It is a criminal offense to resist an arrest in California. Resisting an arrest occurs when you willfully resist, delay or obstruct a police officer performing or attempting to perform their official duties. You could do so in many ways, including fleeing from a police officer, refusing to be handcuffed, or refusing to step out of your vehicle when an officer asks you to. The offense is mainly a misdemeanor, attracting severe penalties, including jail time for a maximum of one year and court fines of up to $1,000. Charges for resisting an arrest can be intimidating. That is why you need the help of a criminal attorney to walk you through the legal process and protect your rights. Your attorney will also help you understand what resisting an arrest entails and its legal implications for those found guilty under the law.

The Legal Meaning of Resisting Arrest in California

Police officers are deployed to work directly with members of the public. They require your assistance and cooperation to effectively perform their duties and maintain law and order. However, it becomes a challenge for officers to perform their duties if they face resistance from the same people they serve. That is why California has laws to ensure that law enforcement has an easier time accomplishing their task. Among these laws is the law against resisting arrest, a prevalent offense across the country.

California law against resisting an arrest is under Penal Code 148. California PC 148(a)(1) makes it unlawful for any person to willingly attempt to delay, resist or obstruct a police officer or an emergency medical technician from performing their official duty. The official duties of law enforcement officers include arresting and apprehending suspected offenders, investigating crimes, and monitoring suspected criminals. Anything you do or fail to do that could interfere with the officer's official duty, including failing to provide information or fleeing from an officer, could result in serious criminal charges.

Examples of actions that could result in criminal charges under this law include:

  • Struggling with a police officer who is trying to handcuff you or someone you know
  • Giving a police officer false information, like a name or address, during questioning
  • Providing incorrect information to an officer to redirect them from the actual crime or perpetrator
  • Failing to stop or get out of the vehicle when arrested and asked by an officer on duty

You will face criminal charges for resisting an arrest when you act or fail to act in a manner that makes it hard for an officer on duty to perform their official duties. The prosecutor opens charges against you after receiving your file from the police. The prosecutor will use information gathered by the police to compel the judge to convict you of the offense. But before that, the law requires the prosecutor to prove the elements of this offense beyond reasonable doubt for the jury to find you guilty as charged. These elements are:

  • A police officer or EMT was working or attempting to perform their official duty.
  • You willfully resisted, obstructed, delayed, or attempted to resist, delay or obstruct the execution of that official duty.
  • You knew or must have known that the officer or EMT was on duty.
  • You knew or must have reasonably known that your actions would create a challenge for the officer or EMT in performing their duty.

Remember that the prosecutor must prove all these elements beyond reasonable doubts for the court to find you guilty. Thus, understanding the meaning and legal implications of each of these elements will help you understand your situation better if you face charges for resisting an arrest in Los Angeles. Let us discuss some of these elements further to understand the law even better:

Willfully Acting or Failing To Act

Resisting an arrest requires you to have acted or failed to act willfully in creating a challenge for a police officer or EMT from performing their duty. A willful act is deliberate or done on purpose. The prosecutor must demonstrate that your actions were purposeful or intentional. But willful actions do not necessarily mean that you intend to injure another person, break the law or even resist an arrest. The prosecutor must only prove that your acts were intentional and not accidental.

Example: Jane's husband, Mark, has not been okay since he was laid off from work. Jane suspects that he could be involved in criminal activities. One afternoon, the police come knocking with an arrest warrant for Mark. First, Jane lies to the officers that her husband is not home. Then she engages the officers in long conversations to allow Mark to escape through the backdoor.

Jane's actions are intentional, so they satisfy this offense's elements.

But if Jane only asked endless questions to understand the charges her husband was facing and did not intend for her husband to escape an arrest, she would not be guilty under the law even if her actions caused her husband to escape an arrest.

Resisting, Delaying, or Obstructing an Officer on Duty

Your willful actions should create resistance, obstruct or delay police or EMT officers on duty. Resisting, delaying, or obstructing an officer goes beyond physical activities. You are not just guilty under the law if you fight or run away from an officer. You could still face charges for resisting an arrest if you lie, threaten or verbally fight an officer.

It is difficult to list all or lack of actions that could be considered resistance, obstruction, or delay for an officer on duty. That is why California courts deal with one case at a time, carefully considering other elements of the offense and the results of your actions or lack thereof.

Example: Hannah has been a fugitive for three months now. There is an arrest warrant for her arrest. But, she has been trying very hard to avoid an arrest, including changing her physical appearance and obtaining fake documents. Unfortunately, an officer recently arrested her for speeding. During the booking process, the officer realized Hannah was using a fake ID to divert the police from her previous criminal activities.

Hannah could face charges of resisting arrest for providing false identifying details to the police during an arrest. Her actions made it impossible for police officers to act on a pending arrest warrant.

Note that your words alone cannot support charges under this law. For instance, if you angrily tell an officer off for accusing you of reckless or drunk driving, you are not guilty of resisting an arrest. Your angry outburst must impact the officer's ability to perform their duty for you to be guilty under this law. For instance, threatening an officer with dire consequences if they handcuff you satisfies the elements of these charges. An officer will not arrest you or perform their duty if they believe that your threats are credible and their life could be in danger.

An Officer Performing Their Legal Duty

California PC 148 only applies to police officers or EMTs on duty. You cannot face charges for resisting an arrest for resisting, obstructing, or delaying an officer when the officer is off-duty. The officer should be performing one of the duties under their job description. For instance, police officers are known to maintain law and order, arrest suspected offenders, and also investigate crimes. An officer on duty will perform one of those duties or many others according to their job title. The officer must also be on duty during the commission of the offense.

