09-09-2007, 04:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-09-2007, 04:04 AM by Chesspiece_face.)
Quote:Wrong. The officer might have been well within his rights to ask for identification. Of course, asking for the driver's license is simply a faster way of doing so, but when the man refused, the officer should have said, "I need you to provide me with some kind of identification", not arrest the man because he refuses to show his driver's license (as there is no law that I am aware of which specifically states that you must show your driver's license upon a police officer's request, unless you're operating a vehicle).
Herein lies the sticky area of the issue as far as the law goes. The police officer is completely in the right to ask for identification. Not specifically a driver's license because, when you get right down to it, all a driver's license is is a permit to operate a moter vehicle. As the guy was not operating a vehicle he was under no obligation to produce a driver's license as identification. If the officer asked the guy to produce identification and he didn't have identification on him the officer has the right to detain him until the man can be properly identified (he would not be legally under arrest at this point.) If the officer asked the man to produce identification, but not specifically ask for a driver's license, and the guy had a driver's license on him (which he admits he did) but the man still refused to show this identification in the form of a driver's license the officer has every right to arrest him for obstructing a police investigation. The little things here make all the difference as far as the law is concerned.
The man had identification on him in the form of a driver's license.
If the officer asks specifically for a driver's license the man is allowed to refuse to show it.
If the officer asks for identification in general however, and the man refuses to show the driver's license he has on him than the man can be detained until his identification can be established and if it is found out that he had his driver's license on him after the officer asked for identification he can be placed under arrest for obstructing a police investigation.
As the case is presented, so far, it is clear that the officer was not in his rights to arrest the man for not producing a driver's license specifically.