Let’s take a quick introductory look in today’s Shazam Kianpour & Associates blog post at a police/citizen interaction that gets somewhat volatile. We’ll examine that exchange from the perspective of both an arrested individual and a Colorado prosecutor.
Imagine yourself as the detained party in the above scenario. From your perspective, you did nothing wrong that even warranted being stopped and questioned by a trooper or police officer in the first place.
In fact, you will attest to anybody that you were reasonably cool, under control and well aware of the power politics/imbalance inherent under the circumstances. In your view, the officer became aggressive, ratcheted up tensions to the point that you admittedly got upset and – suddenly – were placed in handcuffs for allegedly resisting arrest and failing to obey a lawful order.
Now here’s the prosecutor’s take after perusing the police report of the incident: The cop was right, you were wrong, and you are now going to be facing some serious criminal charges. You could even be cited for a felony offense.
Candidly, that is just about the way it goes every time in Colorado where a resisting arrest/failure to obey matter comes to the fore. We flatly note from long defense experience at our firm that a prosecutor gauging whether to believe your version or that of a cop concerning a stop “will take the police officer’s word every single time.”
That reality necessitates a promptly delivered, aggressive and results-oriented defense. The “facts” surrounding a police encounter are often muddied, ambiguous and spun in flatly one-sided fashion. A proven defense team will ensure that a balanced and nuanced version of reality is presented to a judge.
That intervention can help promote an optimal result for an individual who might otherwise be saddled with a truly adverse outcome.