Legal Definitions - Resisting arrest

Resisting arrest is a legal term referring to the crime of intentionally preventing, obstructing, or hindering a law enforcement officer from carrying out a lawful arrest. This offense occurs when an individual actively interferes with an officer's attempt to take them or another person into custody, provided the officer has the legal authority to make that arrest.

Key aspects of resisting arrest often include:

• Intentional Action: The person must deliberately try to stop or delay the arrest.
• Interference: This can involve physical struggle, fleeing, providing false information, or other actions that make it harder for the officer to perform their duty.
• Lawful Arrest: For the charge of resisting arrest to apply, the underlying arrest that the officer was attempting to make must itself be lawful (meaning the officer had a warrant or probable cause to make the arrest).

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Physical Struggle

  Imagine a situation where police officers have probable cause to arrest a suspect for vandalism. As the officers attempt to place handcuffs on the suspect, the individual tenses their arms, pulls away forcefully, and tries to break free from the officers' grasp, refusing to comply with commands to put their hands behind their back.

  This illustrates resisting arrest because the suspect is actively and intentionally using physical force to prevent the officers from completing a lawful arrest.

• Example 2: Intentional Obstruction and Delay

  Consider a scenario where officers arrive at an apartment building with a valid arrest warrant for a tenant. When they knock on the door, a friend of the tenant answers and, knowing the tenant is hiding inside, falsely tells the officers that the tenant moved out weeks ago and is no longer living there. The friend then refuses to allow the officers to enter or search the premises, intentionally delaying their access to the wanted individual.

  This demonstrates resisting arrest through intentional obstruction. The friend is actively hindering the officers' ability to execute a lawful arrest warrant by providing false information and preventing their access to the suspect.

• Example 3: Preventing Another Person's Arrest

  During a public gathering, an officer attempts to arrest an individual who is causing a disturbance and refusing to disperse. As the officer moves to detain the person, a bystander steps in front of the officer, physically blocking their path, and shouts at the person being arrested to "run now!" This momentary interference allows the person to briefly escape before being apprehended.

  This is an example of resisting arrest because the bystander intentionally interfered with the officer's lawful attempt to arrest another person, using physical action and verbal encouragement to facilitate an escape.