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by seethishat 4 hours ago
It is OK to talk to them. Just don't lie and don't answer questions. Doing either could land you in jail.
3 comments

Talking never helps, it cannot help. Nothing you say to cops can help you.

Even if it's completely entirely true and they believe it and they like you and that's enough for me. It can only hurt you.

Actually it can help me if it helps solve a crime. The solving of a crime is good for society, actually. I live in a society, after all
Prevention of unethical behavior is good, but the scenario we are talking about is primarily police investigating you.
OK, but that's a huge caveat that is never stated when we have this discussion, isn't it? "Don't talk to the cops when they're investigating you" is massively different from "don't talk to cops, ever".

And yeah, I know, it may not always be obvious whether they are investigating you, especially if they are willing to lie or be deceptive. (If they're really investigating you, you may not even realize that you're talking to cops.) On the other hand, it might be clear enough sometimes that they are not for me to be willing to talk to them.

Maybe watch the video? This position is explicitly called out as nonviable. You still put yourself at major risk if you employ it.
Did you watch the video? It is never ok to talk to the police unless you’re a rich white dude.