An Alleged Attempt to Flee During a Traffic Stop Results in Two Georgia Officers Firing Their Weapons at a Vehicle

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I'm used to the worst case scenarios. This past weekend, Joseph Jeannick Moore was allegedly attempting to flee a traffic stop by driving his vehicle at two police officers in Henry County. 

They had attempted to pull him over on I-75, but their attempt failed. When Moore started driving his vehicle at them, the two officers fired their weapons at the vehicle. Moore is wanted by the Clayton County Sheriff's Office for a Georgia probation violation as well as the felony traffic offenses that he committed. 

In today's post I will outline the offense of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer in Georgia.

Fleeing an Officer in Georgia

Fleeing an officer is defined by the Georgia Code in O.C.G.A. §40-6-395(a) as:

It shall be unlawful for any driver of a vehicle willfully to fail or refuse to bring his or her vehicle to a stop or otherwise to flee or attempt to elude a pursuing police vehicle or police officer when given a visual or an audible signal to bring the vehicle to a stop. The signal given by the police officer may be by hand, voice, emergency light, or siren. The officer giving such signal shall be in uniform prominently displaying his or her badge of office, and his or her vehicle shall be appropriately marked showing it to be an official police vehicle.

Unfortunately, this has become a very common offense in our state. Most drivers do not want to submit to a possible investigation, citation, or arrest. This results in rushed decisions to attempt to outrun police, which the majority of the time does not result in the consequences of the story reported above but has some serious consequences nonetheless.

Fleeing or attempting to elude is considered a high and aggravated misdemeanor in Georgia most of the time, but there are situations that can make this offense a felony. One of these such situations is fleeing in traffic conditions that place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries. Another is striking or colliding with another vehicle or pedestrian. 

If you or a loved one has been charged with a serious traffic violation or a DUI in Georgia, contact a Georgia DUI Attorney today.