RCMP Staff Sgt. Jerry Nutbrown brings you behind the scenes with a serious of columns taking you behind police work and how it’s done in our community. If you have a question you think needs to be answered in Behind the Bison, send it to admin@borderpulse.ca and we will be sure to share it with him.
There are many provincial and federal government Acts that require people to obey a peace, and/or police, officer’s direction. There is not enough room here to go into all the sources granting peace/police officers authorities but as a quick note, all police officers are peace officers, but not all peace officers are police officers. Sheriffs and Community Peace Officers are peace officers but not police officers. I will just provide the authorities in general but feel free to research which laws apply to which officers.
Common Acts that provides officers authorities are those related to vehicles/conveyances such as the Alberta Traffic Safety Act and Saskatchewan’s The Traffic Safety Act, and their regulations. For these Acts, please remember that a driver’s licence is a privilege and not a right. There are many circumstances in which a driver’s licence can be seized therefore prohibiting the person from legally driving.
Are drivers legally required to stop or obey an officer? Yes. Traffic acts also include authority for officers to direct traffic in contravention of the Act. An example of this would be at a collision scene where we may keep traffic flowing through a red light or stop sign rather than have everyone stop.
I was recently in court when a driver was there as she had not stopped for an officer. She had been stopped by them but then upon leaving the stop committed another driving offense but did not stop for the officer who was again behind her with lights and siren on. The judge found her guilty because she had the legal obligation to stop again.
For drivers, this could also be an officer on foot and directing a driver(s) to stop or pull over. This holds the same authority as if the officer was in a vehicle with their emergency equipment on. Traffic safety legislation provides much authority for officers to direct traffic as necessary. An officer can’t arbitrarily do whatever they want as they may need to justify their actions to a judge in court. Reasonableness is often the threshold that needs to be met in the eyes of a court.
There are criminal driving offenses defined in the Criminal Code which includes failing to stop for an officer. The Criminal Code was recently updated where motor vehicles now fall under the definition of a conveyance. Section 320.17 speaks specifically to failing to stop for a peace officer. The specific circumstances would dictate the difference in proceeding with a violation ticket or a criminal charge.
The best advice I can give is to stop or pull over when driving if you wonder in the slightest if an officer is trying to stop you. Even if they aren’t trying to stop you, you are legally obligated to pull over and then they will just keep going if it isn’t you the officer is after.
A quick online search will show explanations of your rights upon being pulled over, and yes, you have rights that are required to be exercised by the officer.
Read more: Behind the Bison – Second chances
