Indiana resident DelRea Good probably thought she was doing what police often recommend. When she saw the lights of Porter County Sheriff’s Department Patrolman William Marshall, she opted not to stop on a dark country road at night but drove to a lit area less than a mile away. For that decision, Marshall charged her with a felony of resisting arrest.
Good, 52, said it was 11 pm, she was a female alone, and that there have been past cases of people impersonating officers to get women to pull over. She felt unsafe. She also said that she slowed down, put on her blinkers, and waved to show that she was going to pull over down the road.
The Sheriff’s Office however is standing by Marshall and saying that she got what she deserved because Marshall was driving a marked police car: “The sheriff’s office supports our officer’s decision in this matter.”
Good may now lose her job as a nurse if convicted.
I fail to see how this is even remotely resisting arrest. It sounds more like a ticked off officer. The use of a felony charge is also remarkably excessive in my view. This may not be a perfect stop but this appears a case of when “perfect is the enemy of the good.”
This is Indiana and they really don’t care about the safety of women in this state. We are just chattel to the males. How was she to know he was legit?
OK personally this is idiotic, the woman did what she thought was right, and what exactly was he pulling her over in the first place for? Having taken law classes, my major being law in college. I’ve often heard officers ask or even tell persons to move down the road in order to get a better light. Obviously there is some part of this we aren’t hearing, and a real hard look should be given to the men and woman of law enforcement in this city. Can’t live in fear forever!!
bam bam
I only respect God Almighty and too many of these coppers think they are just that or the devil in disguise and they bring out a healthy disrespect for fake authority figures in me also. 😉
BarkinDog
You may choose to refer to yourself as a dog, so whatever floats your boat, go for it.
Your hatred and disrespect for authority is more than obvious. New flash, because I know that you, as a dog, may not have gotten this. Police officers are human beings, not pigs. Like all human beings, some are good, some are bad. Since you do not know all of the facts of the case, other than the few facts in the article, maybe you could be a good doggie and not call police officers pigs? Come on, I’ll give you a doggie biscuit.
Barkindog, being acquitted would permit her to sue, but it is unlikely the case would get past a motion to dismiss. She admits she didn’t pull over, thereby giving the cop probable cause to arrest her. The fact that her action was not only reasonable, but had been advised by this same police department, isn’t relevant to the very simple probable cause analysis.
Well folks she can get a jury trial on the criminal charge. After she takes the stand and testifies she should rest her case. The jury will acquit her in five minutes. Then she can sue the pig for depriving her of her civil rights by false arrest, and false prosecution. She should assert the doctrine of estoppel by judgment and assert that the acquittal proves the cop was wrong. She should ask for extensive damages including her defense costs. She should seek punitive damages. She can seek attorneys fees at least for all hours spent on the civil Suit. if it is a municipality she can sue the town for whom the pig works. I would want women on the jury if I was her. I would want a female lawyer with a male co counsel. Have the male lawyer do the direct examination of the pig on the stand. Depose the cop’s mother and ask if he had mental health issues in his life.
BarkinDog – what she needs to do is get as many women drivers on the jury as possible.
The rise of the authoritarian, jackbooted thug cop is the direct result of the federalizing of police forces across the country. It probably started under G.W. Bush with the Patriot Act and then progressed to what we have now under his Lordship the Messiah, Barack Obama. It’s not a partisan thing. A New World Order paradigm is emerging with the Judge Dredd type “world cop” who doesn’t need permission from upstairs to put the hurt on someone for not being compliant quick enough and with enough deference to make the officer feel like a god! Stroking a cop’s ego seems be make the difference, these days, between being let off with a warning or going to jail charged with 3 felonies and a misdemeanor! All totally invented from the cop’s imagination! But his good buddies at the police department will stand behind him 100%. Even when his dash cam shows him beating a poor homeless person to death for daring to take a nap on a park bench! In a cop’s mind EVERYONE is a criminal who needs a beat down! And don’t even dare to “stand up for you rights.” That is the fastest way to get yourself shot 14 times!
Charlie, Republican thinking? Got any proof the cop or those standing behind him are R’s? Are you stuck in the “My party is better than Yours” trap? You have yet to notice that R or D, not much has changed…?
This looks to be another case of cop abuse. On a lower level than flash banging a baby, or killing some one at the wrong address during a SWAT raid, but still abuse of power at least. Then there is the guy strangled to death for selling loose cigarettes….how far down are we going to go before US citizens demand accountability?
Peeps are more & more tiered of authoritarian police. Cops whine about Ferguson but forget that all over the US cops are abusing people & overstepping their authority.
You can see, at drugwarrant.com, under Drug War Victims, a list of innocent dead at the hands of cops. It’s not a complete list, but it’s long enough.
Under the search term Victims Of Asset Forfeiture there is another long list of cops abuses, but at least most of these victims are still alive. One decent thing that surprised me, was the USAG backing off AF. Thank God!! It’s a small ray of light. Hope more can break through.
SamFox
Charlie wants to blame this on Republicans even though Porter Count is a Democrat County. Typical – just like Harry Reid who just admitted he made up the lie about Mitt Romney and bragged that it kept him from getting elected.
We were promised that open immigration and multiculturalism would result in love and brotherhood,
Yep. And here we are still hoping to dig out that promised pony from under the steaming pile of horse manure in the living room. Man….are we ever gullible dopes.
Women have been choosing where to pull over based on safety for years. I once pulled into a gas station. Wasn’t a problem for the police, they used the Men’s room. They said I had done the smart thing and DID NOT GIVE ME THE TICKET! In CA, where people are nicer due to weather, I’m convinced,
I wonder why they did not just charge her with a misdemeanor for failing to follow/obey the directions of an officer? A much less serious charge. There may be much more to this story.
I have more of a problem with the Sheriff’s office and DA standing behind the arrest. One offended police officer can be explained, but for this abuse of power to make it this far casts a pall. Hopefully there is a judge with some sense.
Shining the spotlight of public scrutiny does have a cleansing effect.
Here in CA, this advice is given in drivers ed. Pull over not only if it is dark or late out, but also if there is not a wide enough shoulder for you and the police officer on foot to be safe from passing traffic. Her driving slowly with her hazards on indicated what she was doing.
His watch commander should have straightened this all out at the precinct.
https://www.facebook.com/portercountysheriff/timeline
Someday maybe they can teach police officers that getting their little feelings hurt, paranoid, feeling disrespected, is NOT A CRIME.
As a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, this sounds like an abuse of power. I certainly hope this case is dismissed. Regardless of the result, the criminal justice system can be daunting to ordinary people and this lady should never have had to undergo the experience.
But on a larger note, do not be surprised at the militarization of the police and their increasingly authoritarian behavior as America becomes a 3d world country. We were promised that open immigration and multiculturalism would result in love and brotherhood, but the actual results have only been an increase in societal tension and violence.
With police in the spotlight for their abuse of power you’d think it rational for her to go to a lit parking lot… but we’re talking about police and rationality in the same idea. It’s oil and water.
I think the charge was made just to punish her for her abusive attitude. It won’t stick and will be dropped. BTW, I don’t think we want to give females the right to drive all over the place and refuse to pull over when stopped by the police because they are “scared”. Of course, each case is different.
“Is there more to this story?”
One has to wonder.
Adding a little more information to this story, she apparently works as a prison nurse. Was she on her way home from work, perhaps?
I live in Indiana, and have been told on multiple occasions, by law enforcement officers that this is what a woman alone at night should do and that law enforcement officers will not make an issue of it. This has been publicized on news programs etc. On a dark country road it is not possible to tell if a car behind you is marked or not and there have been multiple cases of fake lights etc. This seems to be totally out of character. Is there more to this story?