Following a bench trial, the Superior Court of DeKalb County found Jorge Santos guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of obstructing or hindering a law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of his official duties, OCGA § 16-10-24 a, for attempting to elbow the officer in the face; and battery, OCGA § 16-5-23.1, for wrestling with the officer and causing bruises to his shin and knee. On appeal, Santos contends that the allegedly criminal acts occurred during an illegal detention and that the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine to exclude all evidence that flowed from that illegal detention, specifically, the officer’s testimony about Santos’ conduct after that illegal detention began. In addition, Santos contends that he was justified in “resisting being illegally detained with the minimal force that he used,” and, therefore, that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of obstruction or battery. For the reasons explained below, we affirm. 1. Because the trial court sits as the trier of fact when ruling on a motion to suppress or a motion in limine, its findings based upon conflicting evidence are analogous to a jury verdict and should not be disturbed by a reviewing court if there is any evidence to support them. When we review a trial court’s decision on such motions to exclude evidence, we construe the evidence most favorably to uphold the findings and judgment, and we adopt the trial court’s findings on disputed facts and credibility unless they are clearly erroneous. When the evidence is uncontroverted and no question of witness credibility is presented, the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts is subject to de novo appellate review. With mixed questions of fact and law, the appellate court accepts the trial court’s findings on disputed facts and witness credibility unless clearly erroneous, but independently applies the legal principles to the facts. Citations and punctuation omitted. State v. Tousley , 271 Ga. App. 874 611 SE2d 139 2005.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court’s findings, the record shows the following facts. On April 22, 2009, a police officer was working an off-duty security job at an apartment complex where there had been a lot of drug activity as well as pedestrian robberies, homicides, and home invasions. The officer was dressed in his police uniform, and he was driving a marked patrol car. At approximately 11:00 p.m., Santos and two other men walked by the police car. The officer got out and asked if Santos lived in the complex. The three men stopped walking, and Santos answered that he did live there, but he could not give a specific address. Santos acted nervous and became fidgety with his hands. The officer told Santos, who was wearing baggy clothing, to keep his hands where the officer could see them. Santos continued to fidget with his hands, and then he put them in his jacket pockets. The officer again told Santos to keep his hands out where the officer could see them. Santos took off his jacket and threw it on the patrol car, but then he again put his hands in his pockets.
