> You want the encounter to end as quickly as possible with no adverse consequences to you. The best strategy for that is to politely comply—with your mouth shut. <
I will not argue against that strategy. As I noted earlier, to each his own.
But it’s not for me. If I’m walking down a sidewalk (or wherever), and a cop stops me and demands ID, I’d immediately want to know why. I’d ask, politely. Not just because I’m talking to a cop. I try to be polite with everyone.
Notice that I would not automatically refuse to identify, or become belligerent.
That truly is a losing strategy.
Now here’s where it would get interesting. Suppose the cop tells me I must ID because I look suspicious (or something else equally vague). The Supreme Court has already ruled that you don’t have to ID in that case.
Would I ID? I guess it depends on the particular situation.
Oh, and here’s a question for you. It’s not all that different from the ‘requesting ID’ scenario. Suppose you are stopped for speeding, and the cop asks to search your car.
Would you consent to a search?
For me, that would be a hard no. Always.
“the cop asks to search your car.
Would you consent to a search?”
We are talking tactics here—but my tactic is always to be as cooperative as possible.
The reason for that is that a lot of folks who say “no” have something to hide—not everybody—but a lot of folks.
Since my goal is to end the encounter as soon as possible I am hoping that my cooperative demeanor will be adequate to convince the cop not to search the car—so I can quickly get on my way.
Like any tactic there is no guarantee it will work—but I like the odds.
It is not my mission in life to educate cops on the niceties of the law.