I was approached by an officer while in a park after hours. He asked for my Id and he ran my name. I have a suspended license so he knew this when he ran my name. He asked me if that was our vehicle and I said yes because it was. He then told me that we could be charged for trespassing if i did not get in my vehicle and immedietly leave the park. I did as the officer said and then down the road he was waiting for me and pulled me over stating he saw my windshield cracked. at this time he mentioned oh are you the fishing guys and he told me to get out of the vehicle and without asking me for my id or registration or prove of insurance he putt me in cuffs and said I was going to jail for driving on a suspended license. I had insurance at the time and it was not even something he asked me and i was charged for this as well. Did the officer have a right to insist i do something that he then turned around and arrested me for?
2007-09-13 11:22:59 · 7 answers · asked by mrs_bustacap7185 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
He insisted that you leave. He did NOT insist that you drive.
I think you will not have a chance to beat the charge on those grounds.
2007-09-13 11:40:05 · answer #1 · answered by Citicop 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are many details that would have to be covered and this forum probably isn't the best place (plus, I'm not an attorney). To simply answer your question, no, a police officer cannot order you to do something illegal and then arrest you for it. However, we've got some other things going on here. Some questions that would have to be answered: When he "ran your name", did he do a motor vehicle check on it or just a check for wants/warrants? Did he order you to drive? If yes, did he know *at that time* that you were suspended? How did you get your car there? Was there someone else who could have driven your car away? As far as the insurance issue, did you get charged for no insurance or not haveing the insurance paperwork/card with you?
It does seem dirty, don't get me wrong, but it is possible that the officer didn't realize you couldn't legally drive (but this again begs the question, if you knew this, who did you have drive your car that night). Don't get me wrong, it's also possible this was a "bad apple" on a power trip and did this all intentionally - I'm just playing devil's advocate.
Bottom line, if you're going to fight it, get an attorney. You would have to *prove* the officer knew you were suspended and then ordered you to *drive* (as opposed to ordering you just to leave). It's not easy to prove what people knew and when exactly they knew it. Good luck.
2007-09-13 19:09:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
It's not entrapment if it's something you would normally do. after all, you drove to the park, why wouldn't you drive away from the park. As far as insurance if you can prove you had it at the time of the stopyou should be able to beat that charge. but you're stuck with the DWS. Sorry.
2007-09-13 19:16:59 · answer #3 · answered by rtcrbn 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
He did not force you to drive, he forced ou to leave the park. You could have walked and left the car. As for the insurance, bring proof to court and it will be dismissed.
2007-09-13 18:54:51 · answer #4 · answered by LEO53 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He didn't do anything illegal, I would have told the other person to drive if they were not suspended.
2007-09-13 19:39:45 · answer #5 · answered by Officer 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
that's typical. but why are you driving on a suspended license?
that's pretty stupid, and nullifies any action of the copper.
2007-09-13 21:10:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
ENTRAPMENT if i ever hear of it. Cop's can't make you break the law then arrest you 4 it. And you should have got your buddy to drive ,cuz u knew, that he knew when he ran your stuff.
2007-09-13 18:43:05 · answer #7 · answered by less 6 · 1⤊ 5⤋