Indiana resident DelRea Good was arrested last week for refusing to pull over on a dark street because she felt unsafe. Good claimed that she did not want to stop on the deserted road even though it seemed like a police officer was attempting to pull her over.
The 52-year-old woman was driving after 11 p.m. when the flashing lights appeared behind her car. She thought it was a police officer but did not want to stop in case it was an imposter attempting to hurt her.
Good said she slowed down, turned on the hazard lights and waved with her arm out of the window to let the police officer know that she was not resisting arrest. She drove for less than a mile, where she pulled over into a well-lit parking lot.
While Good thought her actions were not illegal, Porter County Sheriff’s Department Patrolman William Marshall arrested her and took her to the Porter County Jail. She was charged with a felony crime of resisting arrest.
Good claims that she was trying to protect herself. “I felt I didn’t do anything wrong. I got to a safe place and I told him that.”
However, the Sheriff’s Office is standing by Patrolman Marshall. A spokesperson said, “The sheriff’s office supports our officer’s decision in this matter.” The police claim the arrest was warranted due to the fact that Marshall was driving a marked police car and used lights and the siren to pull her over.
Good told the NWI Times that Marshall was unhappy with her as he approached her car. She claims that he said, “What in the hell are you doing? I could arrest you for this.”
However, Marshall described Good as “highly agitated and uncooperative.” She refused to listen to his reasons for having to immediately pull over.
Marshall claimed Good told him, “I don’t care who you are I don’t have to stop on a county road, I’m a single female.”
Good is a nurse and said that she could lose her job over the arrest. Nurses are not allowed to work with a felony on their record.
According to defense attorney Bob Harper, Good’s reasoning was not irrational. There have been multiple cases of criminals impersonating police officers in Indiana in the past few years.