Emancipate NC attorney Jaelyn Miller successfully represented a Black man who was unjustly charged with “Resisting a Public Official.” Last week, his charges were dismissed by the Wake County District Attorney’s Office!
In December 2023, the client was out working as a Lyft driver. At around 1 o’clock in the morning, he picked up two white riders from DPAC in downtown Durham. While on the road back to Raleigh, a State Trooper pulled the driver over and accused him of being drunk. The trooper instructed him to step out of the car and asked him to stand behind the car.
It was late at night, and as a Black man interacting with the police, he didn’t want to be in a spot where the white folks in his car couldn’t see him. He politely declined, and asked the trooper to explain what was going on. Then, the trooper violently slammed him to the ground behind the car and punched him several times.
After the violent incident, the officer took our client to jail. Upon arrival, however, the trooper attempted to release him without charges, realizing the man had done nothing illegal. But, the trooper’s supervisor demanded that he be charged with “something.” Since our client’s breathalyzer was 0.0, he couldn’t be charged with any driving offenses, so he was charged with Resisting a Public Official.
The State pressed forward with these bogus charges until Jaelyn obtained the dash camera footage. After that, the State decided to dismiss the charges immediately.