Guest guest Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 When you are required to act as a policeman because a cop says he told you to! Lynda - > > Man is charged with failing to aid officer > By Leah Thorsen > Of the Post-Dispatch > 08/17/2005 > > Peter Skinner > > It's not what Peter Skinner did, but rather what he didn't do, that > landed him in jail. > > Skinner saw, but did not help, a Wood River police officer subdue a > teen suspected of stealing a car. > > And that is why Skinner, 41, is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 26 > to face a misdemeanor charge of refusing to aid an officer. > " Why I'm involved as anything but a witness is beyond me, " he said > Wednesday in an interview in his apartment in Wood River. > > His troubles began Aug. 4, shortly before 3 p.m., as he walked to a > convenience store. > > That's when a teen boy, who was with another boy and a girl, asked him > to help change a tire. > > So Skinner helped put on the spare and walked away, he said. > > He was headed to the store, but decided to turn around after about a > minute and head back to his apartment in the 100 block of Thompson > Street to check on some pork steaks in his oven. > > That's when he saw a police officer, identified in court documents as > Officer Darrell Jose, tackle the boy. > > Jose was on top of the boy, Skinner said. But the boy kept struggling. > > Skinner said he yelled for the boy to stop, but that the officer > clearly was in control. > > " The cop was OK, it looked like to me, " Skinner said. > > It wasn't long before other officers arrived, and Skinner started > walking away to go home. > > That's when Jose yelled for Skinner to stop, Skinner said. > > Jose told the officers that he'd asked Skinner for help, but that > Skinner had done nothing, Skinner said. > > So he was cuffed, put in a police car and taken to the Wood River > holding cell, where he sat for four hours until his father bailed him out. > > A Jerseyville man had reported the car, a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am, > stolen from Alton roughly three hours earlier, according to a > statement issued by Wood River police. > > Jose saw the car, and a teen fled when the officer approached. > > The officer caught the boy, and a struggle ensued in which the boy > tried to take the officer's gun, police said. > > The statement did not mention Skinner or Jose by name, but said that > because the officer was the only officer at the scene, he requested > help from a nearby man, who refused. > > Skinner disputed that claim, saying the officer never asked for help. > " He was well in charge of that situation, " Skinner said. > > Illinois law states that a person must help an officer who asks for > help " apprehending a person whom the officer is authorized to apprehend. " > > Not obeying this law is considered a petty offense. That means that if > Skinner is convicted, he will not face any jail time and cannot be > fined more than $1,000. > > But Skinner maintains the charge is unfair because the officer never > asked for help. He also said he plans to file a complaint of police > misconduct against the Wood River department. > > " I didn't deserve this, " Skinner said of his legal woes. " Not in any > way, shape or form. " > > Reporter Leah Thorsen > E-mail: lthorsen > Phone: 618-659-3640 -- Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.10.12/77 - Release 8/18/05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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