My boyfriend was arrested for DUI and when the cop went to put the handcuffs on him he pulled his hands away. He was just afraid and reacted without thinking. The officer told him to hold still while they put the cuffs on. My boyfriend did cooperate the second time. The cop was super pissed that he tried to pull away at first and kept telling him that he was going to charge him with resisting arrest. What should he do?
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First off, I would recommend he immediately retain counsel, to
start working his case. This is of paramount importance, and I say this
because a Penal Code §148 conviction carries with it a scarlet letter
of sorts; anytime a law enforcement officer pulls him over for a minor
traffic violation, or otherwise interacts with him, if he has a §148
conviction on his record, law enforcement officers will infer from his
conviction that he does not have respect for authority and is a “trouble
maker.”
This leads to heightened scrutiny from law enforcement, which I
don't think anyone would say is a good thing. To be found guilty of
violating §148, three “elements” must be met: That he willfully
resisted, delayed, or obstructed an officer or EMT; when the officer or
EMT was engaged in the performance of his/her duties; and that he knew
or reasonably should have known that he/she was an officer or EMT
engaged in those duties.
From what you have told me, your boyfriend has
technically violated §148. You don't have to punch or shove a police
office to violate §148; the simple act of pulling your hands away, when
an officer is trying to arrest you, is sufficient. I have handled
numerous cases where my client has given a wrong name at first and later
corrected themselves and it became a 148 case. I even once heard of a
person charged with resisting arrest for not pulling his license out
fast enough. That is obviously an extreme example and clearly not the
kind of acts the law was intended to cover.
The point is that
obstructing an officer can be broadly construed to cover many actions
and if the officer is upset they will be more prone to recommend a 148
filing. Is all hope lost? No! Given the facts, namely that your
boyfriend didn't violently resist, an experienced criminal defense
attorney should be able to get the charges dropped to a Penal Code §415,
“disturbing the peace,” misdemeanor, or possibly a §415 infraction,
although the latter is less likely. Unfortunately, your boyfriend
provides a case study in how it pays huge dividends to remain silent
yet compliant when interacting with law enforcement, as situations can
rapidly escalate in very negative ways.
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Award-winning investigative journalist Nick Schou is Editor of OC Weekly. He is the author of Kill the Messenger: How the CIA’s Crack Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb (Nation Books 2006), which provided the basis for the 2014 Focus Features release starring Jeremy Renner and the L.A. Times-bestseller Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love’s Quest to bring Peace, Love and Acid to the World, (Thomas Dunne 2009). He is also the author of The Weed Runners (2013) and Spooked: How the CIA Manipulates the Media and Hoodwinks Hollywood (2016).
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