Fleeing a police officer is a criminal offense under California law VC 2800.1. It does not matter if the police officer is driving their patrol car or riding a motorcycle. For example, you could be driving and fail to hear or see the police signaling you to stop. However, the police could still pull you over and allege that you attempted to flee, resulting in criminal charges. Contact Foos Gavin Law Firm if you face charges under VC 2800.1 in Sacramento, CA. Our experienced attorneys will give you legal counsel and help you create a solid defense.  

The Offense Of Evading An Officer In California

Under VC 2800.1 in California, it is a crime for any person to evade the police in a vehicle willfully. If the prosecutor accuses you of violating VC 2800.1, he/she must prove some elements for you to face criminal charges. The elements include:

  • The police were pursuing you while driving a motor vehicle
  • You willfully fled from, attempted to elude, or intended to elude or evade the police while driving your vehicle
  • At least one visible red lamp was visible from the police vehicle’s front
  • You saw, or you reasonably should have seen, the light
  • The police vehicle’s siren was sounding audibly
  • The police car was marked distinctively
  • The police were in a distinctive uniform

Under VC 2800.1, you willfully commit an act if you do it on purpose or willingly. You do not need to show intent to break the law, hurt another person, or gain any advantage. Under this statute, the police must wear a distinctive uniform, and the pursuing police car must be distinctively marked. 

A distinctive uniform means legal clothing allowed by the law enforcement agency to distinguish or identify the force members. The police clothing does not have to be complete or of a certain level of formality. However, a police badge without any other police attire is inadequate to attract charges. 

A distinctively marked vehicle has features that are easily noticeable by other motorists. The features include:

  • Siren
  • A red lamp
  • At least one other feature that distinguishes it from other vehicles that are not used for law enforcement

It is upon the discretion of the jury or judge examining the facts of your case to determine whether the police were pursuing you. The jury or the judge will also decide whether or not you had the specific intent to evade the police.

Penalties For Evading An Officer In California

If you violate VC 2800.1 in California, you will face misdemeanor charges. Misdemeanor charges amount to the following penalties:

  • A fine that does not exceed $1,000
  • A jail term that does not exceed one year in a county jail

You will not face negative immigration consequences if the court convicts you of violating VC 2800.1. According to the United States immigration law, you can be deported if you are a non-citizen and face certain kinds of criminal convictions. You can also be deemed inadmissible in the United States. Fortunately, VC 2800.1 guilty charge is not among these types of convictions. 

Some misdemeanor and felony convictions could cause you to lose your right to own a gun in California. Some misdemeanor convictions also carry a 10-year firearm ban. However, the charges under VC 2800.1 cannot affect your gun rights. The charges for evading police in a vehicle cannot make you lose your gun ownership or face a ban from owning a gun. 

The good news is that if you are convicted under VC 2800.1, you can seek to have your charges expunged. The expungement of a criminal conviction under penal code 1203.4 releases you from virtually all the disabilities and penalties arising out of the charges. Penal code 1203.4 commands an expungement of a felony or misdemeanor conviction provided you meet the following:

  • You are not currently facing charges for a criminal offense, facing a jail term, or on probation.
  • You have completed probation, either misdemeanor probation or felony probation. Once you complete probation, you could attempt to have your charges expunged.

Defenses To Evading An Officer Charges

You can always attempt to challenge the charges of evading police with a legal defense. Some of the possible defenses could include:

  • No intent to evade
  • Lack of knowledge
  • Necessity
  • Threats or Duress
  • Alibi
  • Mistaken identity
  • No insignia or logos or
  • No red light and faint siren

If your charges reach trial, the district attorney will have a burden to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Lack Of Intent

To face evading an officer charge, the prosecutor must provide ample evidence indicating that you intentionally drove or ran away from the police. Often, your criminal attorney can use the lack of intent defense to challenge your evading arrest charge. A competent criminal defense attorney could be able to have your charges dropped or reduced if he/she shows that you did not intend to flee from the police.

Lack Of Knowledge

You could be driving, and you fail to see the police behind you, but you pull over after noticing that they are pursuing you and signaling you to stop. Such instances do happen many times in California. Police officers have varying thresholds of what they consider evading police with a vehicle. Some police officers will allege that you are evading them with a car if you do not immediately pull over and comply. Other police officers will use discretion and only arrest you for driving for a prolonged period without pulling over or if you were speeding and not responding.

A competent criminal defense attorney can allege that you did not know that the police were pursuing you or you did not see the police. Your lack of knowledge could give your criminal defense attorney an advantage in negotiating with the prosecutor. 

You Acted Out Of Necessity

You could be rushing to the hospital because of a severe condition or illness, and you fail to stop when the police stop you. While you are guilty of evading an officer, a valid necessity could eliminate or reduce your penalties.

