TexasCHLforum.com

philip964 wrote:

thenick_ttu wrote:

gigag04 wrote:My advice to te officer and the woman, is to pick your battles carefully.

I have some what been supportive of this lady, sticking to her convictions, going to jail in support of the first amendment, etc. However.

On the other hand, making a police officer's job harder is really not in her best interest. Serve and Protect. Today that officer was making a little revenue for the city, which keeps her taxes low, but he was also keeping the traffic from being out of control. Without the police writing a few tickets everyday, traffic would probably go insane. Nobody likes traffic tickets, but it makes us all better drivers, whether we like it or not.

No doubt this same lady, hearing a strange noise at night, will be the first to call 911 to come out and investigate, probably at no time seeing the irony of how she picks her battles.

I really don't know the motives of the lady. Maybe she thought that she was doing a good deed by warning drivers to slow down. I doubt that she was looking for a battle with the police or that she was making a statement about her first amendment rights.

Katygunnut wrote:

jimlongley wrote:

recaffeination wrote:

Keith B wrote:Article says 'walking in a roadway when a sidewalk is present.' So, apparently she had parked her bike and was standing out there with her homemade sign. This is the transportation code she was breaking http://law.onecle.com/texas/transportat ... 06.00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They should arrest the firemen standing in the street asking for donations.

They usually have permits.

I'm shocked to learn that this is illegal in Houston. I moved here about 5 years ago, and I routinely see people walking between cars that are stopped at intersections (asking for money). In fact, it is common to see people standing in the middle of two lanes while cars are zipping by on both sides of them in certain spots. The south access road for I-10 at the Gessner intersection is one place where I see the latter happen all the time. I have never seen a LEO enforce this, and yes I have seen LEO's drive right by such people.

At first I thought it was weird, but after seeing how people in Houston drive, I've just decided that people here place very little value on their lives.

There are hundreds of people every Sunday selling the Houston Chronicle while standing on the dividers and walking into the street.

Rex B wrote:Wasn't there a recent federal court ruling that this was a form of protected speech?

There was one case I read that flashing your lights to warn drivers about a speed trap was ruled by a court as "free speech."

Keith B wrote:

chasfm11 wrote:

Keith B wrote:Don't disagree Bill, but it goes to show that if a cop knows the laws, there is probably something you can use to cite someone on if you want to.

But isn't the "walking on the roadway when there is an existing sidewalk" the equivalent of J walking (crossing the street at other than a corner) and subject to a fine, not jail time? It is the trip with the connected bracelets that has me puzzled in this case. I didn't think that this kind of a misdemeanor could be used to take you to jail.

I'm sure there is more to the story than we know from the article. Either way, the cop should have just moved to another locaiton temporarily and then came back in 15 minutes after she had left. Would have been much easier for both parties.

I wonder if he gave the woman an opportunity to leave before he arrested her.

Keith B wrote:Don't disagree Bill, but it goes to show that if a cop knows the laws, there is probably something you can use to cite someone on if you want to.

And that is a very scary thought. Most people don't care when these laws get used to arrest a BG when they can't get them for anything else or to hold them until they can build a case. It's only when they are used against a "good guy" that people object.

Keith B wrote:Article says 'walking in a roadway when a sidewalk is present.' So, apparently she had parked her bike and was standing out there with her homemade sign. This is the transportation code she was breaking http://law.onecle.com/texas/transportat ... 06.00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks Keith. How would you like to lose your CHL for displaying a paperbag on the side of a road? I can't figure out a way to describe this arrest without violating Forum Rule #1.

Does anybody know what law she broke?

Sec.A38.05 HINDERING APPREHENSION OR PROSECUTION

(a) person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the arrest,
prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for an offense
or, with intent to hinder the arrest, detention, adjudication, or
disposition of a child for engaging in delinquent conduct that
violates a penal law of the state, or with intent to hinder the
arrest of another under the authority of a warrant or capias, he:

(1)harbors or conceals the other;

(2)provides or aids in providing the other with any means of avoiding arrest or effecting escape; or

(3)warns the other of impending discovery or apprehension.

(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(3) that the warning was given in connection with an effort to bring another into compliance with the law.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

(d) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree if the person who is harbored, concealed, provided with a
means of avoiding arrest or effecting escape, or warned of
discovery or apprehension is under arrest for, charged with, or
convicted of a felony, including an offense under Section 62.102,
Code of Criminal Procedure, or is in custody or detention for, is
alleged in a petition to have engaged in, or has been adjudicated as
having engaged in delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of
the grade of felony, including an offense under Section 62.102,
Code of Criminal Procedure, and the person charged under this
section knew that the person they harbored, concealed, provided
with a means of avoiding arrest or effecting escape, or warned of
discovery or apprehension is under arrest for, charged with, or
convicted of a felony, or is in custody or detention for, is alleged
in a petition to have engaged in, or has been adjudicated as having
engaged in delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of the grade
of felony.