There is exactly one time when staying silent during a police encounter can actually make things worse. When you get pulled over and you're lawfully detained where you have to identify yourself, if they ask you what your name is and you remain silent, it can make things worse. They may even charge you with obstruction of justice. Don't refuse to identify yourself and don't just display it even if you're in a display-only state. All you're doing is you're pissing the cop off and making the encounter worse for you. What about the Fourth Amendment? What about I get it. I get it. You do you, boo. I just say if you're pulled over for a lawful reason, don't jack around with this cop to make things worse for you. Roll your window all the way down and hand him your license, and tell him who you are. And then when he says, "Where are you coming from?" That's when you say, "I don't answer questions without a lawyer."