Citizen's arrest backfires

seamusTX · #1

http://news.galvestondailynews.com/stor ... e215f34d95

LEAGUE CITY â€” A motorist whoâ€™d called police about a person he thought was driving drunk wound up charged with a weapons violation. He was accused of following the car until it stopped and pulling a gun, police said.

Roy Wayne Polasek, 44, of Houston, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm. He was released from the Galveston County Jail on a $40,000 bond.

Polasek was driving south Sunday on Interstate 45 when he called 911 to report a vehicle weaving in traffic, League City police Lt. James Spencer said.

Polasek followed the vehicle through part of Houston and Webster and got off the interstate on FM 518, Spencer said.

When the driver pulled into a convenience store at 1818 W. Main St., Polasek pulled him out of the car and told him to stop driving, witnesses told police.

Some witnesses told police Polasek pulled a gun on the man, but others said they didnâ€™t see that, Spencer said.

Police reports said Polasek had a permit for a concealed gun and had the firearm in his pocket, Spencer said.

The 26-year-old driver was charged with public intoxication. Two other passengers in the vehicle, one 19, the other 21, were also charged with public intoxication.

- Jim

RPBrown · #2

First of all, why did he follow him? He is not LEO. Second, if he did pull a gun, he deserves to be arrested based on the info given. Now, what is the other side of the story?

phddan · #3

I wonder if he had his CHL Badge

Dan

HighVelocity · #4

I've called in to report possible impaired drivers on numerous occasions. Not once did I follow them if they got off the highway I was on. Call the police, give vehicle description, license plate # and location. That is all.

Target1911 · #5

I have and will follow them till they stop.....driveway, store, another bar.
BUT I KEEP DRIVING and tell 911, who has been on the phone since started folloing them, where they stopped. If you are telling 911 where the drunk is they can find them. IF you stop following the drunk, all they can do is keep their eyes open for them and there is a BIG possibility the drunk wont be seen again.

jbirds1210 · #6

Following drunk drivers down that stretch of highway could be a full time job for all of us! For those that do not get the pleasure of driving down I-45 between Galveston and the 610 loop......well you just haven't lived life to the fullest!

You could pick any car on a Friday night and have a 50-75% chance of them being intoxicated! (I have no reference for that statistic

)

I can't imagine following them to the store.....it is no secret they are just going to pick up a few more beers and they don't need my help for that. I slow down and let them go.

#7

phddan wrote:I wonder if he had his CHL Badge

Dan

Well, if he had, then he probably could have gotten away with it!

Rambo with a CHL...

seamusTX · #8

RPBrown wrote:First of all, why did he follow him? He is not LEO. Second, if he did pull a gun, he deserves to be arrested based on the info given. Now, what is the other side of the story?

Every citizen has the power to arrest for a felony or breach of the peace committed in plain view (Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 14.01).

Drunk drivers are dangerous. They're one of the most dangerous things we encounter in everyday life. Maybe Mr. Polasek has personal experience with a drunk driver, a loved one killed or injured.

Now, if he was trying to play Dirty Harry, maybe he deserves to be charged. But what if the drunk driver threatened him? It was one citizen against three drunks.

- Jim

mcub · #9

Good intentions aside, I still say either be a cop, or donâ€™t be a cop, playing cop is dangerous and you will almost always end up on the wrong side of the DA's desk.

seamusTX · #10

mcub wrote:Good intentions aside, I still say either be a cop, or donâ€™t be a cop, playing cop is dangerous and you will almost always end up on the wrong side of the DA's desk.

I agree that playing cop is dangerous, both physically and legally.

Most people would not hesitate to interfere if they saw a kidnapping or a woman being assaulted. Others draw the line elsewhere. We've had some pretty heated discussions about this.

- Jim

razoraggie · #11

jbirds1210 wrote:Following drunk drivers down that stretch of highway could be a full time job for all of us! For those that do not get the pleasure of driving down I-45 between Galveston and the 610 loop......well you just haven't lived life to the fullest!

You could pick any car on a Friday night and have a 50-75% chance of them being intoxicated! (I have no reference for that statistic )

I can't imagine following them to the store.....it is no secret they are just going to pick up a few more beers and they don't need my help for that. I slow down and let them go.

+1 on that!

My wife and I frequent downtown Houston quite a bit and the drive from downtown back to League City after hours can be quite adventuresome. We drive with our eyes peeled ahead of us and behind us.

Venus Pax · #12

We've called them in before but never followed them. I actually make it a point to stay away from them.
Seamus, however, has an excellent point. How many of us on this forum DON'T know someone that has been killed or seriously injured by a drunk driver? You don't have to think hard to remember stories told by acquaintances and friends.
Although I think it would be unwise to pull a gun in this instance (if indeed the article is accurate), I can understand one's desire to follow and keep an eye on everyone until the cops arrived.

mcub · #13

Venus Pax wrote:We've called them in before but never followed them. I actually make it a point to stay away from them.
Seamus, however, has an excellent point. How many of us on this forum DON'T know someone that has been killed or seriously injured by a drunk driver? You don't have to think hard to remember stories told by acquaintances and friends.
Although I think it would be unwise to pull a gun in this instance (if indeed the article is accurate), I can understand one's desire to follow and keep an eye on everyone until the cops arrived.

As a clarification, I donâ€™t object to the guy directing Leoâ€™s to a drunk driver, but taking the article for it word "â€¦Pulling .. ... out of the car.." is a fairly extreme act, the drunk could have killed him and actually had a decent "Fear for life" defense. If you search , even on this server, you will find storyâ€™s where well meaning friends following the â€œFriends donâ€™t let Friends drink and driveâ€? propaganda have been arrested and even convicted of Domestic violence. what society says, and what society practices is not the same.

#14

On several occasions I have called in a suspected DUI case and followed it until LEO(s) arrived and I could point out the vehicle and give them my contact info as a witness.

Most of the time I try to make sure the suspected DUI driver doesn't get spooked by me following them too close and try to loose me because they realize I am reporting them.

One case I called in recently as a possible DUI turned out to be a lady that was having a diabetic episode. When the police got there, they had a paramedic unit roll and they were able to help her get her insulin. I received a phone call back from one of the responding officers thanking me and also passing along thanks from the driver.

From my time as a LEO (years ago,) it is one of the most dangerous traffic stops you can make since the individual's common sense (whatever they normally have) is impaired by some type of substance. They are likely to run over you, want to fight, etc. You should never approach a vehicle yourself; leave it to the folks that have that as their job.

Renegade · #15

Unfortunately the "good intentions" of this CHL do not get recorded in the yearly DPS statistics of CHLs arrested/convicted.