Chief’s Counsel: Stop-and-Identify Laws

The officer in this case was responding to a caller who reported seeing an assault inside a truck traveling down the road. Police located the truck, which had by then pulled off the road. A man, Larry D. Hiibel, was standing by the vehicle and a young woman was inside. The officer approached and, pursuant to a Nevada law, asked Hiibel if he had any identification. Hiibel refused to provide identification. He was then arrested, charged with obstructing a public officer in the discharge of any legal duty of his office, convicted, and fined $250.