Thursday, October 6, 2011

Running From the Police is Not Always as Fun as it Sounds.

In the news this week is a fella by the name of Morris Matthews.  And I don’t know if he did anything illegal or not, but you have to expect some pretty legit accomplishments from a man who has a first name that also doubles as a last name.  Think about it.  Gilbert Gottfried, Julius Irving, Bruce Willis, Lawrence Taylor, Wayne Newton, Kirk Cameron.  The list goes on.  These people go the full 9.  If they do something, they do it big.  One can only expect that if Morris Matthews is alleged to have done something, the allegations also go the full 9.  Let’s see…

Per MSNBC: A preliminary hearing is scheduled for a Daviess County man who led police on a bizarre chase.  [Ok, they describe the chase as “bizarre.”  That’s a good start.]  Morris Matthews faces several charges after Louisville Metro police said he became violent with his fiancée and crashed two cars, one of which was stolen.  [Wait, what?  How does a man even get to use 2 cars during a chase???  Does one call “Time Out” and gain a few extra seconds for switching vehicles?  It says he crashed BOTH.  Does that mean he was quick enough to get out of a crashed car, run to another vehicle and steal it before cops could get their hands on him?]  Investigators said Matthews also almost ran over two nurses at a local hospital.  He's charged with wanton endangerment, robbery, resisting arrest, assault and criminal mischief.

I know what you’re thinking: “Running from the police is HILARIOUS!!!”

Whoa.  Slow down there, blog reader.  We’re talking about public safety here.  Running from the police is not always as hilarious as it sounds.  Sometimes people get hurt.  Granted, usually somebody gets hurt because the cops tase or put a knee in the back of guy who took off running.  But, people can get hurt.


Let’s look at a couple of different scenarios today.  We’ll look at a run-of-the-mill lighthearted romp of a police chase on foot, and then we’ll turn our attention to an all-out-stuff-to-the-wall outlawish dangerous hellride.

Scenario 1:  Everybody, including the local police, knows that Kirk Cameron recently robbed a bank in Raywick, Kentucky.  It’s been all over the news.  Kirk has been laying low in the St. Matthews area, trying to keep the fuzz off his trail.  Time passes, and one day Kirk Cameron’s pregnant wife makes him go to Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen (hereinafter, “the Pie Kitchen”) to get one of their awesome upside down cupcakes.  Kirk loves his wife, but the more pregnant she gets, the more she can be a real growing pain.  So he treks off to the Pie Kitchen to make her happy.  As Kirk walks to his destination, wouldn’t you know it, a police cruiser comes along and the police officer inside illuminates the emergency lights.  Kirk sees the cruiser, turns and high tails it.  The police tase the crap out of the former Tiger Beat coverguy and he falls to the ground.  Kirk is subsequently arrested and charged with “Fleeing or evading police in the first degree.”

Scenario 2Gilbert Gottfried goes on a heinous crime spree as jarring and harsh as the man’s voice itself.  After month long orgy of cocaine, gunplay and arson, Gottfried makes it to the list of America’s 10 Most Wanted criminals.  Gilbert’s spree culminates in a “bizarre” police chase.  After becoming violent with his fiancée, he crashes 2 cars, one of which is stolen.  To top it off, Gilbert nearly runs over 2 nurses at a local hospital.  Amongst other crimes, Mr. Gottfried is charged with “Fleeing or evading police in the first degree.”

Which, if either of the 2 gentlemen from our hypothetical scenarios, is guilty?

