Georgia Criminal Law Blog

On May 8, 2006, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that where a police officer was engaged in a first tier encounter with a defendant and the defendant fled the scene, the flight is not PC to arrest the defendant for obstruction of an officer. The court notes that the flight could be enough to give the officers a reasonable suspicion to justify a brief investigatory stop, but it is not PC to arrest.

“What made that initial encounter lawful was that the officers did not detain Dukes. Because the officers lacked reasonable articulable suspicion, not only did they have no authority to detain Dukes, but he had the concomitant right to leave the first-tier encounter. During such an encounter, the officer may not detain the citizen or create the impression that the citizen may not leave.”

Opinion here.

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