An interesting traffic stop in Phoenix was reported in the news a few weeks ago. A uniformed man driving what looked like a police vehicle – a black, Dodge Charger equipped with emergency lights, siren and a police scanner – flipped on the lights and attempted to pull over another vehicle. As it turned out, the other vehicle was an unmarked police car with two state troopers inside. When they failed to pull over, the driver of the Dodge pulled alongside and waved his hands, attempting to get them to stop. At that point, the real cops turned on their siren and pulled over and arrested the pseudo-cop. He has been charged with impersonating a police officer.
It’s a pretty funny story when you think about it, but it also touches on an issue that comes up now and again in traffic stops. And that issue has potential criminal implications. A.R.S. 28-1995, for example, makes it a misdemeanor to fail to bring your vehicle to a stop after being signaled by a peace officer who is driving a marked police vehicle. And in some cases, failure to stop could be charged as unlawful flight from a pursuing law officer, which is a felony under A.R.S. 28-622.01. But what happens when the citizen does not know the vehicle in pursuit is really a police vehicle?
A recent bill in the Arizona House (HB 2384) would have made it a felony for anyone to willfully flee or try to elude a pursuing police vehicle. The bill was defeated, and the reason for the defeat appears to be the possibility of being charged with a felony when you fail to pull over because you’re unsure whether an unmarked vehicle is really being operated by a cop. Here are a couple of examples why the bill never made it into law:
- You’re in a restaurant and get into an argument with another patron. When you leave the establishment, you are followed by a vehicle, the driver of which signals you to pull over. You think the driver is the fellow you’ve just had words with, but in fact it’s a cop driving an unmarked car. The bill could have led to a felony charge even though you reasonably believed you were being pursued by someone who intended to do you harm.
- You’re a woman driving on a quiet road at night. The driver of an unmarked vehicle signals you to pull over. You ignore the request, reasonably believing that it would be unsafe for you to stop. Again, the bill could have led to a felony arrest.
Although ostensibly aimed at reducing high speed chases, HB 2384 would have placed citizens in jeopardy and exposed them to inappropriate criminal charges.
Law Offices of David A. Black
40 North Central Avenue #1850
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(480) 280-8028