Citizen's Arrest Rules Tested By Former Lodi Police Chief

[Tonya]

Citizen's Arrest Rules Tested By Former Lodi Police Chief


LODI, Calif., 6:05 p.m. PDT October 24, 2003 - The rules for making a citizen's arrest are being put to the test in the Central Valley because of something that recently happened on the streets of Lodi.

The question is, did a former police chief go too far when he pulled over a teenager for speeding?

Larry Hansen said he was driving on Elm Street in Lodi past an elementary school when he first noticed a teenager in a blue pickup pull up behind him.

"I watched him in my rearview mirror, and I hear him breaking traction. (Reporter: Squealing?) Squealing tires," Hansen said.

Hansen said the teenager pulled into the middle turning lane, passed him and four other cars, and continued on at double the legal speed limit.

"I've seen many things before. I've not got involved in it. But I had some real concerns about this one. I just felt like I had a duty here," Hansen said.

Hansen used his cell phone to call police, then he followed the teenager's pickup for more than a mile. When the teen stopped, Hansen pulled him out of the pickup and announced he was placing him under citizen's arrest.

A neighbor said he watched as Hansen physically restrained the teen until police arrived. And Hansen knows how to arrest because that's what he used to do for a living. He was Lodi's police chief until three years ago. Now he's retired.

But Brannan Frey -- who was riding in the pickup with the teenager and who was also arrested -- said they had no idea who Hansen was and why he was chasing them through the streets.

"We didn't really know who he was. So we were scared. I didn't know who he was. So I wanted to get out of there for our safety," Frey said.

The teenager who Hansen arrested now faces reckless-driving charges. But his mother said Hansen had no right to do what he did and that his chase could have caused an accident. She also said her son was bruised during the arrest, so she wants Hansen criminally charged.

"We're going to gather all the statements of the people involved and simply present the case to the district attorney," said Lodi police Capt. Davis Main.

Hansen said he has no regrets about what he did, and he feels he had every right to make a citizen's arrest in this case. But he said he would not recommend other people in his position do the same.

Just wondering what you all think about this story...

[Corinna]

Sounds like a good thing except he was once a cop and even when they retire they have the rules to respect as an officer. A civiilan arrest can't touch the person only block the way to restrain ,from all that I have heard. Hubby was a reserve city cop for a while.

[Soledad]

There are already enough deaths due to police car chases, I shudder to think what would happen with ordinary civilians joining in.

[Logan]

Soledad, I have to agree with you on this one. But in a way, I'm also glad the guy did what he did!!!

About four weeks ago, I was hit by a teenage driver, who had four passengers. My car sustained about $4000 worth of damage and had not a scratch on it before that (I bought it with 2 miles on it....it is 2002 model). The things that burned me up the most were 1) The kid wasn't supposed to be driving after dark...he had a restricted license as he was 16 years old. 2) His restricted license limited him to one passenger during his legal driving hours, and here he was driving at 10 pm and had four passengers (all teenagers). 3) When "Mom" arrived at the scene, before the highway patrol, the boy's apologies stopped and all the sudden, I had moved over into his lane (what kind of message is she sending??) Because there were no witnesses to the accident, the patrolman didn't charge either of us as he said that if he couldn't produce "physical" evidence, it would fall apart in court, but he told my husband (who came after the accident), and me, that he would support me if I went after the boy in civil court, 4) Boy was driving a Land Rover at 16 years old.

Mom worsened the situation by refusing to allow my insurance company to talk with her son or to take pictures of his car. We got pictures after all because my husband found their house and took pictures of their drivable vehicle, as mine sat in our driveway, and we couldn't even open the door. Turned out that Mom decided not to report the accident to her insurance company too. Guess who did?? ME!!! And guess who is paying for the repairs to my vehicle?? His insurance company. My persistance and patience paid off. But I've been without my car for over 4 weeks now and it will be at least another week before I get it back. We chose to let it sit, rather than have my insurance pay for the damages. And it was worth it.

Now to my point......someone has to hold these drivers, kids or otherwise, responsible for what they do. That's why I praise the guy for doing what he did. I don't even know if citizen's arrests are legal in this state and I wouldn't have the nerve to do one, but I'm sort of glad they got busted. I hope it will hold up in court. If parents don't become accountable for their kid's behavior, I fear the repurcussions later in life. I felt so strongly that the mother of the driver that hit me was sending all the wrong messages to her son. It was funny that his story changed when he spoke with the insurance adjuster....he admitted to being in the left lane and changing his mind and decided to turn right. He never saw me.....go figure!!!

[gini]

Has the world gone mad? When is it that parent's take responsibility for their children's actions and use this opportunity to teach them a lesson before they are killed in a senseless auto accident?

Oh, all of a sudden the kids were "scared" because they didn't know who was following them. What about back there when they were going double the speed limit and passing cars like crazy and driving recklessly They weren't scared then were they?

We have stopped police car chases here in LA County because they are dangerous. Now the police just follow the person at a safe distance.

This reminds me of a very minor accident that happend on our street. Boys were skateboarding and one boy fell off his board and hit his head. The boys had bumped each other and he was hurt. The mother arrived and started screaming at the father of the other boy. I am going to sue you! I am going to sue you!

I calmly asked "where is your boys helmet?" It is a law that skakeboarders wear a helmet - where is his helmet? No response. In the meantime the father was comforting the boy, covering him with a jacket and checking his injury. The mother kept screaming about how she was going to sue him for everything he had. She was not tending to her son. So what was her priority?

It is a shame that there are not mandatory classes for good parenting.

[Twisterdog]

Yesterday my son and I attended the funeral of a 13 year old girl who went to school with my son. She was hit crossing the street, in the crosswalk, by a speeding teenager.

In January my cousin was hit on the sidewalk in front of his house and killed in front of his two grade school age children, by a speeding teenager.

Sorry, I have no sympathy for a "scared" and "bruised" teenager who was "squealing tires", and who "pulled into the middle turning lane, passed him and four other cars, and continued on at double the legal speed limit."

If he wasn't acting like a dangerous a$$, then he wouldn't have any reason to be scared, now would he? Obey the law and you have nothing to worry about. Better he be a little scared and learn a lesson, then kill a pedestrian or passengers in another car.

[Tonya]

There are already enough deaths due to police car chases, I shudder to think what would happen with ordinary civilians joining in.

I am the first to say that I can't stand punk drivers. But I don't think it makes the world any safer to have a civilian chasing them.