Car chases are thrilling in movies, but trying to enact the same in real life could land you in serious trouble with the law. In reality, there are no stunt doubles or a script to follow when engaging officers in a car chase – which leaves room for injuries and destruction of property. If you enacted a Fast & Furious chase with police, you'd better find a criminal defense lawyer to help you fight the charges you are facing. California Criminal Lawyer Group in Santa Ana works with defendants charged with evading an officer and the related charges that could arise. Before we cover some of the strategies we apply in these cases, let's understand what it means to evade a police officer.
Laws Governing Evading a Police Officer
California has several regulations that punish different offenses involving evading a police officer. The main offenses the prosecution can charge you with include:
- VC 2800.1 Evading a Police officer
- VC 2800.2 Felony Reckless Evading
- VC 2800.3 Evading an Officer Causing Injury or Death
VC 2800.1 Evading a Police Officer
Vehicle Code 2800.1 makes it a crime to flee or attempt to flee a police officer in a vehicle. When charged with evading a police officer, the prosecution must prove that:
- An officer pursued you
- You drove a vehicle and willfully fled or attempted to flee a peace officer
- To evade the officer and:
- The peace officer’s vehicle had at least one lighted and visible red lamp,
- You saw or should have seen the lamp,
- The peace officer’s vehicle sounded a siren as reasonably necessary
- The peace officer was in a distinctively marked vehicle
- The peace officer was in a distinctive police uniform
Acting willfully means that you intentionally fled from the police officer with or without the intent to break the law, injure someone or gain an advantage.
In addition to there being a willful act, the prosecution must demonstrate that you knew or should have reasonably known that you were evading a police officer. The prosecution proves this by demonstrating that the police officer was in a distinctive uniform and in a clearly marked and distinctive vehicle that separates the police officer and the vehicle from civilians and other vehicles not used for law enforcement.
Note that, as long as the officer is in a clearly marked vehicle and uniform (even if it's incomplete), the prosecution takes your action as fleeing the officer.
Evading a police officer violating VC 2800.1 is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. You could also be required to pay up to $1000 in fines.
VC 2008.2 Felony Reckless Evading
VC 2800.2 prohibits evading a police officer in a vehicle with a willful disregard for another's safety. When bringing charges of felony reckless evading against you, the prosecution must prove that:
- An officer pursued you
- You willfully fled or attempted to flee from the police officer, intending to evade the police.
- You drove while disregarding the safety of people and property
- The officer pursued you in a clearly distinctive vehicle
A wanton or willful disregard for other people's and property's safety means that you are aware of the risk your actions pose to people and their property. Yet, you intentionally ignore the risk –regardless of your intention to hurt others or damage property.
For instance, if by evading an officer you cause an unjustifiable risk of injuring pedestrians or causing a car crash, the court regards that as reckless driving regardless of your intentions. You are also considered to be driving with a wanton disregard for the safety of other people or their property if you commit three or more traffic violations that add a point to your record during the offense. These include:
- Running a red light
- Driving above the speed limit
- Running stop signs
Felony reckless evading an officer is a wobbler offense based on the circumstances around the offense and your criminal history. However, most prosecutors charge you for felony evading an officer as a felony.
The penalties for a felony offense include formal probation or a prison sentence of at least 16 months to three years, and up to $10,000 in fines.
In case the prosecution charges you with a misdemeanor, the penalties include summary probation or between 6 months and one year in jail and up to $1000 in fines.
Other penalties include:
- Impoundment of the vehicle you drove during the chase for up to thirty days
- Driver’s license suspension
- Suspension of your commercial driver's license for one year or permanently for a repeat offense of reckless evading an officer in a commercial vehicle
VC 2800.3 Evading a Police Officer Resulting in the Death or Serious Injuries of Another Person
VC 2800.3 makes it a crime to seriously injure or kill another person while evading a police officer. Under this statute, you are guilty of the offense if:
- You evade a police officer
- In the process, you seriously injure or kill another person
In this case, the prosecution has to prove causation, that is, the death or injury is a natural or probable cause of your actions and that either could not have happened if you had not evaded the officer.
The prosecution will also consider the contribution your act of evading the officer contributed to the death or injury of the victim. For example, Jake is driving with drugs in his car. A police officer signals him to stop, but he proceeds to flee from the officer. In the ensuing chase, Jake runs through an intersection and hits a jaywalking pedestrian, killing him.
In this case, both the pedestrian and Jake have a role to play in the pedestrian's death. But since Jake's act of evading an officer could have been avoided and was a substantial cause of the death, Jake can be charged with evading an officer resulting in death.
