A Centre County judge is ruling that state police were “justified” in the controversial stop of an Interstate 80 motorist last year.
That traffic stop raised questions about the use of force by police and their procedures.
Centre County Judge Julia Rater issued a long-awaited decision this week on pre-trial motions filed on behalf of Dereck Raimey.
Raimey, of Tennessee, is the motorist at the center of a video in which he was yanked from his vehicle last December 6th, and then punched repeatedly by state police after they stopped him off of Interstate 80.
Police say Raimey led them on a nearly twenty minute, drug-fueled, high-speed chase after they first attempted to pull him over on I-80 for following another vehicle too closely.
In his court motion, Raimey challenged the validity of the stop, and whether he was forced to consent to a blood test, which police say showed a mix of drugs in his system.
In her ruling, Judge Rater rejected Raimey’s legal challenge, saying police had probable cause to stop him, and that he voluntarily agreed to a blood test.
The ruling also states that his consent wasn’t due to the fear of a physical attack.
Judge Rater did note that the punches thrown by PSP were termed “compliance strikes.”
“In determining that the defendant’s consent to the blood draw was voluntary, the court is not condoning, overlooking, or downplaying the strikes made by trooper Yaworski”.
Raimey has a pre-trial conference scheduled next month in Centre County court.