SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS!

[Auggie]

6. An old answer from an apparent cop:

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060711011931AAbmgHG

"If I ask you for ID and you tell me you don't have it or outright refuse to provide it (under circumstances where you don't have to), you're going to send my "bad guy" radar into overdrive. I will very likely do everything possible to determine who you are, because I don't want to be the guy who let the murderer from Kentucky or the rapist from Illinois escape justice. And yes, depending on the circumstances, it's entirely possible I could make things very difficult for you if you refuse to identify yourself.

So the answer to your question, given the very limited amount of detail you provided, is no...you do not have to show ID when requested for a "random" reason.

HOWEVER:

You are not going to be in any position to decide if the request is just a random one. The police might have a very valid reason to request your identification, and they are not required to tell you what it is before you hand over the ID.

One sure way to find out if they have the legal right to demand your identification is to refuse to hand it over. If they have the legal right to demand it, and you refuse to hand it over, the next sound you hear will be handcuffs. If that's a chance you're prepared to take, then refuse all requests for identification from law enforcement. You'll only get arrested on those occasions when the request was legally justified.

If you're one of those people who just object to the idea of telling the police who you are, get over it. We can and do make it our business to know who someone is if we have an interest in them. If you want to be the guy that refuses to identify yourself on principle, go for it. Be prepared to have unpleasant run-ins with law enforcement.

You asked about showing your ID. That implies that you will have it with you. If you don't have your ID with you, then you can't show it, can you? However, that's no magic bullet, either. If you are in a situation where the police have legal justification for knowing who you are, and you cannot prove who you are, you run a HUGE risk of being booked into the local jail until such time as you do prove who you are. And we are not required to take your word for it, or to accept anything less than official government-issued identification with a photo on it."