Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan
I was recently charged with obstruction. A car accident had occurred and an officer was dispatched to the scene. She was driving, we were rear ended, and she was hysterical. The officer immediately began being overly aggressive towards her to the point where I had to tell him to calm down. This continued to the point that my girlfriend called 911 twice to request a second officer to be dispatched to the scene (I believe that the on scene officer could be heard telling her to �shut up� on that 911 call). She was refused that request twice. I was arrested because it had gotten to the point that the officer and I got into an argument because of his blatant disrespect and unprofessionalism. That was it: on went the bracelets. I pleaded with the officer in the back of that car at least eight times to loosen the cuffs, but was ingored and told that they are not for comfort. This I understand, but I am also aware that they are not meant to stop the circulation of blood. I have filed for my police report through the Freedom of Information Act and have not gone to court as of yet. Nor have I received my report yet. Also another funny thing (among to many to list here) my name does not appear as being the passenger of the vehicle. In fact, my name does not appear on the accident report at all. I had been drinking that night (that�s why she was driving) so I also got to spend the night in jail. Oh, and I have never been to jail before in my life, and I am 32. My question is do I have grounds to pursue a course of litigation or will this just turn into a matter of 'he said, she said'?
4 Answers from Attorneys
I sue police officers for handcuffing too tightly and injuring my clients.
Call me. I cannot answer your questions without more information.
-Tom
And I prosecute people for hindering, opposing or resisting police officers acting in their official duties. Here, based on what you tell us, it appears that you butted your nose in to the officer's investigation. You hindered it because the officer had to spend time dealing with you and your issues and your attitude. When a cop is on the scene like he was, HE is in charge, not you. If he tells you to step aside, to sit on the curb, etc., he's essentially telling you that you are distracting him from his task at hand. I'm not saying that every technical "butting in" ought to be prosecuted -- and I'm not saying that your case "should" be prosecuted because I don't know all the facts, just your version of the facts. And I'm not saying that a jury would likely convict you. But you need to know that your problem with the officer's "attitude" at the scene, or even his words, did not have to handled then and there ... interrupting his work. It could have been handled at a different place and time ... like talking to him at the police station later on or the next day, talking to his supervisor, etc. If you'd have done that (and not gotten in the cop's face on the scene), you wouldn't have been arrested, and you still could have made your point. Oh, and the fact that you were drunk makes your choices and conduct on the scene even less defensible, in my opinion.
Based upon your narrative, and given a choice, I would represent the police officer against you.
Based on the facts you've represented and the attorney answers thereof, I would strongly advise that you to retain the best criminal defense attorney in Michigan that you can afford and fight the criminal charge(s) against you. You ought to concentrate more on the on the criminal aspect of your case since your liberty is at stake, e.g. jail.
Attorney Daniel Hajji & Associates
888.432.6425
www.hajjilaw.comm
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
