At times police have a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is taking place. When they do, they can perform an “investigative detention.” Such a detention is not an arrest; it is a stop that subjects you to a brief period of detention so that the officer can determine if, in fact, there is criminal activity going on. However, all investigative stops must be reasonable in scope and nature; the officer called upon to testify in court must be able to point to specific and articulable facts of a certain nature that warrant that initial stop.

When a police officer actually observes unusual conduct which leads him/her reasonably to conclude in light of his/her experience that criminal activity may be afoot, the officer may briefly stop you as a suspicious person and ask questions aimed at confirming or dispelling those suspicions. The officer may also search your person if there is reason to believe that you are armed and dangerous. Any evidence located during such a search may or may not be suppressed if you are subsequently arrested. Note that there can be a significant difference between an investigatory stop and an arrest.

Ultimately, the courts determine whether contact with the police was merely investigatory or was indeed custodial in nature. Remember that you are up against the power and resources of the law enforcement community. That means that it is important for you to contact an attorney immediately if you are placed under arrest following a stop by the police. Your attorney will review the details and explain to you whether or not the police followed the rules. You may face serious repercussions so you should review your options.

Normally, during an unexpected interaction with the police, you do not have the ability to tell the them "Hey...wait here while I call my lawyer and ask him what I should do..." For this reason, if the police stop you, you should politely decline to speak to them. You should be polite. You should try to be calm, even though you may be scared or intimidated. You should not lie to them about your identity. If they ask you anything else ("Where are you going? What are you doing here? You don't have any weapons or guns in your car do you? You don't mind if I check, do you?") -- you should simply decline to answer and ask "Am I free to leave?" If they refuse to let you leave, tell them you want to talk to a lawyer. If they ask for permission to search your belongings, you should politely decline - "No, I do not want you to check my car for anything."

As explained here, the police simply want you to confess to whatever it is that they are investigating. You may be afraid that they will take you to jail if you do not tell them what they want to hear. Guess what? If you tell them you committed a crime, you are going to get arrested and booked, at the very least. You may possibly go to jail, anyway.

If they really want to talk to you, then they can do it after you have talked to a lawyer. 

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