Prosecutors Drop Silly Fleeing And Eluding Charges Against Student

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
07/08/2015 at 07:35 • Filed to: None

The other day I introduced you to DaJuawn Wallace, a Michigan college student who was charged with Fleeing and Eluding police after he took too long to pull over at a traffic stop. I noted that what he had done was not F&E. The prosecutors have now dropped the charges.

The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Saginaw State University police decided to pull Wallace over the other night because his car looked like it might have been similar to a car which had driven on the sidewalk earlier.

When they signalled him to pull over, he drove a mile and a half and then pulled into a well-lit parking lot. He did not speed up, take evasive action, nor do anything which resembled Fleeing or Eluding. The police officers arrested Wallace and charged him with the felony anyway.

As I noted the other day, Wallace’s actions - even according to the police - did not constitute Fleeing and Eluding under !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (which requires some sort of evasive actions, speeding up or turning off your car lights being the two specific actions identified in the statute).

Many readers agreed with me but with the internet being the way it is, some disagreed.

Be that as it may, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , two days before the first scheduled hearing on the matter. I would suggest they did this because they read the statute and then looked at the facts of the case. As for why the police brought the charges in the first place, we can only speculate.

Sometimes, the right thing happens. Who’d a thunk?

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DISCUSSION (13)

thebigbossyboss > SteveLehto
07/08/2015 at 07:44

Horrah!!! Justice!!!

Related/not related:

My friend got in trouble for a minor insurance related offense a while ago. The address on his registration did not match the address on his license. My friend regarded this ticket as “BS” and vowed he would do whatever it took to fight it.

He got a lucky break when he examined the ticket. The statute he was alleged to have violated on the ticket was “Driving a snowmobile without proper registration”

He went to traffic court by mail and simply said “I was not driving a snowmobile, it was July”.

He got a letter back that said one word. “Nullified”

BigBlock440 > SteveLehto
07/08/2015 at 07:59

As for why the police brought the charges in the first place, we can only speculate.

Because it was the first (only?) thing they could think of and it worked in the past?

Pixel > SteveLehto
07/08/2015 at 08:39

Glad to hear it.

Clown Shoe Pilot > SteveLehto
07/08/2015 at 09:13

Glad that cooler heads prevailed, rather than the alternative prosecutorial double down.

Is there anything in Michigan (or any other state) law that allows someone who experiences ridiculous overcharging to seek relief? Seems to me that if there was, it’d be a disincentive for PDs to let their officers pull that kinda crap.

There are a lot of folks in Texas (including a close friend of a neighbor) who could use some relief after the shit show in Waco. My neighbors friend sat in jail for a couple weeks with bail set at $1M after being at a restaurant when a gunfight between some bikers broke out.

SteveLehto > Clown Shoe Pilot
07/08/2015 at 09:18

I heard about that (everyone did!)

The primary thing you can do is simply fight the charges. Which is time consuming and wasteful. But you are right: I was also expecting them to reduce the charges to something else. I suspect the backlash to the story showed them they’d have a hard time getting a jury to buy their argument.

mr2gud2u > SteveLehto
07/08/2015 at 09:30

I know this is not Gawker so I’ll try to keep the race relations stuff to a minimum. I have been pulled over for everything from a possible DUI to “The girl in the back seat was looking at me suspiciously.” When I get pulled over, I’m always a little scared. I worry that I’ll get shot for reaching for my wallet or the glove box for registration. I’d honestly feel safer just putting my hands out the windows, or laying on the ground and letting the cop reach in my back pocket for my wallet and proof of insurance. I could be wrong, but I suspect Wallace is black.

SteveLehto > mr2gud2u
07/08/2015 at 09:31

Your suspicion would be correct.

qbeezy > SteveLehto
07/08/2015 at 09:34

If you lived in a city area in Michigan the past few years, you would drive to a well lit area of you see lights. Can’t tell you how many stories I saw living there where people immediately pulled over for sirens and lights that turned out to be a criminal or off duty cops breaking the law. I’d do the same thing as the student.

SteveLehto > qbeezy
07/08/2015 at 09:38

Concur. And that is exactly what he said.

Thanks for the note.

Funktheduck > mr2gud2u
07/08/2015 at 09:58

I'm white so I get a break in these situations but what I always do is pull over when safe (usually pretty immediately), roll down my window, turn the car off and put the keys on the dash, one hand on the wheel, one out the window, and overhead light on if at night.

Tohru > SteveLehto
07/08/2015 at 12:14

Be that as it may, the prosecutors dismissed the charge yesterday , two days before the first scheduled hearing on the matter. I would suggest they did this because they read the statute and then looked at the facts of the case.

Or they go on Oppo and read your post about it. :D

Britt > mr2gud2u
07/15/2015 at 09:06

back in 1998 I was driving my z28 to school going from rte 25 to ret 195 in MA on my way from Cape Cod to the University of MA, Dartmouth. When the exit from 25 turned straight, I began speeding up to match the 55 mph speed limit of 195, at that point a lady State cop jumped out from behind a bush or some shrubbery and signaled me to pull over. I was 39 years old and white, she was white too.

I sat quietly with my hands in plain sight as she approached the vehicle. Her weapon was drawn and pointed at me the whole time. That stop got ugly very quickly. I shan't regale you with the whole thing.

Some cops just think having a badge gives them the right. regardless of the circumstances. regardless of any differences in racial background.

mr2gud2u > Britt
07/15/2015 at 11:22

Scary shit