0:01 If a cop asks you, "Where are you coming
0:05 from?" It sounds friendly, but it's not
0:08 small talk. It is a setup question, and
0:11 one normal answer can turn a warning
0:14 into a search or a DUI investigation or
0:16 even a criminal case. So, in this video,
0:18 I'm going to give you the one sentence
0:20 script you can use tonight that keeps
0:23 you polite, keeps you safe, and protects
0:25 your rights. And stay to the end because
0:27 I'll give you the backup line for when
0:28 they push. And believe me, they're going
0:30 to push. Police officers are trained to
0:32 push and they get mad when they don't
0:34 get their way. It's okay. Not going to
0:36 get mad at them for how they are. We
0:38 don't get mad at the sun for rising in
0:39 the east or setting in the west. So,
0:41 we're going to deal with it. I am
0:43 criminal defense attorney Mark Lopez. I
0:45 have seen thousands of police reports.
0:48 And I'm telling you, this question is
0:51 the most common way people accidentally
0:53 talk themselves into trouble. In the
0:54 next few minutes, I'm going to show you
0:56 why they ask, "Where are you coming
0:59 from?" Number two, exactly what to say
1:02 instead, word for word. And number
1:04 three, three mistakes that blow
1:06 everything up. So, let's talk about why
1:09 they ask. Let's translate where are you
1:11 coming from? into cop language. It is
1:14 usually one of three things. Number one,
1:16 they want to make a timeline. If you
1:18 say, "I'm coming from my buddy's place."
1:20 Now, they'll ask which buddy? How long
1:22 were you there? Did you drink anything?
1:24 And congratulations, you just
1:26 volunteered a timeline they can use to
1:28 pick apart or check for inconsistencies.
1:31 Number two, location association. If you
1:33 say, "I'm coming from a bar," you just
1:36 hand them a reason to lean into a DUI
1:38 investigation. If you say, "I'm coming
1:41 from X, Y, and Z neighborhood." Now, you
1:43 can be framed to be in a suspicious
1:45 neighborhood. Number three, a comfort
1:48 test. This is psychology. When people
1:51 are nervous, they tend to talk more. And
1:52 the more you talk, the more you give
1:54 them to write down. And the more they
1:56 write down, the better they can check
1:58 for inconsistencies. Things don't match
2:00 up. And that last one I see all the
2:01 time. People get nervous and they just
2:03 start talking and they talk themselves
2:06 into trouble. Here's the key. You do not
2:09 have to help the police build the story.
2:10 You don't really have to answer any
2:12 questions about where you're going or
2:14 where you're coming from, anything like
2:16 that. All right. Here's the exact
2:18 sentence. And yes, I want you to
2:19 screenshot this, but I need you to say
2:23 it. calmly, respectfully, and as boring
2:25 as possible. Because listen, boring is
2:27 your superpower when dealing with the
2:29 police. When the police ask initial
2:31 questions, here's what you say. Officer,
2:33 I am not going to answer any questions
2:36 about my day. I am happy to provide my
2:39 license, registration, and insurance.
2:43 That's it. Polite, clear, no attitude,
2:45 no story to go along with it. So, why
2:48 does that sentence work? because it does
2:50 three things all at the same time.
2:52 Number one, it signals cooperation with
2:56 what you must do. Number two, it draws a
2:59 boundary on what you do not have to do.
3:02 And number three, keeps you from saying
3:04 something you might regret later. And
3:06 listen, during a traffic stop, cops can
3:08 ask questions. And lots of roadside
3:11 questioning happens before Miranda even
3:13 comes into play. And the Supreme Court
3:15 is totally fine with this. They can ask
3:17 you, "Anything I should know about in
3:19 the car? Where you coming from? Any guns
3:21 or drugs I should know about? Anything
3:23 illegal going on tonight?" And I've seen
3:25 so many police reports, people just,
3:26 "Yes, I do have a little bit of
3:27 marijuana in my car. I have a gun in
3:29 here. I shouldn't, but I have it."
3:30 Because people just start talking and
3:33 officer had no reason to suspect them of
3:34 anything and now the officer is
3:36 arresting them. So, just don't talk.
3:39 Your best move is don't wait or count on
3:42 Miranda to save you. Use your words to
3:44 protect yourself. So, let's role play a
3:46 little bit so you guys are ready in case
3:49 this happens. I'm the cop. Where are you
3:51 coming from tonight?
3:53 You officer, I'm not going to answer any
3:55 questions about my day. I'm happy to
3:58 provide my license, registration, and
3:59 insurance as the cop. So, you're
4:01 refusing to answer any questions? That
4:02 makes you suspicious. I understand. I
4:04 plead the fifth. Here are my documents.
4:06 Have you had anything to drink? I plead
4:09 the fifth. Where are you headed? I plead
4:12 the fifth. Notice what I'm doing. I'm
4:14 not debating. I'm not insulting. I'm not
4:16 escalating. I'm just not building their
4:18 case for them. Now, here are the three
4:21 mistakes that I, as a criminal defense
4:24 attorney, see over and over again.
4:26 Mistake number one, just being honest.
4:28 People say, "I'm coming from Chili's. I
4:30 just had two or three beers. I'm totally
4:34 fine to drive." My friend, that sentence
4:36 is now exhibit A in the police report.
4:38 Even if you are fine, you've just made
4:40 your evening a lot more stressful
4:41 because now the officer is going to have
4:43 you get out of your car, have you do
4:45 stupid human tricks, which you probably
4:47 shouldn't do, then give you a certified
4:49 breath test or blood test, which you may
4:51 have to do depending on your state, and
4:53 it's going to drag things out. Don't
4:55 even give them those reasons to do that.
