One of the questions that I am asked frequently by my clients is, “The police think I did something. They want to talk to me. Should I?” Sometimes my clients tell me, "I'm going to go talk to the police to clear some things up. Will you go with me?"
No, you should not talk to the police. No, you should not talk to the police even if you are innocent. No, you should not talk to the police even if your lawyer is there with you.
Talking Will Not Help You
To begin with, nothing you say can help you. One of two situations exist when the police begin an interrogation (just because the police are smiling and nice doesn't mean it isn’t an interrogation). Either the police think they have enough to arrest you and are bringing you in to give, "your side of the story" or the police think they don't have enough to arrest you. Either way, talking can not help you.
If the police think that they have enough evidence to arrest you there is no way you can talk yourself out of it. They have heard people say, "I didn't do it" plenty of times before. If the police think they have enough evidence to charge you with a crime, you will be arrested no matter what you say or how convincingly you say it. In this situation the police are inviting you commit yourself to your story and defense before you and your attorney get a chance to think about it.
Gathering Evidence
If the police don’t think that they have enough evidence to arrest you then they are hoping you say something that gives them enough evidence to arrest you. That could mean that you say something that contradicts something that you said before. That could mean that you say something that contradicts something someone else said. That could mean that you said something that contradicts some sort of physical evidence in the case.
If you give a statement that helps you, it is inadmissible at trial as a hearsay statement. A statement that hurts you is also hearsay, but because it is a statement against your interest it is admissible. Also, the prosecution will be able to pick and choose which of your statements it wants to use against you.
I have prosecuted tens of thousands of people. I have defended over a thousand. I have never encountered a criminal defendant that was happy that they went into the police to "clear things up". If you are accused of a crime or think you might be accused of a crime you need to talk to your lawyer, not the police.
From the author: Stephen Foster, San Antonio Criminal Defense Attorney
