Edit: ahh didn't realize link was posted below as well.
Their job just got tougher today.
I agree. I would much prefer living under a legal code where we could even estimate the number of federal crimes. I want to live in a country where possession of a rare bird feather isn't a felony [1]. Unfortunately, that country is not the US today, and as such you can't trust LEOs.
> Their job just got tougher today.
It really didn't, not by much. There's one born every minute. The fraction of the US population that doesn't understand their basic constitutional rights, or the restrictions put on the police force, is overwhelming. See [2].
Honestly, just look through the entire collection of comics I linked to. They're definitely worth your time.
1. http://thecriminallawyer.tumblr.com/post/29326904495/16-a-pr... 2. http://thecriminallawyer.tumblr.com/post/19810672629/12-i-wa...
Perhaps the most important thesis in Arrest Proof Yourself (http://www.amazon.com/Arrest-Proof-Yourself-Ex-Cop-Reveals-A...) is that the decline in real crime, which the police and courts by and large still do as good a job of dealing with, has required them to generate more arrests, convictions, and parole based entrapments, primarily from those the authors describe as "the clueless", the harmless to mostly harmless who do dumb things that are illegal but not a great threat to society.
To the extent they view "their job" as doing whatever their superiors demand to e.g. achieve quotas of arrests, my heart bleeds.
If you no longer have this right, you're in hot water. Shut up. Lawyer up. The law is a dangerous animal that you do NOT want to face alone and unguided.
Most people trip up by either:
(1) Assuming that the law officer is their friend and they are not a suspect. That's what happened here.
(2) Foolishly thinking they can talk their way out of their predicament with what they gleaned from the last episode of law and order. The cops probably know more than you about the law.
I personally would refuse to answer any questions beyond the level of "how fast were you going" from a LEO without a lawyer present. I would advise others to do the same.