For prosecution under this statute, the victims must have suffered serious bodily injury. The court determines where the victim suffered a serious bodily injury based on the circumstances of each offense. Some of the injuries that are considered serious bodily injury include:
- Concussions
- Loss of consciousness
- Loss or impairment of a body part of body function
- Serious disfigurements
- Bone fractures
- Wounds that need extensive suturing
Causing injury or death while evading a police officer is a wobbler offense depending on the circumstances surrounding the offense and your criminal history.
Misdemeanor evading an officer causing injury comes with the following penalties:
- Misdemeanor probation or up to a year in county jail
- A fine of between $2000 and $10,000
Anytime you cause the death of another person when evading an officer, the crime becomes a felony. The penalties for causing the death of another person while evading an officer include a state prison sentence of four, six, or ten years. You also lose your right to own a firearm.
Other penalties for evading an officer and causing serious bodily injury or death include:
- Up to 30 days’ impoundment of the vehicle you used to commit the offense
- Suspension of your driver’s license (for commercial drivers, your license will be suspended for a year and permanently if you have a prior offense of evading an officer under VC 2800.1, 2800.2, or 2800.3 and used a commercial vehicle to do so.)
Legal Defenses for Evading a Police Officer
Evading a police officer can leave you with a criminal conviction that might affect your employment prospects. Fortunately, you have the room and right to fight the charges against you in court.
Working with an attorney is the best strategy when facing these charges. An attorney helps you understand the charges you are facing, the legal implications, and the possible steps to fight these charges.
In addition, the attorney develops a defense strategy to fight these charges. Some of the arguments the attorney might use in your case include:
You Did Not Intend to Evade
For the prosecution to secure a conviction, it must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you acted with the specific intent to evade a pursuing police officer. However, if your actions were not willful or lacked the required intent, you can challenge the basis of the charges against you.
Some of the common reasons people unintentionally evade an officer include:
- You are in a neighborhood where you aren’t sure the pursuer is an officer
- You could not determine clearly whether the pursuer was an officer, for instance, due to poor visibility at night
- You were trying to avoid a potentially dangerous situation, which required you to get to a safer location to stop
- You are not aware that the officer is pursuing you (you have to demonstrate why you were not sure you were the one being pursued. For instance, an elderly patient with dementia might not be aware of the police pursuing them. in some cases, you might not have realized that an officer was pursuing you, but you stopped as soon as you realized they were pursuing you.)
The Pursuing Officer Was Not in a Distinctive Car or Uniform
Evading a police officer occurs when you intentionally flee or attempt to flee a pursuing police officer. For you to know that a police officer is pursuing you, their distinctive vehicle should have a red flashing light or a siren. If one of these is missing, you can try to challenge the charges against you with this defense.
You Did Not Flee the Police Officer Willfully
You must have willfully evaded an officer to be guilty of violating VC 2800.1. If you can prove that you did not act willfully, this is an ideal defense to fight the charges of fleeing an officer.
You Did Not Drive Recklessly
When charged with felony reckless evading, the prosecution should prove that you were driving recklessly. In California, the law defines reckless driving with a wanton disregard for safety. Actions that could show reckless driving include:
- Speeding
- Running stops signs or red lights
Even if you engaged in these acts, you could still argue that your actions were not based on a wanton disregard for safety but rather were due to necessity. For instance, if you were driving to a hospital for an emergency or fleeing a dangerous situation.
Saying your drove recklessly due to necessity is an admission that you drove recklessly but had no other choice but to drive so.
Illegal Stop
California requires that an officer demonstrate reasonable suspicion that you were involved in a crime. If the officer tried to stop you without a reasonable cause, you could use this as a defense. This is often applicable if you feared becoming a victim of a stop based on racial profiling.
You Did Not Cause Injury or Death of Another Person
For you to be guilty of evading an officer and causing injury or death (VC 2800.3), the prosecution must prove that your actions were the natural or proximate cause of an injury or death.
For example, while evading an officer in your neighborhood, an older man on the sidewalk has a heart attack and dies from the heart attack. While the prosecution might try to pin his death on you, the chase is not a natural or proximate cause of the heart attack. The heart attack happening during the chase could be a coincidence.
If the prosecution cannot prove that the victim’s injury or death could not have occurred were it not for your actions, you should not be guilty.
Note that you could still be charged with evading an officer as per VC 2800.1 and VC 2800.2 if the prosecution cannot prove that you caused the death or injury of the victim.
The Victim Did Not Sustain a Serious Injury
If you caused injury to another person while evading an officer, the prosecution must prove that the injury was serious. Proving this often requires the input of medical expert witnesses who can explain the type and extent of the injuries that the victim suffered. If you convince the court that the injuries were not serious, you can be charged with a lesser offense of evading an officer.
