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Non-gun circumstance but still good advice. Have a safe holiday.
Other people have shared Law Professor James Duane's lecture
some comments from a person coming off of a month of grand jury duty.
The cops are not your friends. There is no way to talk yourself out of something in a way that they won’t later use as evidence against you. Do not talk to them.
And you absolutely should not sign any card or statement acknowledging that you were mirandized, as well. There's zero benefit to you in creating any evidence that you know your rights.
Signing anything in custody w/o your lawyer's advice is a bad idea.
No matter how "in the right" you are, police officers and all the feds are trained to try to extract incriminating statements. The questioning is called the "Reid Technique" (or Reed, s.p.?) The ONLY thing safe to say to a police officer is "I'm more than happy to talk to you as soon as my lawyer is with me". That's all you say. Period. Otherwise cooperate, let them cuff you, take you downtown, whatever. Be polite and cooperative. If they start hurting you, don't fight back, just yell as loud as you can, "you're hurting me, that hurts, you're breaking my arm ... etc.", but DO NOT FIGHT BACK. In fact, even if they are chest bumping you, don't raise your hands or push, stay relaxed with your hands at your sides, or open and above your head until they tell you otherwise. Do not allow yourself to be provoked. Most cops are fine, but there are crooked/bad ones who will try to provoke you into doing something that they can then charge you for.
And yes, I do know what I'm talking about from more than 20 years experience in the law abiding legal system.
