Is resisting arrest a felony?

Resisting arrest generally means intentionally preventing or trying to prevent an officer from carrying out an arrest. Some states require force, and others cover any obstruction.^1,2,3,4,5

New York covers intentionally preventing or attempting to prevent a police officer or peace officer from making an authorized arrest. Texas requires the person to prevent or obstruct an arrest, search or transportation by using force against the officer or another person. Illinois covers knowingly resisting arrest. Ohio covers resisting or interfering with a lawful arrest recklessly or by force. Pennsylvania covers creating a substantial risk of bodily injury, or using means that justify or require substantial force to overcome the resistance.

Many states also have a broader charge for resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer, with or without an arrest. This charge is commonly named obstruction. It is often a misdemeanor.^6,7,8,9

California covers willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer, peace officer or emergency medical technician in the discharge of a duty. Georgia covers knowingly and willfully obstructing or hindering a law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of official duties. North Carolina covers willfully and unlawfully resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer. Virginia covers knowingly obstructing a law-enforcement officer in the performance of duties.

In Texas, it is no defense to resisting arrest that the arrest was unlawful.²

Texas Penal Code § 38.03(b) says it is no defense to prosecution under that section that the arrest or search was unlawful. Other states may treat this differently.

The basic offense of resisting arrest is a misdemeanor in the states we checked. A felony charge usually requires violence against the officer, a weapon or an officer's injury.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}

Florida makes resisting an officer without violence a first-degree misdemeanor. New York makes resisting arrest a class A misdemeanor. Texas makes resisting arrest by force a Class A misdemeanor. Illinois makes it a Class A misdemeanor. Ohio makes it a second-degree misdemeanor, or a first-degree misdemeanor if the person causes physical harm to a law enforcement officer. Pennsylvania makes it a second-degree misdemeanor. California punishes resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer with a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in county jail, or both. North Carolina makes it a Class 2 misdemeanor. Virginia makes obstructing an officer, and intentionally preventing a lawful arrest by fleeing, Class 1 misdemeanors. Georgia makes obstructing or hindering an officer a misdemeanor.

Resisting an officer with violence is a felony in some states. Florida makes it a third-degree felony. Georgia makes it a felony punishable by one to five years on a first conviction.^7,9,11,12

Georgia raises the penalty to two to 10 years on a second conviction and three to 15 years on a third or later one. California treats knowingly resisting an executive officer by force or violence as punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, up to one year in county jail or imprisonment under Penal Code § 1170(h), or both a fine and imprisonment. Virginia makes it a Class 5 felony to use threats of bodily harm or force to try to intimidate or impede a law-enforcement officer in a case involving certain drug distribution, gang or violent felony offenses. Otherwise, trying to intimidate or impede an officer by threats or force is a Class 1 misdemeanor there.

Using a deadly weapon while resisting arrest is a felony in some states. Texas makes it a third-degree felony. Ohio makes brandishing a deadly weapon while resisting arrest, or recklessly causing physical harm to an officer with a deadly weapon, a fourth-degree felony.^2,4

If resisting causes an officer's injury, some states make it a felony. In North Carolina, it is a Class I felony if resisting is the proximate cause of a public officer's serious injury and a Class F felony for serious bodily injury. In Illinois, it is a Class 4 felony if resisting was the proximate cause of an injury to a peace officer, firefighter or correctional institution employee.^3,8

Resisting arrest is often charged along with assault on an officer, and assault on an officer is a felony in many states.^{13,14,15,16,17,18,19}

Texas makes bodily-injury assault on a public servant on duty a third-degree felony, and a second-degree felony when the victim is a peace officer or judge. Pennsylvania makes causing bodily injury to a police officer on duty aggravated assault, a second-degree felony. Ohio makes assault on a peace officer a fourth-degree felony. North Carolina makes assault with a deadly weapon on a government officer a Class E felony. Virginia makes assault or battery on a law-enforcement officer a Class 6 felony. New York makes causing physical injury to a police officer to stop them from doing their job a class D felony. Illinois makes aggravated assault on a peace officer a Class 4 felony.