Threats or Duress

If you provide substantial evidence that you were under duress or forced when you evaded the police, the court could excuse your actions. Typically, you will need to provide sufficient proof that you were under actual violence or a realistic threat of violence to be able to use such a defense in your evading police charges. 

Alibi Witness

You could have your evading an officer charges dropped or reduced if you maintain that you have an alibi and that you were not the driver. For such a defense to be valid, you will require an alibi witness to testify to your presence at a different location at the time of the alleged violation.

Mistaken Identity

If the prosecutor accuses you of violating VC 2800.1, he/she must have sufficient evidence that you were the vehicle's driver during the incident. For example, you could look like another person present during the evading police incident, yet you were not the vehicle's driver. The car could also have been yours, but you were not driving. If you prove beyond doubt that you are a victim of mistaken identity, the court could dismiss your charges.

No Insignia or Logos On

A marked police car does not necessarily have white and black colors. However, the vehicle must have insignia, logo, siren, a red lamp, or other characteristics that make it different from a civilian car—just having a siren and a red lamp are not enough to distinguish a police vehicle from other vehicles. Having an amber light is also not substantial proof. Your VC 2800.1 charges could be dismissed if the police vehicle displayed no insignia or logos that made it look different from the regular cars that most people drive.

No Red Light And A Faint Siren

If you face the VC 2800.1 charges in California, you could allege that there was no red light on the police car, and the siren was faint. 

The red light on the police vehicle must always be visible and the siren loud enough for every motorist to hear. In addition, under California law, the police car siren must be at least 115 decibels. Therefore, for you to face the charges of violating VC 2800.1, the prosecutor must establish the apparent calibration and testing to 115 decibels or above.

Related Offenses 

Other related crimes in California can be charged with VC 2800.1 offense. They include:

  • Felony reckless evading — VC 2800.2
  • Evading that causes injury or death — VC 2800.3
  • Disturbing the peace — Penal code 415

Felony Reckless Evading — VC 2800.2

This law makes it an offense for any person in California to do the following:

  • Evade a police officer in a motor vehicle
  • Drive with a wanton or willful disregard for the safety of property or persons

Evading an officer is defined under VC 2800.1 as a misdemeanor evading the police. If the prosecutor accuses you of evading an officer, the following must be applicable:

  • The police in a car was pursuing you
  • You willfully fled from or attempted to escape from the police in a motor vehicle
  • The police were in distinctive uniforms, and the police car was distinctively marked

For you to face criminal charges under VC2800.2, the prosecutor must prove the following:

  • The police vehicle had at least one visible red lamp visible from the front
  • You saw or reasonably should have seen the lamp
  • The police vehicle sounded a siren audibly
  • The police vehicle was also distinctively marked
  • The police were in a distinctive uniform

The police vehicle could be distinctively marked in the following ways:

  • Wig Wag lights or flash headlights
  • The name or the seal of a police department on the outside of the vehicle
  • Clear or flashing blue lights that are visible to the motorist being pursued

The critical factor that differentiates simple misdemeanor VC 2800.1 from VC 2800.2 is a requirement that you drive recklessly with wanton disregard for property or the safety of people. You could act with a wanton disregard for safety if you do the following:

  • You intentionally ignore a risk
  • You have the knowledge that your actions posed a risk of harm

You could act with this wanton disregard for human safety even if you do not intend to cause any damage or even if you do not cause harm. Under VC 2800.2, you could be considered to have driven with a wanton disregard for safety if you commit three or more traffic violations that are assigned a violation point count. The crimes could be valid regardless of how dangerous they were under the circumstances.

A mere evasion of a police officer while driving under the influence cannot amount to reckless evading. The driving need to be in relation to a wanton disregard for safety in addition to the act of driving while intoxicated

Penalties For Violating VC 2800.2

It is a wobbler crime in California to violate VC 2800.2. The prosecutor could charge you with a misdemeanor or felony based on your criminal history and the circumstances of the crime. 

The penalties you will face for misdemeanor charges include:

  • A fine that does not exceed $1000
  • Misdemeanor summary probation
  • A jail term of six months to one year in a county jail

However, most prosecutors in California often choose to charge VC 2800.2 as a felony. The felony charges are more serious, and you could face the following penalties:

  • A fine that does not exceed $10,000
  • A jail term of 16 months, two, or three years in a state prison
  • Felony formal probation

You will face the charges with only one count of reckless evading for every chase that led to the charges, regardless of the number of police or police vehicles that pursued you. In addition, if the judge convicts you of reckless evading, he/she will likely suspend your driver's license for some time as a condition of your probation. The judge will also impound the vehicle you used to flee the police for thirty days regardless of whether you are charged with a misdemeanor or a felony.

