Never, under any circumstance, talk to the police. Answer no questions ever about anything, at any time, for any reason, without a lawyer present.
- You have the right to remain silent, use it. The police and prosecutors WILL use anything you say, no matter how innocent to gain an illegitimate prosecution. They will tell you they are looking at your neighbor, and then arrest you. They will use half of your statement against you and ignore the part that shows you are free. Tell them that if they HAVE to talk to you, they will HAVE to arrest you. If they do, say nothing until you have a lawyer present. If they keep asking you questions after you said you will not talk to them, ask if you are free to leave. If they say you are, then leave. If they say no, ask what the charges are. Tell them you will not say anything until they’ve told you what you are being charged with. If they tell you, then tell them you want a lawyer. NEVER NEVER NEVER talk to the police.
- Once you have a lawyer, say nothing until the lawyer tells you to. Then only answer the question with a yes or no answer (if possible). Look for your lawyer to have secured immunity from prosecution in exchange for your help.
Many police officers will HATE me for saying that, and for saying this. They’ve brought this type of self protectiveness upon themselves by acting like thugs and criminals, by lying, tricking, and doing whatever is necessary to gain convictions, justified or not. NEVER let the police into your house (talk to them through a closed door. If they can’t hear you, tell them you will speak louder). The police in the U.S. are closer to the East German Stazi. They will use anything, any trick, any lie, any way they can to get anyone they want for anything they can.
BTW. I’ve never been arrested, I’ve never gotten more than a traffic ticket. I lead a quiet life following the laws. It is a shame that I am the ideal supporter of police, yet they’ve made me nothing but antagonistic because of the way they treat others.
Finally, the police officers on here will vote this down, they would like nothing more for this answer to be dropped. If every non-police officer upvotes, they will not be able to silence me.
·I live in the normal suburban town of Norwood, MA.
In 1987 one of my best friends at work moved to my town, to a decent apartment complex. This guy was a (really) good looking, squared away, college-educated marketing guy like me, a suit-and-tie guy. Nothing wild or crazy about him.
Seems the guy who lived below him was a retired Norwood detective. As you can imagine, moving makes considerable noise. But soon he was done, had a few beers, and went to work after the weekend of moving.
The retired detective called two uniform cops on the Norwood police force who came to the apartment of my friend, who was still in suit and tie from work, and beat the shit out of him, arrested him for resisting arrest and threw him in the jail.
After the arraignment where all charges were dropped, he went home and moved out. He wasn’t even in the apartment for a four days.
Keep the screen door locked.
Talk to them through the screen door.
Do NOT EVER step outside, even if they “ask” you to do so. Ask them what they want. They don’t need you on your porch to ask about your neighbor.
Keep your phone in your hand and hands visible. Have a number already dialed and be ready to push the call button. Do not give them an excuse.
The police are almost never your friends and over the next few years they are going to become your worst enemies. Especially if you aren’t White.
And I am as pro-Police as you can get.
This law professor says never talk to the police. Edited to add— BE COURTEOUS AND POLITE UNLESS YOU WANT SOME ADDTIONAL ROUGH TREATMENT:
(note there is a part 2 where a policeman speaks, if interested)
I just noticed you spelled neighbor like a Canadian. Our laws are very similar, but not exactly the same. From a legal standpoint, it matters where you live!
English (United States) 
