Opinion ID: 6496173
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Hindering Police

Text: In August 2020, Applicant disclosed to the law school that he had been charged with hindering police when he was sixteen years old. 2 According to Applicant, this was a minor altercation with an officer of a municipal police department that occurred in October 2010. Applicant stated he was attending a gathering at a home where underage drinking was taking place; however, Applicant denied drinking alcohol when he informed the law school of this incident. Applicant stated that a concerned neighbor knew the homeowner was not in town and called the police. When the police arrived, Applicant fled because he was worried about getting in trouble. Applicant claimed that everyone who was at the 'party' or gathering began to run. Applicant further claimed he left the house before the police arrived 1 See S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-2450 (2010 & Supp. 2021) (providing a person under the age of twenty-one who knowingly possesses alcoholic liquors is guilty of a misdemeanor). 2 See Sullivan's Island, S.C., Code § 14-3 (2021) (prohibiting any person from hindering or interfering with any officer or employee of the police department in the discharge of official duties). at the front door of the home to question the homeowner. Applicant stated his mother picked him up, but the police found out his name and called his parents. Eventually, Applicant's parents took him to the police station where he received a ticket for hindering police. Applicant stated he was ordered to perform sixty hours of community service and the ticket was expunged. The police report provided a much different account of what occurred. According to that report, an officer saw a car turn into the driveway of the residence. The officer was familiar with the residence because the owner had informed the officer of problems with underage parties at her home and asked the officer to check on the home if cars were present while hers was not. Not seeing the owner's car at the residence, the officer stopped to speak with the occupants of the car. The officer found four people in the car, all of whom had been drinking. As the officer administered field sobriety tests to one individual, Applicant ran away. One of the other individuals provided the police with Applicant's name. The police called Applicant's parents, who agreed to take Applicant to the police station, where he received a ticket for hindering police. During the hearing before the Committee, Applicant's recollection of what occurred more closely resembled the police report than what he previously reported to the law school or in his application for bar admission. Applicant testified that the police arrived as the car in which he was a passenger pulled up to the house. The police officer approached the vehicle and began asking questions about why Applicant and his companions were there. Applicant testified he was terrified of getting in trouble because he was being recruited to play football after high school. Applicant testified he ran and called his mother, who picked him up and took him home. Later, the police called Applicant's mother, who took Applicant to the police station where he received a ticket for hindering police. In contrast to what he reported to the law school, Applicant admitted to the Committee that he had been drinking at the time of the incident.