Repeat after me:
“I do not wish to speak to you and want to remain silent. I want to consult with an attorney before answering any questions or making any statements.”
Class over.
My attorney gave me a stack of printed card to use during encounters with the police:
“OFFICER: PLEASE BE ADVISED -
I hereby exercise my constitutional right to remain silent and will not answer any questions.Further, I do not consent to any search of myself or my property. I exercise these rights under the 4th and 5th Amendments to the United States Constitution. If I am being arrested please advise me so that I may contact my attorney. If you are going to issue me a citation please do so and allow me to leave. If I am not being arrested nor issued a citation I wish to leave now.”
The three times I have used it, all of them traffic stops, reactions have varied. One officer simply nodded and wrote me a citation.
Another refused to accept the card at first, shouting “What IS that” and acting as if I had tried to hand him a napkin with a dog turd on it. He became more and more flustered when I failed to respond to his questions in any way, and then he finally took the card. He also wrote me a citation and allowed me to leave.
The third officer took the card and read it. He then laughed and asked: “Can I keep this?”. When I nodded he put it in his shirt pocket and said: “Thanks. You’re free to go. Have a nice day.”