dangers of speaking to the police.

If a police officer is calling you, speak to us before you make any statements. Call us at (616) 773-2945.