Police officers have been accused of using excessive force and threats when arresting or investigating crimes. That explains why some members of the public disagree with officers on duty. PC 148 requires the officer to be performing their task lawfully. If the officer used excessive force against you or someone you know, you could have utilized resistance or obstruction to protect yourself or the other person from imminent danger by the said officer. In that case, you will not be guilty of resisting arrest.

Example: Tim is among the law enforcement officers sent to investigate a criminal gang operating downtown. The officers have a few suspects in mind but have not managed to catch the gang in the act of crime. With limited time left to submit their findings to their supervisor, Tim decides to use a little bit of aggression to obtain information from their suspects. The suspects are unwilling to cooperate and even fight back in self-defense. Tim and his colleagues arrest three of the suspects and charge them with resisting arrest.

But the court learned that Tim and his colleagues used excessive force to obtain information and even arrest the suspect. In that case, the three suspects are not guilty of resisting an arrest.

You Knew or Should Have reasonably Known.

Sometimes people commit crimes against protected officers unknowingly. For instance, you could face charges for delaying a police officer on duty when you don't even know that the person you acted against was an officer in the first place. If you did not know that the person you obstructed, delayed, or fought against was an officer and that the officer was performing their official duty, you are not guilty under this statute.

But, most police officers or EMTs on duty are in their uniforms or a badge. If not, the officer must have politely told you who they are and why they need to perform that particular duty. For instance, if a plain-clothed police officer knocks on your door, they must first inform you that they are police officers from a specific police station, produce a badge or document to prove that, then proceed to tell you why they are in your home. Resisting an arrest from that officer would be a crime under this law.

An officer in uniform does not need to tell you who they are or prove it using an ID or badge. You should reasonably know that they are a police officer on duty.

Penalties for Resisting Arrest

Resisting arrest is a misdemeanor offense, punishable by the following:

  • Jail time of up to one year
  • A maximum court fine of $1,000

The judge can decide to place you on probation instead of sending you to jail for one year. In that case, you will be sentenced to misdemeanor probation. Misdemeanor probations last for between one and five years. You will be required to submit progress reports to the court within that period for the judge to ensure that you are not violating your probation. The judge will also set some probation conditions you must abide by throughout the probation period. The most likely probation conditions you will receive for this offense are:

  • Submitting progress reports periodically throughout the probation period
  • Ensuring that you do not get arrested, commit a crime, and face criminal charges while on probation
  • Remaining within the court's jurisdiction to make it easy for the court to make follow-ups on your progress
  • Not consuming drugs or alcohol if the court believes that you acted under the influence of drugs or alcohol
  • Taking part in group or individual counseling or therapy
  • Undergoing drug or alcohol treatment if the court believes that you have a drug or alcohol problem
  • Participating in community work
  • Finding a job that will keep you busy and available throughout the probation period

Note that the district attorney's office in Los Angeles generally does not prosecute cases related to resisting an arrest unless in situations where:

  • You are a repeat offender within the last two years
  • You used physical force against an officer on duty
  • You face charges for resisting an arrest alongside another offense that the DA prosecutes

Thus, if you are only a first offender and did not threaten or use force against the said officer, the police could let you go with only a stern warning.

How To Fight Your Charges

If you are not lucky enough to have the police or prosecutor drop your charges for resisting arrest, you must prepare well for trial. How well you are prepared will determine whether or not you will face a conviction and its consequences. Remember that a criminal conviction for resisting arrest impacts all aspects of your life, including your social and career life. For instance, you will have a damaging criminal record even after serving your jail time or probation and paying the court fines. You can fight your charges to compel the court to dismiss them. But you need the help of a skilled criminal attorney. Here are some of the strategies your attorney can use to obtain a fair outcome for your case:

You Did Not Act Willfully

Charges for resisting arrest apply in cases where the defendant acts willfully in resisting, delaying, or obstructing an officer on duty. If your actions were only accidental, you would not be guilty under this statute.

Example: Officers in plain-clothes stop Bill on his way home from work. The officers have an arrest warrant against Bill, but Bill is not ready to be arrested. He starts fighting the officer. Bill's neighbor, Matt, is also coming home from work simultaneously. He notices his neighbor and good friend Bill under attack by two men. He decides to help Bill, and they both fight and injure the two officers.

Matt is not guilty of obstructing officers on duty because he did not act willfully.

You are Falsely Accused

If you face false accusations of resisting an arrest, your attorney can present your case to the court to convince the jury that you did not act the way you are accused of. It could be that you disagreed with an officer or were only trying to understand why the officer was arresting you. The officer was probably having a bad day or using more force than necessary, and you acted in self-defense. If your attorney uses this defense, the judge will dismiss your charges.

The Police Did Not Have a Probable Cause for Arrest

Your attorney can use this defense to have the court dismiss your charges. Remember that the law requires police officers to have probable cause for arrest before executing an arrest. Without probable cause, the detention becomes illegal, and any evidence gathered after that arrest is inadmissible in court. If the jury is convinced that you resisted the arrest because you believe it was unlawful, the court will dismiss your charges.

Find an Experienced Los Angeles Criminal Attorney Near Me

Do you or someone you know face charges for resisting arrest in Los Angeles? It helps to understand what the charges legally mean and their implications if you are convicted. An experienced criminal attorney can do that and more by protecting your rights and preparing a solid defense against your charges. Los Angeles Criminal Attorney has a team of competent criminal attorneys that can smoothen the legal process and fight alongside you for a fair outcome. Call us at 424-333-0943 to discuss our services and the charges you face.