Can police officers lie? You bet!

Attorney Andrew Flusche urges motorists be polite and friendly to police officers during traffic stops, because they are only doing their job. At the same time, he urges drivers “Don’t talk to the police.” Why? Because their job includes gathering all the evidence they can that you’ve committed a crime. And if they suspect you’ve committed a crime, they are allowed to lie to you to manipulate you into volunteering more information–whether through confessions or tests such as the roadside breathalyzer.

Here are four lies that Flusche warns police use often:

• “This [breathalyzer] test can only help you”
• “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me”
• “We already know what happened”
• “Now is your chance to tell me your side of the story”

Common police lies debunked

“This [breathalyzer] test can only help you.” The first lie designed to manipulate you into volunteering to a roadside breathalyzer test. And it contains a half-truth–the results of a roadside breathalyzer test often aren’t admissible in court because these compact devices are inaccurate. But the full truth is that a high roadside breathalyzer test result is all the evidence the officer needs to arrest you. Then they’ll force you to take a more accurate test at a police station or a hospital.

“I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.” Police use this lie to manipulate drivers into confessing. The truth is that the police officer’s job during a traffic stop isn’t to “help” you, it’s to gather evidence. Your lawyer’s job is to help you–because you pay them to. So only confide in your lawyer and they’ll tell you if a piece of information will actually help you in court, don’t volunteer it by the roadside.

“We already know what happened.” Let’s pretend for a minute that this is 100% true. Often it’s still more harmful if you admit something yourself than if police discovered it. For example, if police find drugs or other contraband in your car, they still need to prove you were aware it was there. But if you admit to it, you’ve given up that defense.

“Now is your chance to tell me your side of the story.” This one is blatantly untrue. Why? Because court is–by definition–your chance to tell your side of the story. So if you’re charged with a crime, stop talking until court. If you aren’t charged, stop talking so you don’t get charged.

Other police officer lies

These are far from the only lies police officers tell drivers. In fact, the United States Court of Appeals recently ruled that Montana Highway Patrol officers were well within their rights to lie to a driver about the very reason they pulled him over. The truth was that he matched the description of a suspect in a smuggling investigation but instead they told him he’d changed lanes without using his turn signals–which was an outright lie.

You can see the rest of Andrew Flusche’s advice for dealing with the lies police use to manipulate you in the video embedded below: