If you are pulled over while driving in Connecticut, you need to deal with a police officer in the right way. Sometimes, the police will decide how to charge you based on how cooperative you act. For this reason, you should always be polite and helpful when you are stopped by the police. In some cases, you might choose not to answer a police officer’s questions or contact your attorney. But, you should never be rude or disobey an officer’s orders. Disobeying orders of an officer can result in an additional charge.
Failing To Stop For Police Officer
Failing to stop your vehicle when a police officer signals for you to do so is a crime in itself. It is also a crime to disobey an officer’s orders. Increasing your speed in an attempt to get away from a police officer is also against the law. These crimes fall under Connecticut General Statute 14-223. A driver must stop when a police officer in uniform or displaying a badge signals for them to do so. If you don’t stop in this situation, it is a driving infraction. You can be fined $50 for this infraction.
Escaping The Police
Similarly, if a police officer in a police car signals for you to pull over, you should not increase your speed. Trying to escape the police officer will only make the situation worse. This is considered a class A misdemeanor. If trying to escape the police results in the injury or death of another person, you will face a class C felony.
If this happens, your driver’s license can be suspended for a year. This is the consequence for the first offense. Any other offenses, your license will be suspended for a period of 1.5-2 years. A first offense license suspension can be appealed to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Your license suspension can be reduced if the Commissioner decides that there is good reason to do so. For a second or subsequent offense, this isn’t the case. Your license suspension cannot be shortened to less than a year. At least one full year of the license suspension has to be served.
It can be dangerous to evade a police officer or disobey his or her orders. When dealing with heavy vehicles on busy roads, it is always best to comply with the police officer’s wishes. If you have been charged with disobeying orders of a police officer, and you do not think that you did anything wrong, you should contact a lawyer. An attorney can sort through the facts of your situation and determine how best to defend your case. For more information on disobeying orders of a police officer, please contact my office.
