CAN YOU REFUSE TO GIVE POLICE INFORMATION WHEN QUESTIONED?

I read an article recently about Seattle City Attorney, Tom Carr making the announcement that police in Capitol Hill will be stopping people on the street who appear to be intoxicated, ask them where they have been drinking, and try to close down the bars that people name. The author of the article I read urged people to not provide the police with any information regarding where they had been drinking.

That bit of advice prompted me write this posting about your legal rights and consequences of refusing to provide information to the police if you find yourself in the type of situation described above. The statute we have in Washington that defines “Obstructing a law enforcement officer” used to say that you are guilty of this offense if you, without lawful excuse, refuse to furnish or knowingly fail to furnish any information lawfully requested by a public servant. This statute has since been changed after the Washington State Supreme Court found it to be unconstitutionally vague.

Under the old statute, you would be guilty of obstruction of justice if you refused to tell a cop where you had been drinking if a cop asked you. The new statute now says that you are guilty of obstructing a law enforcement officer when you do anything that hinders, obstructs, or delays a law enforcement officer in the discharge of his or her powers or duties.

The courts have found certain things to qualify as acts that hinder, obstruct, or delay the police in performing official duties. These acts include refusing to produce a driver’s license when asked, refusing to stop talking to a person who is being arrested, and refusing to leave the scene of an investigation after being asked to do so.

In the case of State v. Turner, Washington State Court of Appeals said that merely refusing to answer questions asked by the police does not in and of itself constitute obstructing a law enforcement officer. So you can refuse to tell a cop where you have been drinking and not be charged with obstruction. Be careful, however. The cops are known to make false allegations of obstruction or false reporting if you are rude or obnoxious when stopped and questioned.