Opinion ID: 2160381
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Arrest of Robert Fisher

Text: According to the Fishers, the four reached the Fishers' pickup truck and then Boyle escorted Duckett across 39th Street to Duckett's Volkswagen. As Boyle was returning (she was to travel home with the Fishers), another pickup truck came barrelling up 39th Street and then stopped, apparently to let her pass. She attempted to do so, but was immediately discouraged as those inside the truck taunted her with a game of cat and mouse  the truck would start, stop, and then start up again each time Boyle took a step into the street. As it turns out, the driver of the vehicle was appellee William Veith, a police cadet/trainee of the Metropolitan Police Department. However, Veith was not in training at the time; rather, he and two friends were just driving around the city and had been doing so since 8:00 p.m. the previous evening. Unable to cross 39th Street, Boyle asked Veith and his friends to stop. At this point, Veith jumped out of his truck and then, in Boyle's words, began berating her. Hearing this, Robert Fisher went over to Veith and asked him to leave her alone. Veith yelled in response that he was a police officer and could have them all arrested. However, when asked to produce a badge, Veith showed Fisher only his police identification card. According to Fisher, he was unable to read the card or to recognize what it was because Veith was not holding it steadily. During the confrontation, Fisher had his back to Veith's pickup truck and Veith was directly in front of him. At some point, Veith's two friends got out of the truck, presumably one from each side, approached Fisher and then surrounded him. In order to fend off one of them or, as Boyle put it, [t]o keep the kid from stepping in on him, Fisher stuck out his arm and made contact with the person. As this occurred, Veith opened his jacket revealing his service revolver. This prompted Eleanor Duckett, who had witnessed the entire incident from a position near her car, to warn Fisher about the gun. She then accompanied Boyle to the Fishers' truck where Alice Fisher had been waiting. At about this time, Officer Antoine Claiborn came upon the scene in his police cruiser. Veith rushed to Claiborn, informed him of Fisher's assault on his friend and then stated that he wanted to arrest him. Consequently, Claiborn informed Fisher that he was under arrest, placed handcuffs on him, and then transported him to the police station. Veith and his friends followed in their pickup truck. Veith saw the events leading to Fisher's arrest differently. The Fishers, Boyle, and Duckett were standing in the middle of 39th Street when Veith came upon them in his pickup truck. He politely asked them to move so that he could go home but Robert Fisher stated, in no uncertain terms, that they would not get out of his way. Veith then got out of his truck, confronted the group, and again politely asked them to step aside. When they refused, Veith identified himself as a police officer. Fisher responded: I don't care who the f____ you are. You ain't no one. Over the next few minutes, Veith made several requests that they leave and repeatedly identified himself as a police officer. Finally, Veith showed the group his badge, which Fisher then tried to swat away. For Veith, the scene became progressively more threatening. Fisher and the others started yelling at him, using profanity, and then began to approach him. As they came closer and closer, Veith sensed that Boyle and Duckett were surrounding him, and warned his friends in the truck, saying: If anything happens, if anything looks like it's going to happen . . . come out and back me up. However, the group continued its menacing behavior and, before long, Veith's friends got out of the truck to render assistance. As Veith describes it, Fisher then all of the sudden turned around and without justification punched one of his friends in the face. At Veith's admonition, the friend did not strike back. Several minutes later, after consulting Officer Claiborn, who had by then arrived on the scene, Veith arrested Fisher for assault.