A reason necessary to keep drivers detained

Your article on the suppression case (Dec. 12, 2010), does not state the facts correctly. The truck driver did not “mistakenly believe” he was pulled over. When police lights flash in the rear-view mirror, the law requires a driver to pull over to the side of the road and wait for instructions, or for the police to pass.

The argument was whether a driver can leave after the police car stops in front of his vehicle rather than behind it, and all three judges in the Court of Appeals agreed that he cannot. The split decision was whether the law also requires an officer to have a reason to keep a driver detained instead of motioning him to move on, and the majority ruled that a reason is indeed necessary.

VAL THORNTON

Sandpoint