How Can You Be Arrested for Resisting Arrest
RESISTING Abort
It's a lot easier than yous would recollect to be charged with resisting arrest in Arizona. You don't even have to use physical force to become charged. Making your body become limp or stiffening your body when police are trying to arrest you can result in a charge of resisting abort. Also, in Arizona, you tin can exist found guilty of resisting abort even if your arrest was non legally justified by the police.
However, yous must make sure that you have not been overcharged for resisting arrest when all yous have done is argued or criticized the police force. Also, the police often wrongfully escalate situations and use excessive force to arrest people, even when making legal arrests. The law are not immune to use excessive strength when making arrests. And so, you lot may have been justified in using force to resist arrest if excessive strength was used against yous.
RESISTING Abort Defined
Under ARS 13-2508, there are iii ways that a resisting abort accuse tin can exist committed in Arizona:
- Using or threatening physical force against an officer – Form 6 Felony
- Creating a substantial risk of causing physical injury to an officeholder – Class 6 Felony
- Passive resistance – Class 1 Misdemeanor
Even if multiple officers were involved in trying to arrest yous, you can but be charged with one count of resisting arrest. Merely, currently, Arizona police force allows all of the officers whom y'all resisted to be designated victims of your unmarried charge of resisting abort. This means that the officers tin turn down to exist interviewed before trial considering of their rights every bit victims.
FELONY RESISTING Arrest
A felony resist arrest charge pursuant to ARS xiii-2508, requires the prosecution prove that:
- A peace officeholder, acting nether official authority, sought to arrest yous; and
- You knew, or had reason to know, that the person seeking to brand the arrest was a peace officer acting under color of such peace officer's official authority; and
- You intentionally prevented, or attempted to forestall, the peace officer from making the arrest past:
- using or threatening to apply physical force against the peace officer or another person, or
- using whatsoever other means creating a substantial hazard of causing physical injury to the peace officer or another person.
Using or threatening to use concrete force. You tin can be convicted of resisting arrest when you employ or threaten to use physical force against peace officers trying to arrest you even if the officers were not injured or not at risk of injury. And then, even "minor scuffling" can exist considered resisting arrest when you use physical force.
Examples:
- Kicking or trying to kicking officers every bit they endeavour to abort you.
- Pushing an officer off of you when he is trying to handcuff you.
- Swinging a fist at an officeholder when he is trying to arrest you.
- If you are charged with resisting arrest based on using or threatening to use physical force against an officer, then you lot will typically too be charged with committing aggravated assault on the officer. When at that place are no injuries to the officeholder, then the aggravated assault is a Class 5 Felony. When there is an injury to the officer (fifty-fifty a minor cutting or bruise), and so the aggravated attack is a Course iv Felony. Read more than.
Substantial take a chance of causing physical injury. If you did non apply or threaten to utilize physical force, then there has to exist a substantial take a chance of causing physical injury to the officer (or another person who is present) for your actions to be considered resisting arrest. Substantial hazard of physical injury does not mean substantial danger to the officeholder. It merely means substantial chance of impairment of a concrete condition.
Examples:
- You lie downwardly in the route on your stomach with your arms under your body to prevent officers handcuffing you, while cars drive by.
- As an officer tries to handcuff you, you shout to a crowd of bystanders for aid and someone throws a beer canteen that shatters and sprays glass on the officer.
MISDEMEANOR RESISTING ARREST
In 2012, Arizona added passive resistance to ARS thirteen-2508 and added another way a person can be charged with resisting arrest. It is classified as a less serious misdemeanor offense considering passive resistance does non involve whatever employ of force against or whatever run a risk of injury to peace officers.
Misdemeanor resisting abort requires the prosecution prove that:
- A peace officeholder, interim under official authority, sought to arrest yous; and
- You knew, or had reason to know, that the person seeking to make the abort was a peace officer interim nether color of such peace officeholder'due south official authority; and
- You intentionally prevented, or attempted to prevent, the peace officeholder from making abort by engaging in passive resistance.
Passive resistance. This ways a nonviolent concrete act or failure to act that is intended to impede, hinder, or delay the effecting of an arrest.
