A Georgia officer is currently recovered after being shot in the neck yesterday morning.
He was chasing an alleged murder suspect. The suspect led the officer on a chase from College Park toward Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The chase stopped when the suspect exited his vehicle. The suspect then aimed and shot at police. This resulted in the officer being shot in the neck.
As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I primarily handle DUI in Georgia - however, there are times where there are other related serious offenses. A common related offense is fleeing or attempting to elude in Georgia. This is one of the long list of charges that the suspect in the story above is now facing. In today's post, I will outline the law behind fleeing or attempting to elude.
Fleeing or Attempting to Elude in Georgia
Fleeing or attempting to elude in Georgia is defined by Georgia Law in O.C.G.A. §40-6-395 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.
The statute above is only one part of the law considering fleeing the police however. If a person is convicted for violating this portion of the law - even for a first time offense, then he or she will be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. A conviction means a penalty that can include up to $5,000 in fines as well as 12 months of jail time.
There are also certain conditions that cause the offense to be classified as a felony offense. Felony fleeing has very serious consequences. These conditions include when a driver flees and:
(i) Operates his or her vehicle in excess of 20 miles an hour above the posted speed limit;
(ii) Strikes or collides with another vehicle or a pedestrian;
(iii) Flees in traffic conditions which place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries;
(iv) Commits a violation of paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-391; or
(v) Leaves the state
If a person is convicted for violating this portion of the law, the he or she will be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than five years or both.
Practice Note
Police chases in Georgia have begun to come to a halt as a result of the danger posed to both the public and law enforcement officers. However, drivers still tend to attempt to get away from officers in fear of arrest.
Call our offices today if you or a loved has been arrested.
Comments
There are no comments for this post. Be the first and Add your Comment below.
Leave a Comment