Two separate incidents over the weekend underscore the dangers facing law enforcement officers during routine traffic stops — and the serious legal consequences for drivers who choose to ignore Indiana's Move Over law.
On Saturday, August 1st, at approximately 2:00 p.m., Patrolman Thornton of the Plymouth Police Department was conducting a traffic stop near the intersection of U.S. 30 and Plymouth Goshen Trail when a passing driver caught his attention for all the wrong reasons.
Rather than moving to the left lane and slowing down as required by law, the driver passed the active traffic stop without yielding — then proceeded to repeatedly honk his horn and shout at the officers out his window as he passed.
Officer Thornton caught up to the vehicle and initiated a second traffic stop. The driver, Joel Benjamin Kuck, 52, of Kokomo, told the officer he was tired of police "picking on people." Kuck was taken into custody and transported to the Marshall County Jail, where he was charged with two counts of Reckless Driving.
In a separate but similar incident, a Marshall County Sheriff's Deputy attempted to stop a vehicle in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 2nd after the driver failed to yield while passing a deputy conducting a traffic stop.
When the deputy activated their emergency lights and siren to pull the vehicle over, the driver refused to stop and continued traveling northbound on U.S. 31. Deputies pursued the vehicle for approximately five miles before finally getting it stopped and taking the driver into custody.
The driver was identified as Arlen Isabel Cortez Diaz, 45, of Chicago. Diaz was charged with resisting law enforcement — fleeing with a vehicle and was held on a $1,500 cash bond. The Plymouth Police Department assisted at the scene.
Both incidents serve as a stark reminder that Indiana's Move Over law requires drivers to move to an adjacent lane — or slow down significantly if a lane change is not possible — when passing law enforcement vehicles, emergency responders, or any vehicle stopped on the side of the road with lights activated. Failure to do so is not only illegal, it puts officers and first responders at serious risk.
Readers are reminded that charging information supported by an affidavit of probable cause is a mere allegation that a crime has been committed and that there is only probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. They are presumed innocent throughout the proceedings and are entitled to be represented by counsel and entitled to a trial by jury at which the State is obligated to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt before a judgment of guilt may be made.
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