Examples of passive resistance include:
- Making your body go limp to make information technology hard for the officers to abort you lot.
- Running abroad from officers trying to arrest you lot.
- Hiding from officers who are trying to arrest you.
- Not opening the door when officers are trying to arrest y'all.
RESISTING ARREST SENTENCE
Felony resisting arrest is a Class 6 Felony. If yous accept no prior felony convictions, then your resisting arrest sentence could be:
- Probation, with anywhere from 0 days in jail to 12 months in jail.
- Prison is likewise a possibility, simply not likely for a kickoff-time offense. A prison sentence ranges from iv months in prison to 2 years in prison.
- If you have prior felony convictions, then you face up more than time in prison and probation is not an choice.
Misdemeanor resisting arrest or passive resistance is a Class one Misdemeanor. If convicted, y'all could be sentenced to:
- Probation, with anywhere from 0 days in jail to 6 months in jail.
DEFENSES TO RESISTING ARREST
The all-time way to get a resisting arrest accuse dropped is to bear witness the prosecutor or approximate that the officeholder used excessive forcefulness. This negotiating tactic should exist used carefully every bit giving over defense bear witness at the incorrect time may let the prosecution to fix any trouble they take with their case – contact an experienced criminal defense attorney beforehand. Other possible defenses include:
- Self-Defense Confronting Excessive Forcefulness. Peace officers are not immune to employ unnecessary or unreasonable forcefulness in making an arrest. It is a defense force to use or threaten the use of physical force against an officer to resist arrest when the officer uses excessive force. This is a defense, even if the arrest is legal.
- Lack of Knowledge. This is when yous had no reason to know that the person trying to arrest you was a peace officer. For case, maybe the peace officer was off duty, not in uniform, and did not identify himself as a peace officeholder to you before trying to abort yous.
- Lack of Intent. This is when your actions were not done with the intent to prevent a peace officer from arresting y'all. For example, y'all pull abroad from a peace officer when you lot have no reason to believe that y'all are nether abort and the officer but grabs you lot and tries to handcuff you lot, without maxim annihilation.
- Mere Argument or Criticism. Mere argument or criticism of a peace officeholder by itself is not plenty to captive someone of resisting arrest. This is a mutual defense force in misdemeanor cases.
RESISTING Arrest LAWYER
Information technology's important to take an experienced and skilled resisting arrest lawyer on your side when faced with a resisting arrest accuse. You need to ensure that your charge of resisting arrest was not made because an officer needed to justify his use of strength against yous. These situations often plough into your word against the word of the police force officeholder. In these cases, information technology is absolutely necessary to have an experience resisting arrest lawyer to undermine the credibility of the officer and ensure the best defense possible. Contact the criminal defense attorneys at Feldman & Royle for a gratis consultation to talk over your instance today.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
1 How to get resisting arrest charge dropped?
The best fashion to get a resisting abort charge dropped is to show the prosecutor or judge that the officer used excessive force. Prove of excessive force can be obtained by photographs, constabulary bodycameras, other witnesses and defense interviews. Withal, the specific time in the case to disembalm this information is crucial as the prosecution could use this opportunity to set up the issue. Consult an experienced criminal defence force lawyer beforehand.
2 What is resisting arrest?
In Arizona, resisting arrest can occur nether iii circumstances: i) Using or threatening physical force against an officer; two) Creating a substantial risk of causing physical injury to an officer; or 3) Using any manner of passive resistance during arrest.
3 Is resisting abort a felony?
Resisting arrest can be a felony or a misdemeanor. Pursuant to ARS thirteen-2508, if concrete force is used or threatened against an officer, or if your resistance created a substantial chance of causing concrete injury to an officeholder, then resisting arrest is a Class 6 Felony. Only if you lot passively resisted past using nonviolent physical acts or otherwise failed to cooperate with the police force to prevent your arrest, and then the resisting arrest is a Class ane Misdemeanor.
four Can you resist an unlawful arrest?
Y'all are not allowed to resist an unlawful abort, unless the peace officer used excessive forcefulness against you. An officer'south excessive use of forcefulness is a defense force to the charge for both lawful and unlawful arrests.
Source: https://www.feldmanroyle.com/violent-crimes/resisting-arrest/
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