When interacting with law enforcement, particularly during traffic stops, it is crucial to understand that seemingly innocuous questions like "Where are you coming from?" are not casual inquiries but strategic probes designed to gather information that can be used against you. Protecting your rights involves providing only legally required information and politely declining to answer questions that could build a case against you.
Mind Map
Clique para expandir
Clique para explorar o mapa mental interativo completo
If a cop asks you, "Where are you coming
from?" It sounds friendly, but it's not
small talk. It is a setup question, and
one normal answer can turn a warning
into a search or a DUI investigation or
even a criminal case. So, in this video,
I'm going to give you the one sentence
script you can use tonight that keeps
you polite, keeps you safe, and protects
your rights. And stay to the end because
I'll give you the backup line for when
they push. And believe me, they're going
to push. Police officers are trained to
push and they get mad when they don't
get their way. It's okay. Not going to
get mad at them for how they are. We
don't get mad at the sun for rising in
the east or setting in the west. So,
we're going to deal with it. I am
criminal defense attorney Mark Lopez. I
have seen thousands of police reports.
And I'm telling you, this question is
the most common way people accidentally
talk themselves into trouble. In the
next few minutes, I'm going to show you
why they ask, "Where are you coming
from?" Number two, exactly what to say
instead, word for word. And number
three, three mistakes that blow
everything up. So, let's talk about why
they ask. Let's translate where are you
coming from? into cop language. It is
usually one of three things. Number one,
they want to make a timeline. If you
say, "I'm coming from my buddy's place."
Now, they'll ask which buddy? How long
were you there? Did you drink anything?
And congratulations, you just
volunteered a timeline they can use to
pick apart or check for inconsistencies.
Number two, location association. If you
say, "I'm coming from a bar," you just
hand them a reason to lean into a DUI
investigation. If you say, "I'm coming
from X, Y, and Z neighborhood." Now, you
can be framed to be in a suspicious
neighborhood. Number three, a comfort
test. This is psychology. When people
are nervous, they tend to talk more. And
the more you talk, the more you give
them to write down. And the more they
write down, the better they can check
for inconsistencies. Things don't match
up. And that last one I see all the
time. People get nervous and they just
start talking and they talk themselves
into trouble. Here's the key. You do not
have to help the police build the story.
You don't really have to answer any
questions about where you're going or
where you're coming from, anything like
that. All right. Here's the exact
sentence. And yes, I want you to
screenshot this, but I need you to say
it. calmly, respectfully, and as boring
as possible. Because listen, boring is
your superpower when dealing with the
police. When the police ask initial
questions, here's what you say. Officer,
I am not going to answer any questions
about my day. I am happy to provide my
license, registration, and insurance.
That's it. Polite, clear, no attitude,
no story to go along with it. So, why
does that sentence work? because it does
three things all at the same time.
Number one, it signals cooperation with
what you must do. Number two, it draws a
boundary on what you do not have to do.
And number three, keeps you from saying
something you might regret later. And
listen, during a traffic stop, cops can
ask questions. And lots of roadside
questioning happens before Miranda even
comes into play. And the Supreme Court
is totally fine with this. They can ask
you, "Anything I should know about in
the car? Where you coming from? Any guns
or drugs I should know about? Anything
illegal going on tonight?" And I've seen
so many police reports, people just,
"Yes, I do have a little bit of
marijuana in my car. I have a gun in
here. I shouldn't, but I have it."
Because people just start talking and
officer had no reason to suspect them of
anything and now the officer is
arresting them. So, just don't talk.
Your best move is don't wait or count on
Miranda to save you. Use your words to
protect yourself. So, let's role play a
little bit so you guys are ready in case
this happens. I'm the cop. Where are you
coming from tonight?
You officer, I'm not going to answer any
questions about my day. I'm happy to
provide my license, registration, and
insurance as the cop. So, you're
refusing to answer any questions? That
makes you suspicious. I understand. I
plead the fifth. Here are my documents.
Have you had anything to drink? I plead
the fifth. Where are you headed? I plead
the fifth. Notice what I'm doing. I'm
not debating. I'm not insulting. I'm not
escalating. I'm just not building their
case for them. Now, here are the three
mistakes that I, as a criminal defense
attorney, see over and over again.
Mistake number one, just being honest.
People say, "I'm coming from Chili's. I
just had two or three beers. I'm totally
fine to drive." My friend, that sentence
is now exhibit A in the police report.
Even if you are fine, you've just made
your evening a lot more stressful
because now the officer is going to have
you get out of your car, have you do
stupid human tricks, which you probably
shouldn't do, then give you a certified
breath test or blood test, which you may
have to do depending on your state, and
it's going to drag things out. Don't
even give them those reasons to do that.
