FAILING TO STOP WHEN SIGNALLED/REQUESTED BY A POLICE OFFICER
“A police officer, in the lawful execution of his or her duties and responsibilities, may require the driver of a motor vehicle to stop and the driver of a motor vehicle, when signaled or requested to stop by a police officer who is readily identifiable as such, shall immediately come to a safe stop.”
This offence carries 7 points, the highest number of demerit points under the Highway Traffic Act.
The penalties on a first conviction can range from $1,000 to $10,000, up to six months in jail or to both.
The crucial issue here is that the officer must be readily identifiable. An unmarked police car with officers in “old clothes” such as jeans and a hoodie, hardly falls into this category. Even when they wave a badge at you, if it’s on an unlit street and it’s pouring with rain it would still be difficult for them to satisfy a court that they were readily identifiable.
A fully marked police car with roof lights activated on a mid-summer’s day, however, is another matter altogether.
FAILING TO OBEY DIRECTIONS OF A POLICE OFFICER
This is not the same as not stopping for a police officer.
This is where the police are directing traffic:
a) To ensure orderly movement of traffic;
b) To prevent injury or damage to persons, property c) To permit proper action in an emergency.
The standard fine for this is $85 and a conviction carries three demerit points.
A recent decision has found that this charge even applies to a situation where an officer is using radar at the side of the road and indicates to a driver for him to pull over and stop by the officer’s location.
Why fight the charge?
It doesn’t take much for demerit points to mount up and before very long; your licence is under suspension. Protect your licence and your insurance premiums. Speak to a licensed paralegal at POINTTS before deciding on a course of action you may regret later.
Why POINTTS?
POINTTS’ team of Licensed Paralegals comprised of former police officers and college graduates have been trained to the highest standards and continue to have their skills and knowledge upgraded by their in-house trainer who’s responsible for ensuring all POINTTS paralegals comply with the Law Society of Upper Canada’s continuing professional development requirement.
Why a Licensed Paralegal?
Every charge must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecution. POINTTS Licensed Paralegals have the knowledge, skill and experience to know if that burden has been met. A person trying to represent themselves is not likely to know what has to be proven, let alone whether proven beyond a reasonable doubt. We will look at the disclosure, research the relevant case law to be used in your favor and be able to recognize technicalities that would be fatal to the prosecution’s case against you. POINTTS paralegals know how to cross-examine witnesses. When questioning police officers, we know what the answers to technical questions should be so we know if the answer given is the right one, whereas most self-represented defendants would not.
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