Let’s look at the law.  KRS 520.095 governs Fleeing or evading police in the first degree (hereinafter, at times, “F&E 1”).  It reads:

520.095   Fleeing or evading police in the first degree.
(1) A person is guilty of fleeing or evading police in the first degree:
(a) When, while operating a motor vehicle with intent to elude or flee, the person knowingly or wantonly disobeys a direction to stop his or her motor vehicle, given by a person recognized to be a police officer, and at least one (1) of the following conditions exists:
1. The person is fleeing immediately after committing an act of domestic violence as defined in KRS 403.720;
2. The person is driving under the influence of alcohol or any other substance or combination of substances in violation of KRS 189A.010;
3. The person is driving while his or her driver's license is suspended for violating KRS 189A.010; or
4. By fleeing or eluding, the person is the cause, or creates substantial risk, of serious physical injury or death to any person or property; or

(b) When, as a pedestrian, and with intent to elude or flee, the person knowingly or wantonly disobeys an order to stop, given by a person recognized to be a peace officer, and at least one (1) of the following conditions exists:
1. The person is fleeing immediately after committing an act of domestic violence as defined in KRS 403.720; or
2. By fleeing or eluding, the person is the cause of, or creates a substantial risk of, serious physical injury or death to any person or property.

(2) Fleeing or evading police in the first degree is a Class D felony.

Conveniently, F&E 1 is broken into 2 major parts.  It specifically deals with fleeing while operating a motor vehicle under subsection (1)(a), and then turns attention to fleeing on foot, or “while a pedestrian” under subsection (1)(b).  Thus, Kirk Cameron’s case will be governed by (1)(b), and Gilbert Gottfried’s case will be governed by (1)(a).  Let’s take first things last.


It looks like Gilbert is in trouble for a couple of reasons.  Specifically, because he (presumably) damaged property (by crashing cars), and because of the whole “nearly killing the nurses at the local hospital” incident.  Under subsection (1)(a)(4), a Jury would most likely find that Gilbert created a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death to a person or property.  Gilbert needs a good Louisville criminal defense lawyer.

That about does it for today.  Tune in next time for…OOPS!  Like the rest of the world, I almost forgot about Kirk Cameron.*  Let’s talk about his case. 

Subsection (1)(b) of the statute, supra, governs fleeing on foot.  In order for a person to be guilty of F&E 1, they have to meet certain requirements while fleeing on foot.  Nothing about our hypothetical suggested any domestic violence [per subsection (1)(b)(1)].  And there wasn’t really any substantial risk of serious physical injury or death to person or property [per subsection (1)(b)(2)].  So it looks like Kirk is Not Guilty of the offense for which he is charged.  Let’s see if he might be Guilty of a lesser included offense.  KRS 520.100 governs Fleeing or evading police in the second degree (hereinafter, “F&E 2”), and it reads:

520.100   Fleeing or evading police in the second degree.
(1) A person is guilty of fleeing or evading police in the second degree when:
(a) As a pedestrian, and with intent to elude or flee, the person knowingly or wantonly disobeys a direction to stop, given by a person recognized to be a peace officer who has an articulable reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed by the person fleeing, and in fleeing or eluding the person is the cause of, or creates a substantial risk of, physical injury to any person; or
(b) While operating a motor vehicle with intent to elude or flee, the person knowingly or wantonly disobeys a recognized direction to stop his vehicle, given by a person recognized to be a peace officer.
(2) No offense is committed under this section when the conduct involved constitutes a failure to comply with a directive of a traffic control officer.
(3) Fleeing or evading police in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor.



We can rule out all of the subsections except (1)(a) as they contain requirements which are clearly not within the parameters of our fact pattern.  However, in order for a Jury to find him guilty of F&E 2, the Commonwealth would have to prove that his running was the cause of, or created a substantial risk of, physical injury to a person.  That would be a question for a Jury of Mr. Cameron’s peers.

In conclusion, running from the police is not always hilarious.  Sometimes people get hurt.

If you have been charged with Fleeing or Evading Police in Louisville, Lexington, Frankfort, Elizabethtown, or the surrounding areas, call me - Louisville DUI lawyer Greg Simms.  You will not be charged for an initial consultation, so call 502.618.4949 today. 




*SNAP!


Questions answered in this blog post:  what constitutes fleeing and evading in Kentucky; what is the difference between fleeing and evading in the first degree and fleeing and evading in the second degree; where can I find a good Louisville criminal defense attorney; what is the penalty for fleeing and evading police in Kentucky?

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