Posted on 07/07/2015 1:35:17 PM PDT by Theoria
DaJuawn Wallace said he didn't stop immediately when prompted by police at 2 a.m. Feb. 19 because he was taught to pull into a well-lit and safe area before doing so.
The Detroit native who is a commuter student pursuing a master's degree at Saginaw Valley State University believes he did not commit a crime, since he pulled over in a Sam's Club parking lot about 1.5 miles up the road from where police activated their lights.
The Saginaw County prosecutor's office disagrees, however. Wallace faces one felony count of fleeing and eluding.
"I live in Detroit, and I know some people who were robbed by fake police officers," Wallace said. "I was taught to find a well-lit area to pullover in."
Wallace said he was making a store run to get medicine for his girlfriend when he saw headlights in his rearview mirror, accelerating behind him.
Wallace signaled and moved into the right lane to let the vehicle pass. The police car activated its lights and sirens to initiate a traffic stop.
"I was not speeding up, turning off my lights or trying to get away," said Wallace, 24.
Police dash-cam video shows Wallace sticking his hand out the window and signaling. He said he did so to show police that he was going to pull over in the Sam's Club parking lot.
'No attempt to pull over and stop'
Saginaw Valley State University Police Officer Leon Wilson wrote in his police report that he initiated a traffic stop on Wallace because his vehicle fit the description of a car that he observed driving on a sidewalk on the SVSU campus. Wilson lost sight of the vehicle.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlive.com ...
My guess is that it will take good luck for the cop to keep his job. He ha hit a rare trifecta SVSU can not be amused that he is running off a student, making the student’s future credential less valuable and putting SVSU, his employer, in a bad light in the largest city in the state.
The prosecutor must really hate this cop to nnot just drop the changes to stop the hole digging. And all this over driving on a sidewalk. Sounds like someone who should be an ex-cop and quickly.
Deemed a ‘crime’ because the lazy-ass cop can’t read the license plate without exiting his car and taking a few steps.
I say let’s bring back East Germany as a museum...I’d like to visit a nation with more freedoms than this one.
I am with the driver. I have taught a safety class, we have said in dark empty roads Do not stop turn on your flashers and drive slowly to a well lite place. A young girl in one class said “if you have a cell phone call 911. They can tell you if it’s a real cop behind you.” She did, it wasn’t, 911 told her not to stop. Real Cops came and caught the guy.
If this country circuit court, I'd try and get as many City of Saginaw and Buena Vista residents on that jury in voir dire as possible.
I taught my kids to do exactly that. If the cop doesn’t understand, the judge will.
That happened to me a while back. I drove about a half mile with officer behind me looking for a safe place for both of us.
It actually ended with a restaurant recommendation from the officer.
The news report noted that the county police recommend pulling over into a well lit area and, if possible, calling 911 to confirm that it is a real cop. Also to keep your car doors locked.
That actually happened to the guy that was killed as he walked out of Costco (Nevada iirc?). Three cops - all yelling different things.
A jury will put the jackboots in their place.
Campus cops are real cops. College campuses are concentrations of non-rational hormonal teenagers and post-teens who think everything matters, especially if everything includes their ability to ingest or consume mind-altering substances. Rapes, fights, "He wouldn't stop talking to me so I sprayed him with mace, what's the big deal?", drunk & disorderly, B&E, theft, car wrecks, clueless pedestrian fatalities, fire, explosions, poisonings, and faculty. Everything a small town police force has backed up by a melting pot of cultures, freely available drugs, and teenage angst.
University cops are real cops in real police departments. Even worse, he's in Saginaw, one of the worst armpit towns in the U.S. that has the saving grace of giving Detroit and Flint someone to look down upon. That whole area is bad news, and the kid was probably safer in Detroit. But that also means the campus cops have to deal with lots of stuff that might not be found in Mayberry.
...if you have a cell phone call 911.
***
That sounds like a sensible thing to do.
Good news! The charges have been dropped.
I think he will get a pass in court.
In most states, campus police are the same as municipal police forces. They have arrest powers, can do traffic stops, go through the same training, etc. It’s not the university giving them authority, it’s the state that authorizes the university to have a police force. If the legislature wanted to pass a law permitting Wal-Mart to have a police force, they probably could. This wikipedia article is helpful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_police
That depends on the state, and on the university.
If a university can bestow the same authority as the State
Sometimes, the university is the State. See the University of Maryland for example.
Thanks, good news.
You misunderstand . It’s all about “you will respect my authority or else “ .
Thanks for the link.
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