Missouri Resisting Arrest Laws

Missouri takes resisting arrest and related behaviors seriously. You can face criminal charges even if you never touch an officer, fight, or threaten anyone.

Under Missouri law, simply running away or driving off when a police officer tries to stop you can lead to a resisting arrest charge. Penalties can range from a misdemeanor to a felony, making it important to understand the law, the required intent, and the available legal defenses.

In this article, we break down Missouri’s resisting arrest statute, along with the types of conduct it prohibits. We’ll give you an idea of how the state penalizes those who are convicted, and we’ll also discuss defenses to help you prevent a conviction.

If you’re facing resisting charges in Missouri, speak with a criminal defense attorney sooner rather than later. They can help you understand your options, identify any weaknesses in the prosecution’s case against you, and develop defense strategies with you. They’ll also likely negotiate with the prosecution for a reduction in your charges and/or penalties.

In the meantime, let’s start by taking a look at what the law actually says.

Missouri’s Resisting Statute

Missouri’s resisting law is found in the Missouri Revised Statutes. This single statute is the state of Missouri’s main resisting law. It criminalizes three different ways someone might try to stop a law enforcement officer from arresting, detaining, or stopping someone. The law prohibits you from:

• Fleeing
• Using threatening violence or physical force
• Interfering with the arrest, detention, or stop of another person

Any of these can lead to a resisting charge even if no physical contact occurs.

It’s common to assume that resisting arrest only happens when someone fights or pushes an officer, but that’s not correct. A person can face criminal charges even if they never touch the arresting officer.

Passive resistance, like refusing to provide your name, isn’t usually considered resisting under the state statute. This is because the law requires purposeful flight, use/threats of force, or physical interference. Some Missouri municipalities have a local ordinance violation or infraction for passive resistance.

Fleeing

This is the most common type of resisting. A person commits resisting by fleeing when they run, hide, or drive away after an officer orders them to stop.

Example: A driver in Kansas City sees emergency lights behind them. Instead of pulling over, they turn down a side street and try to get away. Even if they never speed or drive dangerously, this is resisting by fleeing in a motor vehicle.

Using or Threatening Violence or Physical Force

This offense covers situations where someone uses or threatens physical force to avoid being stopped, arrested, or detained.

Example: During a stop in St. Louis, a parole officer tries to handcuff a parolee. The parolee pulls away, shoves the officer, or threatens to hurt them. Even if the parole officer isn’t injured, this is resisting through force or threats. This type of resisting can lead to more serious charges if someone suffers serious physical injury.

Missouri treats parole officers as law enforcement officers for the purposes of resisting offenses. Not all states do.

Interfering With an Arrest, Stop, or Detention

When someone physically gets in the way of an officer trying to arrest, stop, or detain another person, they can face resisting charges. This includes any physical interference, like blocking the officer or trying to pull someone away from them.

Example: Police are arresting Joe outside a store. Joe’s friend, Rick, grabs the officer’s arm or steps between Joe and the officer to stop the arrest. Even though Rick was not the one being arrested, they can still be charged with resisting by interference.

Elements of a Resisting Offense

To convict someone of a crime, the prosecutor must prove the elements of that specific offense. For Missouri resisting offenses, the required elements depend on the type of resisting charged, but they all share the same basic structure. This includes the following elements.

• Knowledge: The person must know or reasonably should know that the individual giving the command is a law enforcement officer. This can be shown through uniforms, marked cars, badges, verbal announcements, or visible emergency lights.
• Intent: The person acted with the purpose of preventing the officer from completing that arrest, stop, or detention. Accidental behavior, like misunderstanding a command or not hearing an officer, doesn’t meet this criminal intent standard.
• Lawful action: The officer must be trying to either make an arrest or lawfully stop or detain someone. If the arrest proves unlawful, resisting arrest charges may be dismissed.

Let’s examine the elements for each of the three prohibited actions.

Resisting by Fleeing

To convict someone of resisting by fleeing charges, the prosecution must prove the following:

• A law enforcement officer was trying to either make an arrest or lawfully stop or detain someone
• The person knew or reasonably should have known that the officer was a law enforcement officer
• The person fled from the officer with the purpose of preventing the officer from completing the arrest, stop, or detention

The person fleeing may be on foot or in a vehicle.

Resisting by Using or Threatening Physical Force

In order to secure a conviction for resisting by using or threatening physical force, the state must prove these elements:

• A law enforcement officer was trying to either make an arrest or lawfully stop or detain someone
• The person knew, or reasonably should have known, that the officer was a law enforcement officer
• The person used or threatened physical force against the officer with the purpose of preventing their arrest, stop, or detention.

If someone other than the resister suffers serious physical injury, additional enhanced Class E felony resisting charges are possible.

Resisting by Interference

To convict someone of resisting by interfering with an arrest, stop, or detention, the prosecution must prove:

• A law enforcement officer was trying to either make an arrest or lawfully stop or detain an individual
• The defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, that the officer was a law enforcement officer
• The defendant physically interfered with the officer’s purpose of completing the arrest, stop, or detention

Regardless of the charge, the prosecution must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict someone.

Charges for Resisting

Each of Missouri’s resisting offenses can lead to different levels of charges. The state uses a tiered system that groups crimes by seriousness, from misdemeanors to felonies.

Every resisting arrest charge in Missouri is at least a Class A misdemeanor. Possible charges for resisting include:

• Class A misdemeanor
• Class E felony

The seriousness of the charges can be enhanced in two ways, as shown below.

