Lawyer here. I give this guy’s book out to anyone I care about. Friends, family. I even highlight the bit at the end with the practical advice. Everyone needs to know this.
The friendliest police officer in the world is not your friend
OTOH, as a former public defender I have no problems talking with the police.
The police aren't your friend. They're also not your enemy.
Talking to the police as part of an investigation doesn't make you a suspect. Seriously, how do people think criminal investigations are done? Talking to witnesses is a huge part of investigating. People very rarely finger themselves as potential suspects; it's almost always the other witnesses who identify them as suspects.
If you're worried that you've done something wrong, talk to a lawyer first. 99.9% of the time, they'll tell you it's fine. Of course, if you tell the police you need to talk to your lawyer first, they'll want to know why you think you need a lawyer; if I were your lawyer, that's the first thing I'd wonder too. And if you weren't considered a potential suspect before you definitely will be on their short list after.
I can see why someone familiar with the law would be comfortable speaking with the police, but it's tough for a lay person to know if they are being lied to or will inadvertantly say something seemingly benign that causes them grief. Given that police are allowed to lie with impunity and might become your enemy, it's almost all downside for oneself to speak to them.
If cops were obligated to be honest in more respects I would be more willing to open up, but of course they don't want any restrictions in that area. Cops in the US want to be able to lie whenever it's convenient and also have everyone trust them, but that's not a very fair bargain for the general public.
If the police are asking you questions, they're not lying to you...they're just asking questions.
And if the police say something seemingly benign that causes you grief, you can look forward to a large-ish settlement to make up for your troubles.
People on HN rarely interact with the police and it seems they have an unrealistic, media-driven perception of how cops actually act. For point of reference, it's the same as how non-techies assume that every tech employee can hack their way into a bank account or rig together a go-kart from spare parts.
Read your own source. Because, by your logic, SBF being a con artist means that all programmers are con artists.
30% These convictions aren't the result of people talking to the police and then getting screwed over. The overwhelming majority of them are the result of cross-racial witness identifications.
To put it bluntly: most wrongful convictions are due to racism on the part of prosecution witnesses.
I'm surprised this classic video is 10+ years old but has only 18M views.
edit: Saw that the professor, James Duane [0], has his own Wikipedia page, almost entirely on the popularity of the Youtube lecture. Even more surprising, his Talk page seems to be free of debate over Duane's notability. Pretty impressive for a single videoed lecture!
obligatory “don’t talk to the police” link.