An Indiana woman was arrested for refusing to pull over on a dark street because she felt unsafe.
Delrea Good, 52 says that she did not feel safe enough to stop on a dark, deserted road, despite seeing that a police officer was attempting to pull her over.
Good was driving alone around 11:20 p.m. when flashing lights appeared behind her car. She thought it was likely 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 her hazard lights and waved 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 with her hazards on before pulling into a well-lit parking lot.
While Good thought her actions were perfectly legal, Porter County Sheriff’s Department Patrolman William Marshall arrested her and took her to the Porter County Jail. She was charged with a felony of resisting arrest.
The woman claims that she was only trying to protect herself.
"I felt I didn't do anything wrong," Good told NWI Times. "I got to a safe place and I told him that.”
The Sheriff’s Office, however, is standing by Marshall.
A spokesperson for the department said in a statement, “The sheriff's office supports our officer's decision in this matter.”
Police claim the arrest was warranted due to the fact that Marshall was driving a marked police car and flashed his lights and used a siren to pull her over.
Good told the NWI Times that Marshall was upset with her as he approached her car. She claims that he said to her, “What in the hell are you doing? I could arrest you for this.”
Marshall described Good as “highly agitated and uncooperative.” He says she refused to listen to his explanation for having to immediately pull over.
Marshall says that 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 works as a nurse and said that she could potentially 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 rational as there have been multiple cases of criminals impersonating police officers in Indiana in recent years.