How Attempt to Elude an Officer Charges in Fairfax Occur

An attempt to elude an officer is a common offense in Virginia. Many times people do not think they need to stop when they receive such a signal. They may think it is unsafe to stop where they are and so they keep going. When the period of time between the officer giving the signal and the person stopping becomes lengthy, the officer can charge a person with eluding. When this occurs, it is imperative that those charged seek the assistance of a Fairfax attempting to elude lawyer to help build a defense and mitigate the damage as much as possible.

Common Scenarios

There may be a situation where the person tries to find the proper place to stop and wants to pull over to the side of the road when it is dark, especially at night. Many times when it is dark out, people feel unsafe pulling over in a specific neighborhood, so they keep driving. When the time and mileage become lengthy, an officer can charge the driver with attempting to elude in Fairfax. The other scenario for an AEO charge is with unmarked cars. Even when an officer is in an unmarked car, the officer must still put on the sirens. The car would still have flashing lights to indicate what is going on. If that does not happen, people just keep going, thinking the person behind them is just a civil citizen and not a law enforcement officer and that opens the door for trouble.

Leaving the Highway

A person leaving the highway after seeing a police officer clock their speed is not necessarily trying to elude the officer. The triggering factor for the statute is when the driver receives a visible or audible signal to stop. When the person does not receive a signal from law enforcement, they are not obligated to stop. However, if they did receive a visible or audible signal to stop at the same time the officer is clocking their speed and they exit the highway; that can be problematic. It could be a situation where the person is charged with an attempt to elude in Fairfax. Typically, if they did not receive a signal, lights, or sirens, they are okay to take an exit or to leave the scene.

Misinterpretation of Driving Behavior in Fairfax

When the person takes a long period of time to find the right spot to pull over, the officer may begin to think the person is trying to elude. If the person is driving for a mile or two or longer to find the right spot, it can be misinterpreted because at that point, the person should stop. The person just needs to find a safe spot and stop for the officer to show they are trying to comply.

What Officers Look For

Law enforcement officers look for factors that point to evasiveness. The person tries to evade the police officer by turning onto different roads or trying to move away from the plain sight of the officer. The officer determines whether a person is speeding too much to get away from them or inversely drives too slow to avoid the officer. They look for indications of evasiveness, not being forthcoming, or not stopping at the first reasonable spot.

Law enforcement officers understand that sometimes it takes the person a little bit of time to move to the shoulder of the road, to move to the side, or to find a well-lit area for them to stop. However, when that period of time gets longer, that triggers the suspicion of attempting to elude in Fairfax.