It doesn't really matter if you talk or don't talk. If they don't like you, they will find a reason to arrest you and hold you. If you do not put yourself in the stress position required to cuff you, they will charge you with "Resisting arrest without violence." If you are out of town, you won't be able to make bail, and you'll wait in jail for a few weeks before your first hearing.

The notion of "innocent until proven guilty" and "you won't be punished before being found guilty" is long, long gone in the USA.

Not talking to the police will not protect you - what will protect you is not being there when the police arrive. Don't answer the door if the police knock. If anyone has called the police for any reason, including those not involving you, leave immediately.

If you have to interact with the police, behave in a respectful-to-the-point-of-obsequious; be warm, friendly and cooperative. Maybe they'll ignore you. But if you stubbornly insist on your rights, and refuse to talk, they will see that as disrespect and aggression and they will hurt you.

This gentleman acted exactly the way you recommend, and look what it got him.

He didn't say throw up your sins onto your shoes — he said be polite, and forgettable.

Watch the video above if you never did. Then watch part II :-)

"Don't Talk to the Police Part 2" https://youtu.be/tIt-l2YmH8M

To be extremely frank, that only applies if you're white.

(Thanks for the downvote, I guess HN is also mostly white.)

If you're of a minority race and don't consent to searches and things there's a very high chance you will be tasered and arrested.

I was always taught by people of non-white races that if I value my life, I should always do what the police say, and file lawsuits later.

Upvoted, but it's got little to do with race. What you describe happens to everyone, regardless of gender or race. You're more likely to get this treatment if you're black, but it's probably like a 30% margin.

It doesn't apply if you're poor and white, probably why you got down voted.