DOVER, Del. (AP) - A Delaware judge has denied an evidence suppression motion in a drunken-driving case involving a man stopped by a volunteer firefighter.
Orlando Walker is accused of hitting a parked firetruck at a house fire in March, then fleeing the scene.
The deputy chief of the Odessa Fire Company caught up with the suspect’s truck and activated the emergency lights on his SUV, prompting Walker to pull over. He then used his loudspeaker to tell the suspect to stay in his vehicle. Troopers then arrived and arrested Walker.
Walker argued that the fire chief was a state actor and had no authority under the law to stop him.
The judge rejected that argument last week, saying the firefighter was acting as a private citizen, not a state actor.
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