Why was I given a ticket for resisting / obstructing an officer?
The other day, police came to my friends house for a noise complain. As they were walking around the neighborhood, they saw me in the back of the house standing next to a gate (which they were on the other side of). I was wearing full motorcycle gear.
They saw me and asked me what I was doing. I replied "nothing". They asked me to come closer and so I did. If I lived there and I said yes (I didn’t). They said why are you in full gear then with a motorcycle helmet on? I said ok i don’t live here. They asked me if I just came from a party, and I told them that there was a party above the street from us (there was). The house I was at did have a party earlier, but at the time the police got there, there was about 8 people there and things were silent. they next asked me if they could see my i.d and i showed it to them. I am 21 years old. They asked if I had been drinking, and I said no. (I really had been drinking, but very lightly, I was never given any tests, never stuttered a word, I was sober.)
At this point, they asked me to come closer, I told them that I was comfortable where I was (since they were behind a gate and couldn’t reach me). He told me to come around front and talk to him and his partner like a man. He then proceeded to yell ‘get your ass over here now or I witazeirst spray you (with some stuff he had aimed at me in a can) and then I will taze you.’
At that point, I felt very uncomfortable, and I said politely: "I am going to go back inside the house". I turned around and walked (in a fast pace) back inside. The police officers never asked me to stop or turn around.
After being in the house for a few minutes, the police officers pulled everyone out of the house and were yelling at the front door for me to come outside. After about a minute, I stood in front of the door and the officer said if I don’t come outside, he will walk in the house and ‘drag my ass out’.
I told the officer politely that I was going to stay exactly where I was at, a few feet from him inside the house. He said ‘fine’ and walked into the house. At that point I said please do not come in. He grabbed me by my jacket hood and dragged me outside. At that point, he pulled the hood so hard I fell over and started choking on the jacket which was fully zipped up. I remember making a few choking noises.
Once I was outside, the officer and his partner cuffed me. The officer proceeded to tell all of my friends (some of whom drank and were under 18) that if they drank, stay at the house until the morning. The officer let everyone go in except for me.
After everyone went in, the officer and his partner talked to me personally. They told me that they would give me a citation just for obstructing / delaying an officer. They asked me why I didnt cooperate and I proceeded to tell them that I had drank and that when the people said the cops were outside, I paniked and put all my gear on and went into the back yard (which is where the cop saw me at). I also told him that having the bottle pointed at me and being told I was going to be tazed made me feel uneasy so that is why i went back inside. He told me he didn’t know what i was doing and that I could’ve been a robber or something. He kept asking me if "we were cool" with each other. I said sure. I ended up getting a citation for a misdemeanor resisting an officer and then uncuffed. The officer told me that he was sure i am a good kid that just made the wrong decisions and that the charge would probably get dropped because its been known to get droppped. He kept asking me if I had been arrested before, and i said no. The truth is, I had a dui when I turned 18. So, I am still on probation for it. I think this will violate my probation.
1)was I in the wrong to walk away? I was never told to officially freeze or anything or that I had to stop and turn around or that I was being detained.
2) If I am in the wrong, what should I do to best get this case dropped.
3)if i need one, should i get a private lawyer or public appointed lawyer?
Also, is there a way to talk to the district attorney personally? I was thinking of calling / emailing / setting up a meeting and asking for the case dropped or something.
Let me also say that I did not RUN away. I walked away. Maybe its the same thing, but I needed to clarify.
You need a Criminal Defense Attorney now!!!
Start interviewing at least 3 or 4 Criminal Defense Attorneys.
Hire the Criminal Defense Attorney that you think is best for your case.
Do not talk with The District Attorney or the Police unless your Criminal Defense Attorney is present.
If the Police or anyone says they want to talk with you about this incident tell them that you want to contact your Criminal Defense Attorney first and that you will not talk with them unless your Criminal Defense Attorney is present.
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Comments
i would tell a lawyer this story, personally
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Just don’t lie and you’ll be fine (if you are truly innocent)
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Unfortunately, for the officer’s protection and enforcement capabilities, you are supposed to do what the officer says. He doesn’t know you personally, nor does he want any conflicts with you. He wants to go home safely to his family too.
He probably cuffed you for his own protection, if he didn’t say you’re under arrest, then you’ll be left off soon.
But if its any consolation, know your own rights. And don’t lie to an officer–it makes things a whole lot simpler for the two of you.
I hope that helps.
Sorry to hear that happened in the first place.
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I’m a community policing volunteer
Being calm and polite does not always work (see DON’T TAZE ME BRO!)
You pretty much pissed the officers off as soon as you admitted to lying the first time (about living at the house).
When they asked you to come around front and you said no that was being uncooperative and you can get cited just for that. It doesn’t matter how polite you might have been.
The best bet is to always be cooperative. Cops can lose their cool pretty quick and there are so many stupid little laws out there you really could be cited for almost anything if the officer wants to cite you.
Get a private lawyer if you want to be sure that the case gets dropped but you will spend about $500. I don’t think that they will appoint a lawyer since it is a misdemeanor.
It might violate your parole and you might get in trouble. When you are on parole you had better only be asking how high when an officer asks you to jump.
References :
You need a Criminal Defense Attorney now!!!
Start interviewing at least 3 or 4 Criminal Defense Attorneys.
Hire the Criminal Defense Attorney that you think is best for your case.
Do not talk with The District Attorney or the Police unless your Criminal Defense Attorney is present.
If the Police or anyone says they want to talk with you about this incident tell them that you want to contact your Criminal Defense Attorney first and that you will not talk with them unless your Criminal Defense Attorney is present.
References :
I’m not so sure what you can do now, i suppose you should consult a lawyer since you were on probation. But as for what you did wrong. You should not have walked away when the officer instructed you to proceed towards him. You were charged with obstructing a peace officer because you walked away or ran away. Obstructing a peace officer means doing anything that inhibits a police officer from performing their job. By walking away or running away, you prevented the officer from doing his job. By running away, the officer thought that you had committed a crime, even though, according to you, you had not.
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walking away/running away…same difference. you started out with a lie, so not good on your part. at that point you should have just did what they said.
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