A lot of them lie about their language ability.
A few years ago I was at our local police department filling out an accident report. In the next room there were 5 or 6 Asian males. One of them had physically assaulted his girlfriend and apparently hurt her enough to send her to the hospital. The perp claimed not to speak any English while he was being questioned. As soon as the cops left the room they all spoke fluent English - well at least fluent enough for me to understand all they were saying.
Mexicans do this a lot also, but usually only do it when they are in trouble, like your example.
Getting interviewed by a reporter and not understanding the language is a different thing.