There is a lot of evidence that it is not such a simple proposition.
I've seen the submitted video discussed on a variety of internet forums over the years, and in most of them there were in fact a large number of people who take it as really meaning that you should never talk to police without your lawyer present.
E.g., you are walking down the street, and see two people arguing, one of then shoots the other, and then runs away. A police officer who was nearby hears the shot, comes over, and asks you which way the shooter ran. A lot of people say they would not answer that question without first consulting a lawyer.
Or you are in a building that collapses in an earthquake. You make it out but several people do not. Some police arrive, and manage to retrieve several people. They ask some of the people who were in the building if anyone of them know of anyone else who was in the building and is not accounted for. A lot of people say they would need to consult their lawyer before answering.
But there are also a lot of people who say it doesn't apply in those situations. They think it means don't talk to them when you are being questioned as a potential suspect.
Given the empirically observed divergence on people's understanding of what "don't ever talk to police without a lawyer" means it is perfectly reasonable to ask questions like everybodyknows asked.
Yeah I guess a lot of lawyers and criminal justice advocates are really trying to get the point across that you should never talk to the police in a situation in which you could incriminate yourself, but which situations that entails is much muddier and hard to convey. I think it’s probably better on balance for people to bias more towards “never talk to the police,” given how often people self-incriminate and how the vast majority of most people’s interactions with police are at traffic stops.
But of course it’s a thing with nuance. If you’re being questioned for no obvious reason, being questioned at a traffic stop, or being questioned really about anything other than a crime you were the victim of, it’s probably best to stay silent. Of course here “questioned” is doing a lot of work. It in my mind doesn’t apply to the kind of “which way did he go,” or “are there people still inside” kinds of requests for quick information to help the officer do something entirely unrelated to you.
But if a police officer is focusing on you and asking you questions, I’d say that’s when the advice kicks in for sure.
