Tiger Knows Best Don’t Talk to the Police

Tiger Woods sure did it right when he was found passed out behind the wheel of his car crashed into a tree. He didn’t talk to the police. And later when the police wanted to talk to him he retained a lawyer first and consulted with him. Undoubtedly, the lawyer told him about the top 3 rules of criminal law. First, don’t talk to the police. Second don’t talk to the police, and third absolutely don’t talk to the police. And as a result of following that advise Tiger Woods avoided even being charged with a crime.

I will never understand why suspects talk to the police. It is without question the worst thing that a suspect can do.

First, one should look at that context of the police officers contact with the citizen. If it is a casual contact at the local Starbucks then it probably is alright to nod and say high. But those are not the contexts that I am talking about.

The contexts that I am talking about are when there has been a 911 call, due to loud yelling, screaming, and items breaking from inside you house and the police are there to find out why. Or if you are being questioned because the company you worked for is missing funds, and you are the one in charge of those funds. Or if you are being questioned because … (insert any crime here).

You need to understand that the police are not there to be your friend. In these contexts, the police are investigating a suspected crime and are there to build a case against you. They believe that you are guilty, and they believe that if they could just get you to admit it, then they could avoid a lengthy court process. The police are trained that once a jury is told that the accused has admitted to the crime, it is very hard for you to get the jury to believe something else.

I once had a legal medical marijuana grower proceed to escort the officers through her marijuana patch. During this tour, she explained how she grew, and for who, and how big the plants would grow, and how much she will get from each plant. The conversation went on for close to 2 hours. All of which was used against her in the marijuana trial, and none of it was helpful to our defense. Now ultimately she was acquitted, but she was fortunate, and she had to risk it all in trial. If she had just asserted her rights not to talk, we probably would have had her case dismissed without even a trial. If you learn anything from Tiger’s mess please learn this - don’t talk to the police.

The Tiemann Law Firm