Involuntary Intoxication
Voluntary intoxication followed by driving is a crime and therefore cannot be used as a legal defense. However, if you were involuntarily intoxicated (by drugs or alcohol), you can use the defense of involuntary intoxication. This defense explains that you could not form the required intent to evade an officer in your intoxicated state.
Insufficient Evidence
Evidence is what gets you convicted for an offense. If the prosecution cannot provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate, without a reasonable doubt, that you were evading an officer, then you cannot be guilty of the offense.
However, this does not necessarily mean that you will not be charged for another offense. Depending on their evidence, you could be charged for one of the driving crimes related to evading a police officer.
Related Offenses
Different offenses involving evading an officer could result in several related charges for other driving and non-driving crimes in California. Some of the most common violations related to evading a police officer include:
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Disturbing the Peace
PC 415 makes it a crime to disturb another person with loud and unreasonable noise purposely. If, during the car chase, loud and disturbing noise was produced, you could be charged with disturbing the peace, even if the prosecution cannot prove all elements of evading an officer. Disturbing the peace is charged as either an infraction or a misdemeanor.
The offense attracts a fine of up to $400 or a sentence of up to 90 days in jail. Sometimes, the court requires you to spend time in jail and pay the fine.
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Reckless Driving
VC 23103 makes it a crime to drive on a highway or off-street parking facility with a wanton disregard for the safety of other people or property.
Reckless driving is an ideal plea bargain when facing charges of felony reckless evading. When charged with reckless driving, the prosecution must prove that:
- You were aware that your actions posed a substantial and unjustifiable risk of injuring another person or destroying property
- You intentionally ignored that risk
Reckless driving is a misdemeanor that carries a county jail term of between 5-90 days and a fine of up to $1000. The conviction also results in 2 points on your driver’s license. Accumulating points on your driver's license brings you closer to a license suspension and lead to higher insurance premiums as you would be considered a high-risk driver.
The court might also account for other factors, such as causing injury to another person. If you caused a minor injury to another person, you would face a minimum of 30 days, a maximum of one year in jail, and a fine of up to $1000 for the offense. If the victim suffers a serious injury, the crime is a wobbler.
The penalties for felony reckless driving causing serious injury include incarceration in state prison for up to three years and up to $10,000 in fines. Your vehicle is also likely to be impounded as a result. A felony conviction could also result in the loss of your firearm rights.
Depending on the circumstances of the offense, you could also be charged with reckless driving resulting in specific injuries or wet reckless.
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Vehicular Manslaughter
The prosecution may charge you with vehicular manslaughter if another person dies because you attempt to or evade a police officer. Vehicular manslaughter is a serious offense characterized by the following elements:
- You drove in negligently or unlawfully
- Resulting in the death of another person
A vehicular manslaughter is a form of negligent homicide which can be charged in three ways:
- Vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence
- Misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter
- Vehicular manslaughter for financial gain
You commit misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter when you:
- Commit an infraction or misdemeanor or a lawful act unlawfully while driving
- The act was dangerous to human life, given the circumstances
- You acted with ordinary negligence
- Someone died as a result
The penalties for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter include summary probation or a county jail sentence of up to a year and a fine of up to $1000.
Vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence occurs when you act with gross negligence. Gross negligence demonstrates a carelessness or recklessness than what a normal person would engage in, thus creating a higher risk of death.
For instance, a reasonable person would know that driving on an icy road was risky and that they should slow down. Therefore, if you drive on such a road at an excessive speed, you show a carelessness that exceeds what a reasonable person would do. If someone dies as a result, then you are guilty of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence is a wobbler, with the penalties varying based on your criminal history and the case circumstances.
When convicted of the offense as a misdemeanor, you face up to a year in jail and up to six years in prison for a felony conviction.
Vehicular manslaughter for financial gain occurs when you intentionally and knowingly participate in a collision to make a fraudulent insurance claim, and the collision results in the death of another person.
Vehicular manslaughter for financial gain is always charged as a felony with a potential prison sentence of up to ten years and up to $10,000 in fines.
Find a Santa Ana Criminal Defense Lawyer Near Me
Evading a police officer can result in serious charges that could impact your life years after the incident is over. Evading a police officer leaves a criminal record – and while you can expunge some related offense, the best defense starts long before you have a conviction.
Working with an experienced driving crimes attorney is always the first action you should take if you are arrested for evading an officer. Your attorney will help you develop a solid defense strategy and identify some of the legal issues present in your case.
California Criminal Lawyer Group works with defendants charged with various driving crimes across Santa Ana and neighboring cities. You can reach us for a free consultation at 714-844-4151.
