Everyone knows someone who would run from the police. You’re walking down the street, minding your own business. Maybe you’re with some friends, or maybe you’re walking solo. Out of nowhere you see an unfamiliar person approach you. As they get closer you notice that the person is actually a police officer. The officer is dressed in full uniform. He’s also wearing dark shades, so you can’t see his full facial expression. He approaches you like he’s seen you somewhere before, but you’ve never seen this officer a day in your life. The officer point’s you out and says “hey, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” At this point you freeze. You don’t know whether you are going to be arrested or whether he’s just asking a simple question.
His hand then slowly reaches towards his gun, and you panic. Within a split second you have to make a decision. Should you stay where you are, or should you run from the police? Here’s the thing: you only get one chance to run from the police. That means that you can’t mess up. If you are athletic or a track star, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to take your chances. For everyone else who is not fast at running, there are still some benefits to not running from the police. From a criminal defense lawyer’s standpoint, here are the top 5 reasons why you should not run from the police:
1. Police Officers Are More Likely to Use Physical Force If You Run.
“Stop Resisting!” It’s the infamous line that you hear from police officers when someone is getting arrested- whether or not the person is actually resisting arrest. When you run from the police, 99% of the time you will be chased. A smart police officer will not try to chase you alone. They will request backup help on their radio. While requesting backup officers, they will describe your appearance and the direction you are headed in. Before you know it, you’ll be surrounded on all sides by police officers. When police officers come into contact with you after you run, they usually end up using more force than necessary. This could mean that you get tackled or even pretty bruised up because so many officers are trying to get you in handcuffs at once. It may not be worth the physical (and emotional) scarring especially when officers can be unpredictable during an arrest.
2. You’ve Just Made Yourself a Flight Risk.
If you run from the police and still get caught, chances are you are going to be arrested and charged with a new crime. Even when you didn’t do anything wrong, most of the time police officers are able to come up with creative ways to charge you with something. Some common charges in these situations are resisting arrest, or assault on a police officer. If you are arrested, you will first be brought in front of a judge. The judge will decide whether to hold you in jail, or release you while your case is pending. One of the things that most judges consider when deciding to release you is whether you are a flight risk. You are a flight risk if you have shown through past behaviors that you might try to run away and never show up to your court case. Judges do not like flight risks. If the judge thinks you are a flight risk, he or she may want to hold you in jail so that you don’t run away. This is a terrible position to be in when you are trying to get out of jail, and another reason that will make you think twice about running from the police.
3. You Might Be Giving The Police The Right to Stop You.
A police officer cannot stop you unless they have the proper level of suspicion to do so. In Washington, D.C. for example, a police officer must first have reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot before he or she can stop you. This means that to stop you, the officer must believe that something criminal is happening based on something he or she saw, or heard. Sometimes running away from the police for no reason gives them reasonable suspicion to stop you. This means that whether or not you did anything wrong, just by running away you could now give the officer the right to chase you under the law. If you are chased by an officer, they will try to question you to find out why you ran. Having to explain that you were running for no reason is not where you want to be, especially if you did not do anything wrong.
4. The Police Will Think You Have Something To Hide.
Whenever you see someone running away, your natural instinct is to want to run too. You assume that the person is running because something is wrong or they are in danger. Well, officers think the same way too. If they see you running, they will also think that something is wrong, or that you have something to hide. The last thing that you want is for an officer to think that you are hiding something illegal. If you run and they are able to catch you, they will likely search you. At a minimum, they will try to pat you down. Most of the time they assume that you either have a gun or illegal drugs on you. If you do have something that don’t want the police officer to see, you might be better off playing it cool. Try walking away instead of running. Try not to act like you are in a rush. Just don’t let the officer see you sweating.
5. Your Life Could Depend on It.
It’s no secret that anything can go wrong if you have a run in with the police. You have probably heard of these tragedies many times in the news. A police officer wants to talk to you, you get into an argument, then all of a sudden someone gets injured or killed. We’ve seen this happen with George Floyd, Michael Brown, and Walter Scott to name a few. If you have loved ones, think about whether your actions could put yourself in a situation where you won’t be able to see them again. This is not to say that getting hurt by a police officer is ever your fault. Even though you can’t control what an officer does, you can control your own actions. If not running from the police could keep you safe, would you do it? Anytime you have a run in with the police, your goal should be to make it home to your friends and family at the end of the day. This means you may have to swallow your pride and do what they tell you to do. If the officer harasses you or violates your rights, you can always sue them later. Whatever you do, just make sure that you are alive to see the victory.
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If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime in D.C. contact us or call (202) 403- 2292 to speak with a qualified D.C Criminal Defense Lawyer about your rights.
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Two little known reasons why you shouldn’t run from police
Our criminal defense law firm strives to provide people with practical advice in an easy to read format. This advice always focuses on issues which we believe are not only important but, very common to people living in an urban environment like Philadelphia. Majority of our firm’s practice is focused on the representation of those charged with illegal guns, drugs, and DUI/DWI in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In most of these cases the issues of reasonable suspicion probable cause are extremely relevant to that representation at the pre-trial level. Remember that if your attorney does not assert your right against illegal search and seizure at the pre-trial level, you waive those rights for the purposes of trial.
One of the biggest issues that we see in our cases, especially in Philadelphia, is that of “unprovoked flight” or running from police. I can’t stress enough the importance of not running from police for 2 reasons.
1. It makes your case worse at trial
First, at the trial level, the act of running allows the assistant district attorney (prosecutor) to ask the court to consider “consciousness of guilt”. This basically means that a person ran because they knew that they had committed a crime. Consciousness of guilt is an extremely powerful issue for a judge to consider and it is also a jury instruction which could provide a jury another reason to find that the prosecution has met its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Obviously, your criminal defense lawyer can make argument to explain away this alleged consciousness of guilt but he would rather not have to make the argument in the first place.
2. It’s provides police with reasonable suspicion at the pre-trial level
Second, running from police creates serious problems at the pre-trial level for your criminal defense attorney. You may recall from my previous blog articles that there are three types of police interactions: mere encounter, investigative detention, and custodial interrogation/arrest. Remember that a mere encounter doesn’t provide a person with any constitutional protections and unprovoked flight, especially in a high crime area, is considered a mere encounter in Pennsylvania. While the Pennsylvania Constitution usually provides more protection than the United States Constitution in the area of illegal search and seizure, that isn’t the case with unprovoked flight. Running provides police with reasonable suspicion for an investigative police stop. Again, your criminal defense lawyer can make argument to explain away this unprovoked flight was simply walking away or a reaction of fear in a case of an unmarked or undercover police officer. Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has found that an unprovoked flight in a high crime area doesn’t provide police with reasonable suspicion unless there is an indication the suspect knew he was running from police. This means that there is possibly a strong defense argument when a suspect runs from an unmarked police car or undercover police, especially if the officer doesn’t identify himself as a police officer.
Bonus: What you should do if police approach
Given how the law will treat the act of running, I recommend that you not do it if police approach you. Not running doesn’t mean giving consent for police to search you or your belongings, but rather being polite and respectful to the officer. If the officer wants to arrest you, try to stay calm and contact an attorney as soon as possible. If the officer does search and finds something on you or your belongings, don’t make any statements or respond in any way to the officer’s questions regarding who owns it. Remember, while you have constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure and the right to remain silent, there are a number of exceptions to these rights which may make your statements admissible in court. The best strategy is simply to remain silent, even if the officer is demanding your answer to his question. Remaining silent is an especially a good strategy in a DUI case where the officer asks if you’ve been drinking tonight or if you’re coming back from a bar.
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