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Originally Posted by Mee-n-Mac
I agree with what you said but am still left pondering how I, John Q Public, is supposed to know when I'm being "stopped" and when I just engaging in friendly banter...
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Very good question!
To be detained obviously means you are not free to leave.
If you believe you are not free to leave (and can articulate that belief), then you are being detained. That was the basis of the aforementioned case, whether the defendant could reasonably believe that he was being detained and if so, for what reason. It is what
you believe based on the actions of the officer you are in contact with.
And you can be detained without being arrested. A car or boat stop is an example of that.
The obvious cases have been list previously, as being told to stop, blue lights, siren etc.
But simple contact with a law enforcement officer does not equal being detained. Say you are going through the toll booth at night and an officer stationed there tells you to turn on your lights. He had contact with you, but you were not being detained.
Every law enforcement official walks a fine line each and every time they interract with the public. That is why cases like the one we've discussed still continue to appear in courts across the nation.
This is a tough subject for me, as I can see both sides of each argument. It is unfortunate, though, that a handful here continually find fault with the MP's in particular and the law enforcement community in general. Sure, mistakes are made....cops are human too. But by & large we have an extremely professional law enforcement community in the State of New Hampshire that deeply respects the State's motto of Live Free or Die. They work hard with the meager funding that a small State like ours can afford to spend. For many of the posters on this site, they are friends, neighbors, co-workers or relatives.
Take a moment to say hello to one of them next chance you get. I bet they won't complain about the short time you detain them to says "thanks".
