People v. Sechler CA5

FACTS

On June 8, 2018, California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Austin Simmons was on patrol near Vista Grande Drive, south of State Route (SR) 178, in Kern County. He was wearing a CHP uniform and driving a marked patrol car. The patrol car was black and white with a CHP star emblem on both front doors and the words “California Highway Patrol” written on the back of the vehicle. The patrol car was equipped with a light bar on the roof and a siren. At approximately 6:20 p.m. that evening, Officer Simmons was driving southbound on Vista Grande Drive and observed a blue sedan traveling that same road in the opposite direction. As the two cars passed at approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour, the driver of the blue sedan looked directly at Officer Simmons. Officer Simmons got a good look at the driver and noticed he was not wearing his seatbelt. Officer Simmons turned his patrol car around to follow the blue sedan. He briefly lost sight of the blue sedan, which had turned at a nearby stop sign. As Officer Simmons approached the stop sign, he looked to his right and saw the blue sedan traveling eastbound on SR 178 at an “accelerated high rate of speed,” which he visually estimated at…