Is the Growing Trend Impacting the Justice System?
Driving down the highway you see a lot of things, but what if you saw a drunk driver? What would you do? One northern Michigan man and his family decided to take action. In tonight's Fact Finder Report we take a look at the growing citizen cop trend, and how it is impacting the justice system.
Ron Hill has driven his family the 200 mile stretch of I-75 between their home in Gaylord and his folks place near Flint more times than he can count.
He says "we've been on that trip many times so it's kind of boring most of the time but sometimes it gets interesting."
On a recent Sunday afternoon trip home he saw a driver weaving in and out of traffic, swerving in and out of the lane, narrowly missing other cars and straddling the shoulder.
Ron says, "When we passed her it looked like her head was leaning on the driver's side window. It looked like she might be tired, sleepy, or whatever, we didn't know..."
While many cars carefully sped past this driver, Ron decided to slow down and follow her instead. He quickly knew something was very wrong.
He says, "We were concerned about her and the other people on the road. The way she was going, it wasn't going to end well if someone didn't intervene."
His son in law grabbed this camera and hit record, and Ron's wife dialed 911. He says, "We followed her 15-20 miles and she was all over the road."
Then the driver pulled over, waiving Ron to keep going. But he had other plans, and confirmed his fear.
He says, "I walked up to the car and the fumes of alcohol just came out of the car like you wouldn't believe. It smelled like she just had just got done drinking a 12 pack. It was really strong. My plan was I believe to stall her because I knew we had a police car en route."
He stalled her as long as he could but she took off again. Then about 20 minutes after the initial call, an Arenac County Deputy found them and took over for Ron.
Ron says, "He just gave us a thumbs up when he got out of his police car."
Now 29 year old Erica Lee Hopkins from Warren faces charges of operating while intoxicated and resisting and obstructing an officer.
Officers I spoke with say they are seeing more people using things like cell phones cameras to catch criminals and that could pay off for tax payers.
Captain Randy Fewless with the Grand Traverse Sheriff's Office says when people take pictures or video of potential crimes it speeds up the investigation and saves money. He says it's no longer a case of 'he said, she said' because there is proof of what happened. Many times the cases will actually be settled before they get to court.
Ron says he's glad to help. "The police need all the eyes they can get. I just think it needs to be done. I'd do it again."
The suspect, Erica Hopkins refused a breathalyzer test so they had to get a search warrant and took her to the hospital for a blood test. But then she fought officers when they tried to take her back to jail. That's why she also faces the resisting and obstructing an officer charges.
But get this, the undersheriff tells me it will take a month or so to get the blood alcohol tests back so she's out on bond in the meantime.
The video Ron shot could be used in court.
I spoke to Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Al Schneider about cases like this. He says the prosecution or the defense could subpoena the video and the person who shot it to testify in court.
I also asked him about privacy. He says if you shoot a video in a public place where there is no assumption of privacy, you don't have to worry about violating someone's right to privacy.
So what do you think about this? What would you do? Do you think it's a good idea? Do you have privacy concerns? I want to hear from you, share your comments below.
Click here to see Ron's video from the road.
