Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

i was arrested for being in a park after hours, and for fleeing a peace officer, i have no priors. Im curious what i am looking at as far as fine, criminal record, etc.

The story... i went for a walk one evening, drinking a beer on my way when i had to take a leak. I walked into a park at the corner of the street, took a leak, and was preparing to leave when headlights came into the park. Initially i did not realize it was a cop, as it was midnight, and there was playground equipment between me and the parking lot. When i saw headlights, i took off out of the park. The officer apparently saw me and chased me for about 200 feet and then said "stop running or i will taze you" (this is when i realized that he was a police officer, he NEVER identified himself as one prior to this comment, although he did yell "hey" and "what are you doing" as i was running out of the park. When he said stop or i'll taze you, i immediately stopped). i was cited for fleeing a peace officer (609-487-6) and being in a city park after 10 pm (city ordinance 1135.015(1)). In his report, the officer now claims that he DID in fact identify himself as a police officer, so i have that to deal with, but my main question is is there a way to keep this from showing up on my record?


Asked on 7/07/12, 12:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas C. Gallagher Gallagher Criminal Defense

Multiple government agencies keep public records relating to criminal history. They generally record a summary of events by date. Once charged with a crime, the best that can be done is to avoid a conviction or guilty plea, since either will generally make a statutory expungement motion under Minn Stat Ch 609A unsuccessful. Of the two charges, the city ordinance violation seems relatively minor, and would likely be perceived that way if there was a guilty plea or conviction. On the other hand, fleeing a police officer - even on foot - is generally perceived as a serious crime, especially by future police officers. As a result, it would be important to avoid pleading guilty or being convicted of fleeing. A person is not guilty of fleeing, unless they reasonably should have known a police officer had commanded them to stop. Bottom line: retain a good criminal lawyer and fight to keep your record clean.

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Answered on 7/07/12, 2:01 pm


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