Case Dealing With Pulling Police Officer's Hair

In People v. Taylor, 84 Ill. App. 3d 467, 469, 405 N.E.2d 517, 39 Ill. Dec. 764 (1980), the complaint charged the defendant with pushing and shoving a police officer, but evidence at trial showed only that she had pulled the officer's hair. Taylor, 84 Ill. App. 3d at 469. The court applied the principles stated herein and determined that the defendant's conviction would bar any future prosecutions concerning the incident in question. Taylor, 84 Ill. App. 3d at 470. "Where, as here, the crime involved, namely, obstructing a peace officer engaged in the execution of his official duties, can be committed by several act s, a variance between the act named in the charging instrument and the act proved at trial will not be fatal." Taylor, 84 Ill. App. 3d at 470. While no evidence was adduced at trial supporting the allegation that the defendant pushed or shoved the officer, the evidence did establish an act that could have led the jury to find the defendant guilty of obstructing a peace officer. Taylor, 84 Ill. App. 3d at 470. Thus, the court held that the proof of the crime conformed to the essential allegations of the charging instrument. Taylor, 84 Ill. App. 3d at 470.