I was watching Stargate SG-1 last night (I know, not exactly the MOST accuracte show out there, but stay with me), when one of the lead characters needs to give chase to a car. He walks up to a motorcyclist, flashes a badge, and declares “I’m commandeering this vehicle!” or some such. Immediately my girlfriend and I turn to eachother and ask “Can he do that?”
Now, in this case, it doesn’t really matter, as the character isn’t exactly a by-the-book player. But I fear that one day I’ll be sitting at a stoplight in my 1993 Integra, with missing hubcaps and more than its share of dents and bruises, and a officer of the law, or US Military official will knock on my window and demand I surrender my vehicle so that he (or she) can hunt down a terrorist.
At first glance, commandeering appears to be prohibited by the fourth amendment, but I’m curious if there’s any court cases which have directly spelled out the legality of it.
If you were chasing a known terrorist and believed that the life of unknown hundreds or thousands of innocent lives may be destroyed if he escapes, wouldn’t you be willing to commit a simple crime to ensure the successful capture? I would!
It’s unlikely you would be prosecuted for it. And if you were, it is even less likely you actually would be convicted by a jury of your peers.
If a cop or something pulls off this stunt, it is carjacking. It’s illegal. But it’s worth a try in a situation that warrants it. If the first guy whose vehicle you try to take tells you to get bent, then try the next one. You’d have no authority to make someone comply.
My search-fu is lacking, but a a few years back, someone in the U.K. was arrested or prosecuted for not assisting in a Hue & Cry. IIRC he didn’t want to leave his children unattended. Not so recently, there was also the case of a learner driver who taking his test when he was flagged down by a policeman and told, “Follow that car!”
That happened in Real Life? I laughed so much about it when they used that in one of the “Naked Gun”-movies.
That poor person though - as if taking the test wasn’t enough stress!