4:58 Mistake number two, overexlainer,
5:01 man. Please ask where you're coming from
5:04 and you give a TED talk. Nervous people
5:06 talk. Talking creates details. Details
5:09 creates possible contradictions.
5:10 Contradictions lead to reasonable
5:13 suspicion and possibly even probable
5:16 cause. Again, if you are an overtalker,
5:17 you know it. I promise you, you know it.
5:19 I guarantee you know if you're an
5:21 overtalker probably been overalking your
5:23 whole life. This is one time overtalking
5:25 will hurt you. And I know some of you
5:27 think, "Well, overtalking got me pretty
5:29 far in this life so far." Don't do that
5:32 to yourself. That's not how police stuff
5:34 works. Mistake number three, the
5:35 sarcasm. And this one, this one's hard
5:37 for me. And when people make these
5:39 comments, what they say, please stop
5:40 them. It's hilarious. Where are you
5:42 coming from? None of your business. Your
5:44 mom's house. Listen, some of these are
5:46 hilarious. I will give you that. And
5:47 some of y'all are very creative. I've
5:48 seen that in my own cases and I've seen
5:52 that in these comments. But you can be
5:54 right and still lose if you escalate the
5:57 energy. So please, being funny, being
6:00 sarcastic is awesome probably 99% of the
6:02 time. dealing with the police officer?
6:04 Probably not. I would leave that to the
6:06 wayside. I just wouldn't do it. Now,
6:08 what if the cop is super pushy? Well,
6:10 okay. Here's your backup line for when
6:13 the cops keep pushing. If they say, "Why
6:14 won't you answer me? What are you
6:17 hiding?" You say, "Officer, I plead the
6:19 fifth. Am I free to go?" And do that if
6:21 they keep repeating questions because an
6:23 officer is going to get mad about you
6:24 asserting your rights.
6:26 That's the exact officer that you need
6:28 to assert your rights against. By
6:30 exercising your constitutional rights,
6:32 that really is a pressure release valve.
6:34 You're not arguing the constitution on
6:35 the roadside. You're just doing two
6:37 things. You're invoking the right and
6:38 you're checking to see if the stop is
6:40 over. And yes, some officers are going
6:42 to still keep you there while they
6:44 handle the traffic business, but you've
6:46 stopped the fishing expedition. Now, a
6:48 little side trick. Do you have to give
6:50 your name when police officers stop you?
6:51 In some states during certain
6:53 detentions, you may be required to
6:55 identify yourself. We call these stop
6:58 and ID states. You need to do the
7:00 research on what you have to do if
7:02 stopped by the police. Here in Indiana,
7:04 there is not a stop and ID law, but if
7:06 you're stopped for a traffic violation
7:08 or a ordinance violation, and you don't
7:10 give your name, address, date of birth,
7:13 well, that's a crime in and of itself.
7:14 So, you have to know the law of your
7:18 state. not universally if you're driving
7:20 you must provide your identification,
7:21 license, registration, all that fun
7:23 stuff. There's nothing to do with right
7:25 to travel. So, please leave that at the
7:27 side. I want to hear right to travel.
7:30 So, the move is give the required ID
7:33 documentations. Decline the story
7:35 questions. Here is the body language
7:36 checklist that makes your script
7:38 actually work. Keep your hands visible
7:40 on the wheel. Keep your windows down
7:42 enough to communicate safely. Number
7:44 three, slow movements. Announce what
7:45 you're doing. I'm reaching for my
7:48 wallets. Number four, don't consent to
7:50 searches. That's a whole separate video,
7:52 and we have a videos about searches.
7:54 Check it out. But don't volunteer it.
7:58 And number five, repeat the same calm
8:00 line every time. The goal in any
8:02 interaction with the police is not to
8:04 win the conversation. The goal is to end
8:06 it without giving them free evidence.
8:07 So, here's the recap because this is the
8:10 whole video. If police ask, "Where are
8:12 you coming from?" Officer, I'm not going
8:13 to answer any questions about my day.
8:15 I'm happy to provide you my license,
8:17 registration, and insurance. If the
8:19 officer pushes, you say, "I plead the
8:22 fifth and I'm free to go." And remember,
8:24 you don't have to answer questions where
8:26 you're going to or where you're coming
8:27 from. You just don't. If you have made
8:29 it to the end of this video, I sure do
8:31 appreciate it. It means a lot to me. Put
8:32 a lot of effort and time in these
8:33 things. I like my video. I like my
8:35 channels. I sure would appreciate if you
8:36 like this video, subscribe to my
8:38 channel, and leave me a comment. I don't
8:40 even care if the comments nice, mean,
8:42 whatever. You can tell me I look like
8:44 somebody. I got Tom Cruz, Turtle
8:46 Montourage, Joe Peshi, John Iguazu, or
8:49 let me know if I'm somebody else. But I
8:51 appreciate all comments. I read comments
8:53 three times a day. Usually right when I
8:54 wake up drinking some coffee and one
8:56 time I read a comment so funny, I coffee
8:58 on the computer screen. I'm hoping one
9:00 of you guys will leave a comment that'll
9:02 make me laugh like that. If you are
9:03 facing charge in the great state of
9:04 Indiana, give me and my team a call here
9:06 at the Mark Lopez law firm. We would
9:08 love talking to you about your options.
9:09 Most importantly, and I believe this
9:12 with my entire heart and soul, always
