Story Archive

Stop Right There

Saginaw Valley State University (Mich.) Police Officer Leon Wilson saw what he thought was a car he’d seen driving on a sidewalk earlier, so he turned on his lights to pull the car over. But the car didn’t pull over. Instead the driver, DaJuawn Wallace, continued down the road until it got to a well-lit parking lot. “I live in Detroit, and I know some people who were robbed by fake police officers,” Wallace, 24, said. “I was taught to find a well-lit area to pull over in.” Wilson arrested Wallace on a charge of felony fleeing and eluding. Prosecutors offered Wallace a plea deal, bumping charges down to a misdemeanor without jail time, but Wallace refused. “I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. Eventually, prosecutors dismissed the charges. “It was a unique set of facts and situation,” Chief Prosecutor Christopher Boyd said. He said that though there are situations where people may need to pull into a well-lit area, “That’s not true for all situations.” (MS/Saginaw News) ...But you won’t know if it’s one of those situations until it’s too late.