One of the trickiest things about interacting with law enforcement is understanding your rights. Officers can and will do what they need to do to figure out the situation, and these things might impact your rights.
It is up to you to know and understand the rights you have. It is not the responsibility of the officers.
It can be very confusing when you interact with officers to understand your right to remain silent. Officers will ask you a lot of questions, and you may want to answer because it feels impolite not to or you think it will make you look bad if you do not. However, the ACLU explains that you have the right to remain silent.
When you do not have to talk
In most interactions with officers, you do not have to speak to them at all. You do not even have to give them your name. The law protects this right.
The only time you must answer questions is in a court when a judge orders you to do so. If you refuse to talk in court, the judge has the ability under the law to punish you.
When you do have to talk
There is one time when you do need to interact with officers. If an officer pulls you over when you are driving, you do have to provide the officer with the information he or she requests identifying you and your vehicle. However, even in this situation, you do not have to answer questions or provide information beyond your proof of insurance, registration and driver’s license.