Posted on 03/10/2010 10:41:43 PM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - Thurstle Mullen and his wife Helen Holiday are wondering how a seemingly good deed ended so badly.
"It was very alarming to me that my husband was trying to be a Good Samaritan, and be arrested," Holiday said Tuesday.
Mullen was charged Monday with three misdemeanors, including assault, after he confronted a suspected drunk driver.
"The only regret I have is not stopping him sooner," Mullen said.
Mullen claims he followed the man for more than 20 minutes beginning along a stretch of I-40 near Whitten Road. That's where he claims the man struck the concrete divider.
"And he was just obviously drunk," Mullen said.
Mullen dialed 911 and continued to pursue the driver while he spoke with an operator the entire time.
"Begging them to stop this guy before he kills somebody," says Mullen.
Mullen said things finally came to an end as they approached a crosswalk in front of Kirby Middle School in Hickory Hill. There, he said, a guard and two children were in the crosswalk when the suspected drunk driver slammed on his breaks.
"I thought he was going to kill those kids," Mullen said.
Mullen blocked the driver using his red Honda. Then, he removed the man from the driver's seat by placing him a headlock.
"When I let go of him, he nose-dived into the pavement," Mullen said. "He didn't even attempt to catch himself. He was definitely, definitely wasted."
But at least one witness told police Mullen struck the man. That explains the assault charge.
"I can guarantee he didn't hit that guy," Holiday said.
Despite the words of one officer, Mullen says he'd step in again if he felt lives were in danger.
"He said, 'I don't disagree with what you did, but there's a fine line, and you crossed that line when you laid your hands on the man'," Mullen said.
Police arrested the other driver after they say he refused a blood alcohol test. Mullen and his wife would like for charges against him to be dropped.
“slammed on his breaks”? At least his breaks weren’t broke!
Citizens arrest of somebody in a car can be risky I suppose. This was daytime when kids and crossing guards were out. I’d think this implies a school zone with a lowered speed limit. Nobody on patrol?
There’s never a cop around when you need one. (And I can say that as an ex-cop. That’s why every home needs a firearm.)
Followed him for 20 minutes with not a cop to be seen. Good thing no one was killed.
Are either or both Negroes?
The idiot was lucky he wasn’t shot. If he’d come to my car and attempted to drag me out in a head lock.... well, let’s just say that he might not be worrying about well-deserved assault charges today.
Vigilantism is a slippery slope. What if the guy was a diabetic with his sugar out of whack. It happens.
If this citizen can’t stop a drunk determined to kill someone by grabbing him, then police shouldn’t be allowed to grab or shoot a bad guy either. Needs to be a standard here.
How many cops have pulled drivers out of their cars, beat them to a pulp only to find out later the guy or girl wasn't drunk but having a diabetic episode?
This is a case of a Good Samaritan doing nothing more than performing a citizens arrest.
According to Tennessee Law An arrest may be made either by:
(1) An officer under a warrant;
(2) An officer without a warrant; or
(3) A private person.
40-7-109. Arrest by private person — Grounds. —
(a) A private person may arrest another:
(1) For a public offense committed in the arresting person's presence;
(2) When the person arrested has committed a felony, although not in the arresting person's presence; or
(3) When a felony has been committed, and the arresting person has reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested committed the felony.
(b) A private person who makes an arrest of another pursuant to the provisions of §§ 40-7-109 — 40-7-115 shall receive no arrest fee or compensation for the arrest.
39-11-621. Use of deadly force by private citizen. —
A private citizen, in making an arrest authorized by law, may use force reasonably necessary to accomplish the arrest of an individual who flees or resists the arrest; provided, that a private citizen cannot use or threaten to use deadly force except to the extent authorized under self-defense or defense of third person statutes, §§ 39-11-611 and 39-11-612.
That is not even a little bit relevant here until “Hate Crime” comes up
Then he still needed to be stopped and removed from the driver’s seat of the car. The fact that most people can’t tell the difference means that an ambulance should have been called in either case.
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