Romero

BACKGROUND

A. Incident On July 2, 2013, Romero was stopped by Officer Marcus at the intersection of a freeway onramp in Richmond. Officer Marcus had initiated the stop for violation of the Anti-Gridlock Act of 1987: entering an intersection without sufficient space to avoid obstruction of traffic. (Veh. Code, § 22526, subds. (a), (g).) According to the police report, Officer Marcus had been assigned to conduct traffic enforcement in that area due to

Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531 (Pitchess).

2 complaints about congestion. When Officer Marcus saw Romero, he recognized her from writing a similar citation at the same location three weeks prior. Romero’s 65-year-old mother was riding in the back seat of the car. Romero angrily told Officer Marcus that she was late for work and had done nothing wrong; she refused to provide her driver’s license, registration, or insurance. When Officer Marcus opened the driver’s side door to arrest her, Romero began unbuckling her seatbelt. Officer Marcus grabbed one of Romero’s hands and attempted to pull her from the vehicle while Romero held onto the steering wheel with her other hand. Officer Marcus pulled Romero from the…