Defenses To VC 2800.2 Charges

  • The arrest was based on an illegal stop
  • The legal defense of voluntary intoxication
  • Insufficient evidence indicating that you drove recklessly
  • Insufficient evidence showing that you evaded an officer
  • Lack of specific intent

Evading That Causes Injury Or Death — VC 2800.3

It is illegal under VC 2800.3 for any person in California to do the following:

  • Evade the police in a motor vehicle
  • Cause serious bodily injury or death of another person while evading the police

The meaning of serious bodily injury is a severe impairment of a physical condition. The injuries that amount to serious bodily injuries include:

  • Bone fractures 
  • Serious disfigurement
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Protracted loss or impairment of a body part or function
  • Concussions
  • Wounds requiring extensive suturing

Penalties For Violation Of VC 2800.3

You could face penalties under VC 2800.3 in California based on whether your evasion caused the injury or death of another person. The offense could be a wobbler crime under California law if the alleged victim suffers a severe injury. The prosecutor could charge you with a misdemeanor or felony, depending on your criminal history and the circumstances of your crime. If the prosecutor charges the offense as a misdemeanor, you could face the following penalties:

  • A fine of between $2000 and $10,000
  • Misdemeanor summary probation
  • A jail term that does not exceed one year in a county jail

If the prosecutor charges the crime as a felony, you could face the following penalties:

  • A fine of between $2000 and $10,000
  • Felony formal probation
  • A jail term of three, five, or seven years in a state prison

If you kill someone while evading an officer, you could face felony charges. Your state prison jail term will be enhanced to four, six, or ten years. If the judge charges your crime of evading a police officer that causes injury or death as a felony, you will receive a ban from owning firearms in California after you complete your jail term. 

Additionally, if the judge convicts you under VC 2800.3, then he/she will do the following:

  • Suspend your driver’s license for a period as a condition of your probation
  • Impound the car in which you fled from an officer for thirty days

If you commit an offense of evading an officer, causing injury or death while holding a commercial driver's license, you will receive a suspension for one year.

Defenses To VC 2800.3 Charges

  • The injury was not serious
  • There is insufficient evidence
  • Your driving was not a cause of injury or death
  • No intention to evade

Disturbing The Peace — Penal Code 415

Under PC 415 of the California law, it is a crime for any person to disturb the peace, such as getting into a fight with another person, using offensive language, or playing excessively loud music. If the prosecutor charges you for disturbing the peace by fighting with another person, he/she must prove the following elements:

  • You unlawfully and willfully fought another person or challenged someone else to fight
  • The challenge or the fight took place in a public place

You would not face the charges under PC 415 if you acted in self-defense. You will not face the charges provided that by acting in self-defense:

  • You reasonably believed you were about to suffer bodily harm
  • You reasonably thought that using force was necessary for your protection or to protect someone else
  • You applied less force to defend yourself against the danger

If the prosecutor charges you for disturbing the peace by using offensive language, he/she must prove the following elements:

  • You used offensive language that could likely cause a violent reaction
  • You used the language in a public place

You could use offensive language that could likely cause a violent reaction if:

  • You make a statement  that is reasonably likely to make another person react violently
  • You make that statement, and there is a present and clear danger that someone else will immediately cause violence

You do not have to intend to provoke a violent response to be guilty of a crime under PC 415. 

You will not be guilty of this offense if you reasonably believe that your language was not likely to provoke a violent reaction.

Penalties For PC 415 Charges

It is a wobbler offense in California to violate the California PC 415. The prosecutor could charge you with a misdemeanor or infraction depending on your criminal history and the facts of your case. The penalties you could face include:

  • A fine that does not exceed $400
  • A jail term that does not exceed 90 days
  • Both fine and a jail term

It is unlawful under PC 415.5 for a person to disturb the peace on the university, college, and school grounds. If you are not a school student or staff member, you will face the same punishment as disturbing the peace under PC 415. However, if you have any prior convictions for offenses that took place on the school grounds like as disturbing the peace, you could face the following punishment:

  • A jail term that does not exceed three months
  • A fine that does not exceed $1,000

Penal code 415 is always used as a plea bargain tool in California. If this occurs, a defense attorney negotiates a PC 415 conviction instead of a more serious crime, such as:

  • Making criminal threats — penal code 422
  • California domestic violence charges
  • Lewd conduct in public-penal code 647 (a)
  • Prostitution —penal code 647 (b)

Defenses To PC 415 Charges

  • Self-defense
  • Falsely accused
  • No criminal intent
  • Behavior was constitutionally protected

Find A Criminal Attorney Near Me

Evading an officer under VC 2800.1 is a serious offense. If you or someone you know faces criminal charges for evading an officer, it is crucial to contact an experienced California criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. The attorney will help protect your rights and create a defense strategy. At Foos Gavin Law Firm, we have experienced attorneys with a thorough understanding of the law. They will help you obtain the best outcome in your case in Sacramento, CA. Call us at 916-779-3500 and talk to one of our attorneys.