QUESTION:
I was visiting my family home in San Luis Obispo, from another city. I was taking a walk around 8PM on the sidewalk in the neighborhood. I was just walking and texting on my phone. A police officer rolled up to me and asked me what I was doing there, I told him I was walking and that I lived down the block, and I didnt want to be bothered. I kept walking on my way, and he told me to stop. He got out of the car and started to approach me. I told him again that I was walking and I hadnt done anything wrong, and I kept walking. He told me to stop again. I asked him if I was under arrest. He said no, and again I told him I was walking and I lived up the street. He told me to stop again, got in front of me, pushed me, and asked me what my problem was, and that I needed to stop and talk to him more. He went on about how he had a call about some sort of suspicious activity but no crime. I again told him I was taking a walk, I hadnt done anything wrong, and I was going to continue on my way unless he needed to arrest me for something. So he then arrested me for Obstruction of Justice and Resisting a Police Officer, and took me to jail. So what is this…. ? What am I supposed to do here?
ANSWER:
If the entire basis for the police contact was “suspicious activity” but no potential criminal activity was ever articulated by the reporting party, the officer would not have had a legal basis to detain you – and virtually everything that happened after you were ordered to remain could potentially be suppressed.
