D.M., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the state failed to establish that officers had a founded suspicion of criminal activity by the defendant, which is a necessary element to prove obstruction of an officer without violence.
[1] To prove unlawful obstruction of an officer without violence, the state must establish the defendant fled with knowledge of the officer's intent to detain and that the of…
[2] Flight alone does not establish a well-founded suspicion of criminal activity for the purpose of proving obstruction of an officer.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOfficers observed a vehicle run a red light and initiated a traffic stop. The occupants, including D.M., fled the moving vehicle. D.M. was apprehended…
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PARKER, Judge.
D.M. appeals the order of disposition and sentence imposed following his no contest plea to committing a delinquent act, specifically arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the petition alleging that he committed the delinquent act of obstructing an officer without violence. We reverse.
At the hearing on D.M.’s motion to dismiss, the state and defense counsel stipulated to the facts contained in D.M.’s motion to dismiss. No other facts were presented at the hearing. The motion to dismiss contained the following facts:
1. At 9:00 p.m., two officers of the Sarasota Police Department observed a vehicle fail to stop at a red light. The ear almost struck the police vehicle.
2. The officers initiated a traffic stop within one block.
3. The vehicle did not stop.
4. Shortly thereafter, the occupants fled from the vehicle while it was still moving, at which time the car went into a ditch. D.M. was one of the fleeing passengers.
5. The officers began a foot pursuit of the vehicle’s occupants, apprehending the driver and one passenger. Following the hearing, the trial judge denied D.M.’s motion to dismiss. D.M. entered a no contest plea reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss.
In order to prove that a defendant is guilty of unlawfully obstructing an officer without violence, the state must establish that the defendant fled with knowledge of the officer’s intent to detain him and the officer was justified in making the detention due to his founded suspicion that the defendant was engaged in criminal activity. F.E.C. v. State, 559 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). See also S.G.K v. State, 657 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995).
Here, there were no facts that the officers suspected that D.M. was involved in criminal activity. Further, flight alone does not give rise to a well-founded suspicion nor does it constitute obstructing an officer. F.E.C., 559 So. 2d at 414.
We reverse and remand with directions to the trial court to enter an order granting D.M.’s motion to dismiss.
FRANK, A.C.J., and FULMER, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (14 total)
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C.E.L. v. State, 24 So. 3d 1181 (Fla. 2009)…the time the juvenile D.T.B. fled. Additionally, the Third District cited a number of other district court cases, decided prior to Wardlow, which held that flight alone was insufficient to demonstrate resisting/obstruction. See, e.g., DM. v. State, 681 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (holding that passenger of stopped car who fled from police was not guilty of obstruction without violence); S.G.K. v. State, 657 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (concluding that juvenile’s presence at scene of automobile accident…
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Slydell v. State, 792 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…98 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). Our holdings have not been unique. Other courts of appeal in this state have been quite explicit in holding that flight from an officer without more is insufficient to sustain a conviction for obstructing. See D.M. v. State, 681 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (flight alone does not give rise to well-founded suspicion on part of police officer that defendant was engaged in criminal activity, so as to justify detention; nor does it constitute obstructing officer); J.A. v. State, 679 So.…
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J.P. v. State, 855 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…Stop and Frisk statute. See H.H., 775 So. 2d at 398. On similar facts, two of our sister courts have held flight by the passenger of a vehicle did not constitute the crime of resisting without violence pursuant to section 843.02. See D.M. v. State, 681 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996); S.G.K. v. State, 657 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). The mere flight of J.P., a passenger in a stopped vehicle who was not suspected of any personal criminal behavior, is insufficient to sustain a conviction for resisting witho…
Previewing 3 of 14 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- S.G.K. v. State, 657 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
- F.E.C. v. State, 559 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)