A few days ago, Gary Busey, the actor, was pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI). The police were alerted when motorists on the late night highway saw a black Mercedes weaving on the road. When the police stopped the car, it turned out to be Busey driving. The people who'd alerted the cops stopped nearby in case they were to be asked for a statement.
About half a dozen officers, witnesses say, appeared on the scene and conducted a field sobriety test on Busey. Despite his weaving driving and apparent disarray, he passed the test and was let go. During Busey's roadside test, the middle-aged couple who'd alerted police took photos with their cell phones. A policeman approached them and told them to stop the picture taking and be on their way. As they left, one more photo was snapped.
That was enough for police to pull over the couple and arrest them for <em>"Obstructing a Peace Officer in His Duties."</em> This offense landed them five hours in jail. For taking pictures!
So now we must ask an important question: why is it that when someone takes a photo of a movie star, they are somehow "obstructing" whereas if the person being stopped for DUI had been just a regular guy, it's likely nobody would have cared about the photos?
Do you see anything wrong with what the couple was doing? By all accounts, it appears they didn't even leave their car and they weren't told to leave until well into the incident. So it's hard to justify an obstruction charge here. What do you think?
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