Refusing to Pull Over for Police with Passengers in Your Vehicle

[Question4law]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: MI

Is it true that you are guilty of kidnapping if you have passengers in your vehicle and you refuse to pull over for police, regardless of whether or not the passengers actually want to leave the vehicle? Would you have to detain them for any length of time in your vehicle to be considered kidnapping?

[Mr. Knowitall]

If the police try to pull you over, and you choose instead to lead the police on a chase, any number of charges might follow, including charges relating to your passengers if you won't release them or if you endanger their lives. The rest will depend on the facts.

[PTPD22]

750.349 Kidnapping; "restrain" defined; violation as felony; penalty; other violation arising from same transaction.

Sec. 349.
(1) A person commits the crime of kidnapping if he or she knowingly restrains another person with the intent to do 1 or more of the following:
(a) Hold that person for ransom or reward.
(b) Use that person as a shield or hostage.
(c) Engage in criminal sexual penetration or criminal sexual contact prohibited under chapter LXXVI with that person.
(d) Take that person outside of this state.
(e) Hold that person in involuntary servitude.
(f) Engage in child sexually abusive activity, as that term is defined in section 145c, with that person, if that person is a minor.

(2) As used in this section, "restrain" means to restrict a person's movements or to confine the person so as to interfere with that person's liberty without that person's consent or without legal authority. The restraint does not have to exist for any particular length of time and may be related or incidental to the commission of other criminal acts.

(3) A person who commits the crime of kidnapping is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years or a fine of not more than $50,000.00, or both.

(4) This section does not prohibit the person from being charged with, convicted of, or sentenced for any other violation of law arising from the same transaction as the violation of this section.

From reading this statute, I would say that fleeing pursuing police with passengers would meet the definition of “restrain” stated (unless you had the passenger’s express permission – for example, the passenger was vocally encouraging your attempt to elude…which would likely make your passenger an equally guilty accomplice to your crime). However, even though your passenger might be “restrained” as per this statute, fleeing police would not necessarily show any intent to do anything mentioned in (1). Unless you crossed the state border or were somehow using the passenger as a shield or hostage, I don’t see how you could be charged with kidnapping.

[KBoy420]

There's really no way to answer this without actual facts. Let's say you do run from the cops and are eventually stopped by whatever means necessary. If your passengers say "yea we yelled at him the whole time to let us go or to stop", you're getting nailed on kidnapping and likely other charges as well. Passengers "trapped" in a vehicle fleeing from the police are either a) victims of kidnapping (being taken against their will) or b) accomplices to the driver (willingly fleeing from the police). There really is no other option.