I get that the rule-of-thumb for talking to cops is that you should have a lawyer present. But like, what if it's small shit? Hypothetically, what if I witness a hit and run and the cop is asking me what I saw? Should I really insist that I have a lawyer present?
Sorry if this question sounds really dumb, but I've always been playing this situation out in my mind. My feeling has always just to say what I saw, like tell the cop "it was a grey Mazda SUV". Should I tell the cop that I'll make a statement in the station with my lawyer present?
Also what if there's currently a crime in progress, like a shooting or something? I guess that's unlikely, and that cops are useless.
If you were there when an incident happened it's probably fine.
I think the rule is, if cops spontaneously come to you asking questions about a case, you gotta be super careful and not volunteer anything. That's where you are supposed to start saying the "am I a suspect in an investigation" "am I being detained" "am I free to go" kind of thing.
They stop you on the street "am I being detained" "no" "am I free to go" "no we need you to answer these questions" "so am I being detained" "well, no," "so am I free to go" "ugh. Fine. Leave"