EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — An attorney breaks down the dos and don’ts after the arrest of an El Paso Community College professor went viral and raised questions about what you can and can’t do during a traffic stop.
On Friday, the arrest of EPPC History Lecturer Dr. Gene Thomas Morales, 37, which he livestreamed on his Facebook account, went viral after it was shared on the popular social media account @therealfitfamelpaso.
In the video, it appears that Morales refuses to show the officer his ID, demanding some kind of proof.
The complaint affidavit filed by the El Paso Police Department states that the incident began when an officer conducting radar enforcement on Springwood Drive, in East El Paso, clocked Morales driving 47 mph in a 30 mph zone.
In the complaint, the police described that Morales questioned the reason for the stop and declined to immediately show his ID, insisting he did not need to.
Eventually, as the viral video shows, backup officers arrived and yanked Morales out of the car, tased and arrested him as he repeatedly yelled out, “I’m literally not doing anything!”
READ MORE: Doc: EPCC professor faces resisting arrest, failure to identify charge after traffic stop
The video raised questions, so KFOX14/CBS4 spoke with criminal defense and immigration lawyer Matthew James Kozik, from The Matthew James, to learn more about what one should or shouldn’t do if stopped by police.
First of all, Kozik stressed, “Texas law requires you to provide your driver’s license upon a lawful stop and a lawful request,” adding that if you refuse, officers can remove you from your vehicle and arrest you.
Kozik said you’re allowed to ask why you’re being pulled over, “But once you’ve [been] provided [with] some good faith reason, you have a duty to comply and provide [your] driver’s license.”
Kozik stated that, typically, requests to see proof of a speeding violation are something that is handled later through the court process, noting that officers often share their body-cam or dash-cam. videos.
KFOX14 Anchor interviews criminal attorney Matthew James Kizok. Credit: KFOX14/CBS4
When KFOX14/CBS4 asked Kozik if a driver’s refusal to hand out their ID would give officers reason to suspect and create probable cause to search the vehicle, Kozik replied, “I think [that’s] quite a reach.”
As a former prosecutor trained in criminal investigations, Kozik said, “Just because someone doesn’t want to get out of the vehicle, I don’t believe that gets you to probable cause to search the vehicle because of a belief there’s other misconduct occurring.”
In the end, Kozik also took the opportunity to encourage people who believe they’ve been wrongfully cited to use the legal process to challenge the citation.
“We all have a duty– in a way– to ‘police’ police…,” Kozik said. “You have a right to request and receive the evidence, and you’d be surprised how many times that evidence doesn’t match up to the allegations from law enforcement.”
Furthermore, Kozik also made a point to state that in his opinion, EPPD could’ve de-escalated the incident, adding that there was no point of getting Morales out of the car if they were not going to search it.
“I think we’re beginning to see a trend of EPPD not necessarily acting in a manner that would lead to maybe a resolution of these matters without someone being dragged out of the car,” Kozik said. “There was no reason for that. They’re not going to search the car.”
RELATED: Video shows EPCC professor arrested after livestreamed traffic stop
Mugshot of Gene Thomas Morales. Credit: EPPD
According to jail records, Morales was booked into the El Paso County Downtown jail and charged with resisting arrest, search or transport, failure to identify, and speeding, with a combined bond set at $1,462.
Morales was released the same day after posting cash bond.
WATCH THE ARREST AS IT WAS LIVESTREAMED:
Video shows EPCC professor arrested after livestreamed traffic stop (credit: Gene Morales via Facebook)
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