Walk It Through: Stopped on the Sidewalk
An officer asks for a name, a friend starts filming, and silence that is not obstruction.
An officer stops a person walking near a car break in and asks who they are.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A street stop that ends without an arrest. An arrest, a search of a bag, and a stop in a car are left to other walkthroughs.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Stopping of a suspectA peace officer who reasonably suspects a crime may stop a person and require their name and address, identification if available, and an explanation of their actions. The stop is not an arrest.
- Obstructing a peace officerUsing or threatening violence, force, physical interference or an obstacle to knowingly obstruct, impair or hinder the enforcement of the law. It is a class 2 misdemeanor.
- EavesdroppingKnowingly overhearing or recording a conversation, by a person not visibly present, without the consent of at least one of the principal parties. It is a class 2 misdemeanor.