I work at a tobacco shop. And after they said I blown through a stop sign. When asked when drinking I said no. Then he said I smelled, and I quote, “of something suspicious”. I get cops get their paycheck for tickets and such but seriously has it really gotten this bad that for a ticket they try to make it something bigger? and ignoring my rights?
To expand on your edited bit, use those words exactly. Don’t use slang or anything else. Explicitly invoke your right to remain silent and leave it at that. The supreme court rules that police “misinterpreting” when a guy asked “for my lawyer, dawg” as “for my lawyer dog” (which you don’t have a right to) as reasonable. They will attempt to ignore your rights if they can. Also, IIRC, speaking after invoking your right to remain silent means you are no longer invoking your right to remain silent, so if you speak then you should invoke it again.
Do you really need to say those magic words before you’re allowed to stay silent? You can’t just not answer their questions?
Yes. It’s exactly as described. Simply not answering, without explicitly claiming that right, is considered confrontational, and not an exercise of that right. You must explicitly exercise the right to remain silent.
In the briefest way, or for someone with limited English language skills, “Lawyer” should be enough, when accompanied by refusal to answer questions.