As it is with a DUI arrest anywhere in Southern California and beyond, the entire affair is confusing, disorienting, and scary. It’s not something that you plan for; it is one of those things that is just happening before you know it. The most important thing you can do is STAY CALM!
Getting agitated and combative during a DUI arrest is like Chinese Finger Cuffs: the harder you resist, the tighter they hold on. There is no benefit or advantage to being combative or resistant during a DUI arrest. In most cases, the officers are not going to hurt you and they – like you – just want to get through it and go home.
If you are stopped by police and arrested for DUI in Long Beach or anywhere else, just follow instructions; stand where they tell you to stand, do what they tell you to do, and go where they tell you to go. You do not have to like them, but it is in everyone’s best interest that you remain calm and respectful – and DO NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS!
Once you are placed in handcuffs, they will seat you in a patrol car and drive you either to a station or a hospital for testing. Ride quietly. Don’t ask questions about when you will be out or what happens next or how bad is it going to be; none of the answers will allay the fear you will be experiencing, and you open yourself up to a dialogue that could end up harming your case.
The officer, especially the CHP, may be very friendly. The CHP is very well trained to keep suspects calm by being friendly. The officer is not your friend. He or she has one goal: to gather the evidence necessary to secure a DUI conviction against you. Silence is your best defense. Don’t be rude or aggressive in any way. Remember, the officer is just doing a job. Just be politely quiet and respectful.
Lastly, please understand that no matter how clever or skilled you think you are with your words, you are never going to talk your way out of a DUI arrest. If a law enforcement officer has it in their mind to arrest you, THAT is what is going to happen. You are not going to negotiate your way out. You are not going to cry your way out. You are not going to threaten your way out. You are not going to beg your way out. And, if you are employed in a profession that may lend itself to some perceived “courtesy,” the worst thing you can do is play that card. Asking an officer for “courtesy” to let you avoid a DUI arrest is basically asking a law enforcement officer, who is being recorded, to do something unethical or illegal and THAT is not going to happen. Maybe somewhere else, but not in Long Beach. Worse yet, that request could and likely will come back to haunt you when your employer gets wind of it.
