This is incorrect for multiple reasons: 1. There are laws in every U.S. state regarding what grounds the police have to detain someone. In most states, it boil

This is incorrect for multiple reasons: 1. There are laws in every U.S. state regarding what grounds the police have to detain someone. In most states, it boils down to reasonable articulable suspicion that someone has committed, is about to or is in the process of committing a crime. Suspicion alone isn't enough. The police don't need to tell you what their reasonable suspicion is during a detainment, but if the matter ends up in court, they will. 2. There are "stop and I.D." states. If you are in one of these states, you are required to identify yourself if detained. If you're not in one of these states, such as California, you are not required by law to identify yourself when detained. That being said, if you are lawfully detained and subsequently arrested you'll be jailed until you do identify yourself no matter which state you're in. More info here. [0] [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_and_identify_statutes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_and_identify_statutes