Below information is from court documents that were filed by the State Attorney's office.
COMES NOW WILLIAM N. MEGGS, State Attorney, by and through the undersigned Assistant State Attorney, and enters this NO INFORMATION in the above-styled cause, and as grounds therefore, would show:
Based on the police reports in this case, this incident began over people walking in the street. As a police vehicle approached, the pedestrians got out of the roadway and then resumed walking in the roadway after the police vehicle passed. It should be noted that the street in question has no sidewalks and many of the homes are set very close to the road so as to make it impractical for residents and visitors to avoid walking in the street. The officer turned around, exited his vehicle and attempted to detain the Defendant’s son for a civil infraction of obstructing the roadway. When the officer ordered the Defendant’s son to stop, he refused. When the officer grabbed his arms, he attempted to pull away and was charged with resisting officer without violence.
Defendant Laguna Young attempted to get in between the officer who had her son in custody and his patrol vehicle. Young also yelled at the officer. It is alleged that Young was calling others to the area and inciting a crowd which was encroaching on the officer. The officer indicated that Young’s actions interfered with the arrest of her son and jeopardized the officer’s safety. Based on this, the officer arrested Young for resisting an officer without violence. As Young was being arrested, she pulled away from the officer. The officer used a leg sweep maneuver to take Young to the ground where he succeeded in placing her in handcuffs.
To prove this charge, the State must prove that Young was interfering with a lawful arrest. Assuming there was probable cause to arrest her son, the State finds that there is insufficient evidence to show that Young interfered with that arrest. In addition, a video which captures part of this incident does not show a crowd forming or encroaching upon the officers. In reference to Young’s actions of pulling away from the officer, the law is clear that a citizen has the right to resist an unlawful arrest as long as the resistance is non-violent. The State concludes that there is insufficient evidence in this case to prove that Young interfered with the arrest of her son or that her subsequent resistance was unlawful. Therefore, the State elects to dismiss the charge against Defendant Laguna Young.
Dated on October 10, 2014.
