Oh, yes, this sounds like a fantastic idea, taking an existing, highly subjective offense that's already open to abuse by the police and making it a felony. What could possibly go wrong?
Originally shared by +Les Jenkins:
Because it's not like Resisting Arrest charges are tossed around like complementary breath mints already, right? I'm sure making it a felony would in no way result in abuse by the cops.
NYPD’s Top Cop Wants To Make It A Felony to Resist Arrest
A recent report found that blacks are already more likely to face that charge than whites, raising questions of abuse.
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Why not just throw a wall around the whole city and make John Carpenter into a prophet at this point?
A Police State had its needs, and one of those needs is to automatically comply with all of the contradictory orders that are given.
Because it's all about safety, and as we all know, white people loves their safety.
I think a lot of the problem is how nebulous the charge can be.
It seems to range from "not acting quick enough for the officer's liking" to "punching the officer and trying to run".
Since it's already a law on the books, I can't see the need to make it more severe….just tighten up the language to make it more concrete.
+Mark Means Yes. Someone who does violence to a police officer in the course of their duties should definitely suffer the consequences. As it stands, it's too easy a charge to abuse, to color an arrest ("He was accused of X, Y, Z, and Resisting Arrest, so we know he must be guilty"), or as a charge to threaten someone with.
It was mentioned in the article how rarely the charge is successfully prosecuted; I suggest that's not only because so many of the applications of it are not provable, but that it's often used as a bargaining chip by the DA for a plea bargain — "Cooperate, plead to 3rd Degree X, and we'll drop the 1st Degree X and the Resisting Arrest charge."
+Mark Means I would say get rid of the law since all it is, is away of tossing the book at a suspect and intimidation. Just as the RICO laws need to be repealed so that cops cannot legally steal from people anymore, Resisting Arrest needs to be done away with to cut down on police brutality.
+Stan Pedzick I think you're thinking of civil forfeiture; RICO laws as a whole have their own issues, but have also been useful sometimes, as I recall.
I'll have to ponder the usefulness of Resisting Arrest laws. Violence against police officers could be handled through assault laws (perhaps as a special case). Flight from the police, or actively resisting restraint is more problematic, and I'm not sure I want it to not have consequences.
Why are you resisting arrest?
+Dave Hill Ahh, yes you are correct.
Just how specific is the law regarding resisting arrest? If I demand to know what the charge is, am I resisting arrest? What if I declare my innocence? Could a police officer consider that a form of resistance? What if I don't notice the flashing lights behind me or drive a while looking for a safe place to pull over? That might be misconstrued.
Unless the law rigidly defines the offense, this is could be very bad indeed.
+Scott Randel depending on the cop, yes you are obstructing and resisting arrest. In fact, there are many vids of cops tripping, slamming or otherwise doing something that would cause a normal person to put their hands out to ease their fall and the cop yelling "STOP RESISTING", it's all about power and the abuse of that power.