When organizing a DWI checkpoint in North Carolina, there are certain procedures the police officers must follow. For starters, when officers begin to stop vehicles, they may begin investigating people for DWI. There is no question that at an officer may investigate suspicious drivers who drive through the checkpoint; however, may an officer stop someone who avoids the checkpoint? And, if so, under what circumstances?
This question was determined in the case, State v. Foreman, 351 N.C. 627 (2000), where police had a DWI checkpoint set-up, and they were investigating vehicles. An officer noticed that a vehicle made a quick turn away from the checkpoint, and the officer thereafter pursued the car and found that it parked in a residential driveway. The officer walked over to the vehicle and saw the driver hiding within. Here, the court found that the officer did have reasonable suspicion to justify a traffic stop in such a scenario. Although the driver made a perfectly legal left turn in this scenario, the time, place, and manner of the situation arose enough suspicion in the officer to justify a stop of the vehicle to investigate further.
So, if you are a driver, who wants to avoid a checkpoint, do not attempt to make an evasive maneuver from the checkpoint, or an officer may be able to justify pulling the vehicle to the side of the road to investigate. Sometimes, officers may not investigate depending on the exact actions of the driver. For example, if the person is waiting at the checkpoint and decides that it is taking too long, and pulls away, an officer may determine that the driver was simply inconvenienced. But, if the driver immediately pulls away at the sight of the checkpoint, an officer will almost certainly pull the driver over, and according to case law, they have the right to.
