Attorney Page Pate is frequently contacted by the media to give his opinion about important legal issues in the news. In this case, 11 Alive News interviewed Page regarding several common questions that have arisen in the Roderick Walker case in Clayton County, Georgia.
Page was first asked if it is legal for a police officer to ask a person who is a passenger in a vehicle for identification when the driver of the vehicle is pulled over for a traffic violation. Page explains that there isn’t actually a law about this and says that “it’s a question of interpretation. What is reasonable? You can absolutely pull a car over if you have reason to believe that there’s a traffic violation and obviously those passengers are going to be detained too.” He further explains that the district attorney will ultimately decide whether the officer had a good enough reason, and says “Either the detention of the passenger for the identification is lawful or it’s not. If it’s not lawful, then everything the officer did from that point forward to hold on to Mr. Walker, even aside from punching him in the face, just holding on to him is a crime.”
Page is also asked about the release of Mr. Walker given the firing of the officer for excessive force. Clayton County Sheriff Hill has said that Mr. Walker has to first resolve outstanding warrants he has in Fulton County before he can be released, and because of that the Court denied the signature bond that Sheriff Hill ordered. Page explains that Clayton County’s action is correct, because “if he has a pending hold from another county, say he’s got a probation hold from a different county or a pending arrest warrant from some other county, then Clayton County cannot decide on their own to let him go. They have to get clearance from wherever this other case may be pending.”
Lastly, Page is asked if the firing of the deputy can impact any potential lawsuits that might arise. Page explains that “Normally, if that officer is still employed by the county then the county is going to step up, defend the officer in the case and pay any damages. But if they’ve cut ties with that officer, they’re basically saying he’s on his own. So Clayton County’s not responsible for this, that officer is. And you want to go after somebody, you go after the officer.” He notes that many individuals don’t have the insurance or assets that would be worth pursuing.
TRANSCRIPT
Aisha: …tonight La’Tasha Givens is showing the video to an attorney to get you answers to your top three questions.
La’Tasha: Eleven Alive viewers reached out to us wanting to know if a deputy can legally ask a passenger for I.D. when the driver is pulled over for a traffic violation. Attorney Page Pate gives his legal perspective.
Page: There’s no law in place. It’s a question of interpretation. What is reasonable? You can absolutely pull a car over if you have reason to believe that there’s a traffic violation and obviously those passengers are going to be detained too.
La’Tasha: Pate says the district attorney ultimately decides if the deputy had a good enough reason.
Page: Either the detention of the passenger for the identification is lawful or it’s not. If it’s not lawful, then everything the officer did from that point forward to hold on to Mr. Walker, even aside from punching him in the face, just holding on to him is a crime.
La’Tasha: Another question, can Walker legally be released since the deputy was fired for excessive use of force? Sheriff Victor Hill says he ordered a signature bond but the court denied it because Walker has outstanding warrants in Fulton County which must be resolved first.
Page: Clayton County is correct. If he has a pending hold from another county, say he’s got a probation hold from a different county or a pending arrest warrant from some other county, then Clayton County cannot decide on their own to let him go. They have to get clearance from wherever this other case may be pending.
La’Tasha: And another top question, could the deputy being fired impact potential lawsuits?
Page: Normally, if that officer is still employed by the county then the county is going to step up, defend the officer in the case and pay any damages. But if they’ve cut ties with that officer, they’re basically saying he’s on his own. So Clayton County’s not responsible for this, that officer is. And you want to go after somebody, you go after the officer.
La’Tasha: And Pate says in many cases individuals don’t often have the same insurance or assets that counties have that are actually worth going after in a civil lawsuit.
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