Mistake number two, overexlainer,
man. Please ask where you're coming from
and you give a TED talk. Nervous people
talk. Talking creates details. Details
creates possible contradictions.
Contradictions lead to reasonable
suspicion and possibly even probable
cause. Again, if you are an overtalker,
you know it. I promise you, you know it.
I guarantee you know if you're an
overtalker probably been overalking your
whole life. This is one time overtalking
will hurt you. And I know some of you
think, "Well, overtalking got me pretty
far in this life so far." Don't do that
to yourself. That's not how police stuff
works. Mistake number three, the
sarcasm. And this one, this one's hard
for me. And when people make these
comments, what they say, please stop
them. It's hilarious. Where are you
coming from? None of your business. Your
mom's house. Listen, some of these are
hilarious. I will give you that. And
some of y'all are very creative. I've
seen that in my own cases and I've seen
that in these comments. But you can be
right and still lose if you escalate the
energy. So please, being funny, being
sarcastic is awesome probably 99% of the
time. dealing with the police officer?
Probably not. I would leave that to the
wayside. I just wouldn't do it. Now,
what if the cop is super pushy? Well,
okay. Here's your backup line for when
the cops keep pushing. If they say, "Why
won't you answer me? What are you
hiding?" You say, "Officer, I plead the
fifth. Am I free to go?" And do that if
they keep repeating questions because an
officer is going to get mad about you
asserting your rights.
That's the exact officer that you need
to assert your rights against. By
exercising your constitutional rights,
that really is a pressure release valve.
You're not arguing the constitution on
the roadside. You're just doing two
things. You're invoking the right and
you're checking to see if the stop is
over. And yes, some officers are going
to still keep you there while they
handle the traffic business, but you've
stopped the fishing expedition. Now, a
little side trick. Do you have to give
your name when police officers stop you?
In some states during certain
detentions, you may be required to
identify yourself. We call these stop
and ID states. You need to do the
research on what you have to do if
stopped by the police. Here in Indiana,
there is not a stop and ID law, but if
you're stopped for a traffic violation
or a ordinance violation, and you don't
give your name, address, date of birth,
well, that's a crime in and of itself.
So, you have to know the law of your
state. not universally if you're driving
you must provide your identification,
license, registration, all that fun
stuff. There's nothing to do with right
to travel. So, please leave that at the
side. I want to hear right to travel.
So, the move is give the required ID
documentations. Decline the story
questions. Here is the body language
checklist that makes your script
actually work. Keep your hands visible
on the wheel. Keep your windows down
enough to communicate safely. Number
three, slow movements. Announce what
you're doing. I'm reaching for my
wallets. Number four, don't consent to
searches. That's a whole separate video,
and we have a videos about searches.
Check it out. But don't volunteer it.
And number five, repeat the same calm
line every time. The goal in any
interaction with the police is not to
win the conversation. The goal is to end
it without giving them free evidence.
So, here's the recap because this is the
whole video. If police ask, "Where are
you coming from?" Officer, I'm not going
to answer any questions about my day.
I'm happy to provide you my license,
registration, and insurance. If the
officer pushes, you say, "I plead the
fifth and I'm free to go." And remember,
you don't have to answer questions where
you're going to or where you're coming
from. You just don't. If you have made
it to the end of this video, I sure do
appreciate it. It means a lot to me. Put
a lot of effort and time in these
things. I like my video. I like my
channels. I sure would appreciate if you
like this video, subscribe to my
channel, and leave me a comment. I don't
even care if the comments nice, mean,
whatever. You can tell me I look like
somebody. I got Tom Cruz, Turtle
Montourage, Joe Peshi, John Iguazu, or
let me know if I'm somebody else. But I
appreciate all comments. I read comments
three times a day. Usually right when I
wake up drinking some coffee and one
time I read a comment so funny, I coffee
on the computer screen. I'm hoping one
of you guys will leave a comment that'll
make me laugh like that. If you are
facing charge in the great state of
Indiana, give me and my team a call here
at the Mark Lopez law firm. We would
love talking to you about your options.
Most importantly, and I believe this
with my entire heart and soul, always
Clique em qualquer texto ou marcação de tempo para ir diretamente àquele momento do vídeo
Compartilhar:
A maioria das transcrições fica pronta em menos de 5 segundos
Cópia com um cliqueMais de 125 idiomasPesquisar no conteúdoIr para marcações de tempo
Cole a URL do YouTube
Insira o link de qualquer vídeo do YouTube para obter a transcrição completa
Formulário de extração de transcrição
A maioria das transcrições fica pronta em menos de 5 segundos
Instale nossa extensão para Chrome
Obtenha transcrições na hora sem sair do YouTube. Instale nossa extensão para Chrome e acesse com um clique a transcrição de qualquer vídeo direto na página de reprodução.