Underlying Offense Enhancement

Resisting a misdemeanor becomes a Class E felony if the officer was arresting/stopping/detaining someone for any of the following reasons. These are:

• For a felony offense
• On a warrant issued for failure to appear (FTA) on a felony case
• On a warrant issued for a probation violation in a felony case

For the felony offense enhancement, the relevant underlying offense is the one for which the police were trying to stop/arrest/detain someone. In cases of resisting by interference, this means the underlying offense of the other person, not the resister.

Someone who blocks an officer from arresting their friend for felony burglary would be charged with a Class E felony for resisting arrest. This is because the friend’s underlying offense was a felony. The underlying offense enhancement cannot elevate the charge to a higher level than a Class E felony.

Danger-Based Enhancement

This focuses on the danger level of the resister’s actions. It can elevate resisting charges to a Class E felony if the resister creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death to anyone. The risk can be to the officer, bystanders, or even the person themselves.

Aggravated Fleeing

If someone flees in a motor vehicle, prosecutors often charge the offense under the state’s separate aggravated fleeing statute. This includes the following potential penalties:

• Class D felony: If the driver’s fleeing creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death to anyone, including themselves, but no injury results
• Class B felony: If the driver’s fleeing injures another person
• Class A felony: If the driver’s fleeing causes death to another person

When injury or death is involved, the prosecutors usually include separate felony assault charges. These aggravated fleeing and assault charges may accompany or replace the enhanced resisting charge.

If the resisting isn’t by vehicular flight but still causes serious physical injury to another person, prosecutors typically file felony assault charges in addition to the Class E felony resisting charges. These are elevated because of the danger-based enhancement.

Penalties for Resisting

The criminal penalties for each of the possible resisting charges carry serious weight.

Class A Misdemeanors

This is the state’s most serious misdemeanor charge. It’s also the state’s least serious resisting charge.

In Missouri, Class A penalties can include:

• Up to one year in county jail
• Up to $2,000 in fines
• Alternatives to jail, like probation

Probation can be structured in various ways. Some programs allow people to avoid a conviction by successfully completing a probationary period. A probation violation, on the other hand, can result in a jail sentence and conviction that the person originally sought to avoid.

Examples of misdemeanor-level resisting include things like refusing to put your hands behind your back, pulling away, or blocking an officer without putting anyone in danger. If the person’s actions during the resisting make the situation more dangerous, it can become a felony.

Class E Felonies

Class E felonies for resisting with either type of enhancement carry harsher penalties. These may include:

• Up to four years in state prison
• Post-release supervision
• Fines up to $10,000
• Potential impound/forfeiture of any vehicle used during the offense
• Alternatives to prison, like probation or county jail

Successful completion of some probation programs may allow people to avoid a conviction. Violating probation can also result in the conviction and prison sentence they originally sought to avoid.

With a conviction, the firearm ban and other automatic restrictions for felons still apply. Those convicted may also face long-term consequences of a felony record, potentially affecting things like employment or housing.

An example of a Class E felony would be someone running away from a cop trying to arrest them for check forgery. Since Missouri treats all check forgery as a felony, this action would usually lead to Class E felony resisting charges.

Judicial Discretion

Missouri judges have broad discretion when imposing specific penalties in resisting cases. They usually consider the person’s actions, criminal history, and the level of danger involved.

An experienced attorney can develop compelling arguments that show your human side and present you in the best possible light. They’ll often explain your perspective, point out facts that make the situation less serious, and highlight positive aspects of your life.

Legal Defenses

When someone is charged with resisting in Missouri, the case often turns on whether the person actually knew what was happening or whether the situation was as dangerous as the police claim. Many defenses focus on showing that the officer didn’t follow the law, the person didn’t understand what was going on, or the situation wasn’t as dangerous as the police claimed.

Some of the most common defenses to Missouri resisting charges include:

• Unlawful stop/detention: If the officer didn’t have reasonable suspicion for a stop/detention, or if they otherwise overstepped their authority, the charge can fail
• Self-defense: If an officer uses excessive force, a strong attorney might try to argue that your reaction was reasonable and proportionate
• Passive resistance: If you pulled away slightly or merely failed to obey, your conduct likely doesn’t satisfy the legal standard required for resisting charges
• No intent: If you didn’t hear or understand the officer’s commands (for a variety of reasons), or if your actions were accidental or reflexive, the required intent may be missing
• No substantial risk: With enhanced charges based on risk, your attorney may argue that the prosecution just speculated instead of proving that your actions created a real, fact-based danger

These defenses tend to work best when supported by evidence, witnesses, or inconsistencies in the officer’s report. Many charges fall apart when closely examined by a keen eye.

Getting Legal Advice

This can all feel like a bit of information overload. You’re not expected to face these charges without the benefit of legal expertise. An advocate is not only your constitutional right. They can also play a critical role in beating a charge like resisting in Missouri, where subjective interpretations can turn a misdemeanor into a felony case.

Missouri resisting charges are rife with technical legal elements and potential constitutional issues. A skilled criminal defense lawyer can find any gaps in the prosecution’s case and use them to negotiate. They regularly get the charges reduced and sometimes even dismissed.

You’ll want to hire a criminal defense attorney you trust as soon as possible. After sharing specifics with them, they can help you understand your options, including possible defenses.

FindLaw’s directory of qualified Missouri criminal law attorneys is free to use and publicly accessible. You’ll find background and ratings information for local advisors. Look for one with experience in cases like yours and arrange a consultation. Whether you’re just beginning this journey or seeking a second opinion, making informed decisions is critical. The stakes are simply too high for anything less.