Texas

Texas: Resisting arrest, search or transportation by using force is a Class A misdemeanor. It is a third-degree felony if the person uses a deadly weapon to resist the arrest or search.²

Texas Penal Code § 38.03 requires force against the peace officer or another person. Evading arrest or detention, a separate offense in § 38.04, is graded differently.

Florida

Florida: Resisting an officer without violence is a first-degree misdemeanor. Resisting with violence is a third-degree felony.^10,11

Florida's felony version covers knowingly and willfully resisting, obstructing or opposing an officer by offering or doing violence to the officer. It also covers doing so to a police canine or police horse. The misdemeanor version applies to resisting, obstructing or opposing an officer without offering or doing violence.

California

California: Resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer is a misdemeanor. Deterring an executive officer by threat or violence can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor.^6,12,20

Penal Code § 148 provides a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in county jail, or both. Section 69 applies to attempting by any threat or violence to deter or prevent an executive officer from doing a duty, or knowingly resisting by force or violence. It carries a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment under § 1170(h), up to one year in county jail, or both a fine and imprisonment. Section 17(b) allows an offense with that kind of choice of punishment to be treated as a misdemeanor in the situations it lists.

New York

New York: Resisting arrest is a class A misdemeanor.^1,18

Resisting arrest in New York is intentionally preventing or attempting to prevent an officer from making an authorized arrest. If a person hurts a police officer to stop them from doing their job, the separate charge of assault in the second degree is a class D felony.

Georgia

Georgia: Obstructing or hindering an officer is a misdemeanor. Resisting, obstructing or opposing an officer by offering or doing violence is a felony punishable by one to five years on a first conviction.⁷

Georgia also makes it a felony, with a penalty of one to five years, to resist, obstruct or oppose an officer by throwing or expelling human or animal blood, urine, feces, vomit or semen at the officer. A person convicted under the section also owes a fine of at least $300.

Illinois

Illinois: Resisting or obstructing a peace officer, firefighter or correctional institution employee is a Class A misdemeanor. It is a Class 4 felony if the violation was the proximate cause of an injury to the officer or employee.³

A person convicted of resisting or obstructing also receives at least 48 consecutive hours of imprisonment or 100 hours of community service, and is not eligible for probation to reduce that sentence. Illinois law also says a person cannot be arrested for resisting arrest under this section unless there is an underlying offense for which the person was first subject to arrest.

Ohio

Ohio: Resisting arrest is a second-degree misdemeanor. It is a first-degree misdemeanor if the person causes physical harm to a law enforcement officer, and a fourth-degree felony if the person brandishes a deadly weapon or recklessly harms an officer with one.⁴

Ohio's law covers recklessly or by force resisting or interfering with a lawful arrest of the person or another.

North Carolina

North Carolina: Resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer is a Class 2 misdemeanor. It is a Class I felony if it is the proximate cause of a serious injury to the officer, and a Class F felony if it is the proximate cause of serious bodily injury.⁸

The statute defines serious bodily injury as bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, coma, a permanent or protracted condition that causes extreme pain, or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, or results in prolonged hospitalization.

Federal law makes it a crime to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate or interfere with certain federal officers and employees while they do their jobs. Where the acts are only simple assault, the penalty is up to one year. Physical contact or intent to commit another felony carries up to eight years. A deadly or dangerous weapon or bodily injury carries up to 20 years.²¹

This is 18 U.S.C. § 111. It applies to people covered by 18 U.S.C. § 1114, which lists certain federal officers and employees.

In Florida, a prior conviction for resisting an officer with violence counts toward making a later battery a felony. A person with one prior conviction for battery, aggravated battery, felony battery or resisting an officer with violence who commits a second or later battery commits a third-degree felony.^11,22

The statute defines "conviction" for this purpose as a determination of guilt that is the result of a plea or a trial, regardless of whether adjudication is withheld or a plea of nolo contendere is entered.