Now, I'm at a computer and can type easier...
At risk of injecting reason and thought process, instead of blanket "never talk to the police", let me share an example, with you.
Kansas has a law that you shall not be arrested or prosecuted, if you use a weapon in the defense of yourself, another person, your dwelling ,your place of work, or your vehicle. However, this law requires that the person who uses force "reasonably believes that such force is necessary to defend such person or a third party against such other's imminent use of unlawful force." The next section discusses deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. The last subsections of the applicable statutes states that, "Nothing in this section shall require a person to retreat...."
We had a call one night of a man who shot two home intruders. When we got there, one man was laying on the porch with a gigantic hold in his butt cheek. The other was cowering behind a vehicle, bloodied. The person who we believed shot him was still standing over them, with a 12 gauge shotgun. The man cowering behind the vehicle dropped to the ground and put his hands out. He was a known thug. He was handcuffed and an ambulance was called, for him.
The man holding the shotgun put it down, upon LEO request. Now, let's say he refused to talk to us, at all. He refused to tell us this was his home and he heard them break in and shot them, because he was in fear for his life and the lives of his family. He would be arrested and taken to jail, until his lawyer could get there and we would clear this up, later. Meanwhile, his house would be cleared and a search warrant obtained to gather evidence as to why he shot these people. His family would not be allowed to stay there, through this process. The actual suspects may or may not be held, at this time, depending what they said (the guy shot in the butt was too out of it to say anything).
Back to reality. The man holding the shotgun put it down and told us this was his house, he didn't know either of these guys, but had heard them kick his front door in. When he got up, the first firearm he came to was his shotgun, so that's what he used to shoot them. He expressed his fear they were going to harm him and/or his family. Now, by law, he could not be arrested unless other evidence showed this was not what occurred. The shotgun and written statements were taken (the shotgun taken in case it was needed, in court) and we helped him mend his door as good as could be done, in the middle of the night.
Now, I live in a VERY firearm-friendly State and the LEO's here are used to dealing with armed good guys. I fully understand this gets complicated in places that have BS gun laws.
I could go on and on with REAL examples of how innocent people talked to the cops and were better for it, but a few of you are going to still stick your head in the sand and say it's best to NEVER talk to the police. When asked why, they usually have no REAL reason, just what they have imagined or heard (generally third-hand by someone they don't know).
Depending on the the crime and your involvement, it may be best to wait until your attorney can talk to you. This is the exception. This is the 1%, unless you are guilty. If you get brought in, in handcuffs, and you refuse to give an alibi or whereabouts, in most jurisdictions, you will sit in jail until your attorney comes in. Do you have your attorney's phone number? A 24 hour number that they themselves answer? If not, you're going to sit in jail until you can get ahold of them, when it's your turn to use the phone.
I hate the idea of an innocent person sitting in jail, especially, if all they had to do was use a modicum of common sense. If you're willing to listen to a few minutes of the interview, you'll usually be given an timeframe and an area the LE are interested in. If you know you weren't in that area, because you were at the bank getting a new car loan, why the hell would you wait for your attorney? Conversely, if you know you were in the area of the crime and you know the person who did the crime, because you were there, YES, you would likely be best served waiting on an attorney as you need to make a deal to avoid the applicable charges you will face, but this means you are not innocent.
I've never understood why people think LE hates it when people lawyer up. What is frustrating is when someone lawyers up and they go to jail, but then after being told to lift their balls and squat and cough, they decide they are willing to tell you something that proves their innocence, but they were just being hard headed. There's a time and place for refusing to talk, without your lawyer present. Most people will live their whole lives only seeing those times on TV or hearing about them, in a gun forum.
With all that said, I do have my attorney's phone number. His personal cell phone that he will answer any time of day. I also have a different attorney I can call, if the first is unavailable. I have paid for this service. This was always for what could happen on the job, more than off. I don't believe I will be in an interview room, but you never know. Most people I talked to, in to interview room, had done nothing wrong. Some were victims, others were unwilling participants (in the crime) or just witnesses and I would rather have a nicely recorded interview with no background noise or distractions than what I could do in my vehicle.
As a pre-teen, I got into a little bit of trouble. While sitting in the back of the patrol car, with my friend, his father said to us, "Don't admit to guilt". I have never forgotten it and have even said it to suspects. Even if you have done some wrong, do not admit to more than you did.
