Causing Police Officers to Lose Control Over a Group of Boys and to Be Unable to Complete An Arrest

12In People v. Gibbs, 115 Ill. App. 2d 113, 253 N.E.2d 117 (1969), police officers stopped a group of 10 to 12 boys near the office of the Woodlawn Organization after the officers' received a report about some youth gang trouble in that area. Gibbs, 115 Ill. App. 2d at 115. The officers commenced a search of the group and after about one minute of the search, the defendant came out of the Woodlawn office and demanded to know what was going on. Gibbs, 115 Ill. App. 2d at 115. the defendant was told not to interfere, and the defendant claimed that the officers were violating the boys' constitutional rights. The defendant then told the boys that they did not need to submit to the search and that they should go into the office to avoid further contact. Gibbs, 115 Ill. App. 2d at 115-16. The boys entered the defendant's office, where there were approximately 35 to 40 more youths. Gibbs, 115 Ill. App. 2d at 116. The court determined that the evidence showed that when the defendant came out, the boys had already submitted to the search, and the search was in progress. Gibbs, 115 Ill. App. 2d at 118. The defendant's directing the boys to join a group of 35 to 40 other youths made it difficult for the officers to pick the boys out of the crowd and caused the officers to lose control of the situation. Gibbs, 115 Ill. App. 2d at 120. The court held that the defendant did not "'merely argue'" with the officers about the search but went further by advising the boys to enter the office, causing the officers to lose control over the search that was already in progress, and causing the officers to be unable to complete an arrest. Gibbs, 115 Ill. App. 2d at 120.