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Joker,
IMHO, the police are probably some of the most powerful people in the USA. Why? Because for the vast majority of people who can't afford substantial legal resources, their ability to get justice, expose repression, and just generally get a fair shake is non-existent. They are what the police say they are. Prosecutors believe them by default. And this whole "innocent til proven guilty" thing really isn't reality. Go to court your word versus a LEOs word and more than 50% of the time, you're going to lose.

I'm with you that the vast majority don't cause issues... But if it's 10% or even 1%, the chances are that some day you're going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time during your lifetime. I'll bet that even you've observed that some LEOs "get away" with more when dealing with the young and the obviously less-financially-fortunate.

LEOs, like it or not, are a privileged class. The rules aren't the same and if they're somehow involved in a non-on-duty incident, they're given a higher weight. That privilege comes at a cost, of course, and for some, it's the ultimate cost...

The only person who is advantaged through answering of a LEOs questions is the LEO. And having that conversation can lead to all sorts of trouble. If you want to search my car, the worst thing I can do is talk to you. I can't deny you probably cause, but I sure can get you closer through any statement I might make. And yea, it shouldn't matter if I'm not hiding anything, but it still matters to me.

Doing anything other than invoking that right to stay silent is an exercise in putting yourself at risk, unless you're anything other than a witness to a crime. I'm not indicating that you shouldn't be a good witness, I'm just saying that the best thing I can do if I'm stopped, questioned, or peak an officer's interest is be respectful, answer the questions that I have to answer, and politely invoke a right to remain silent. I'll teach my kids the same.