§ 205.30 Resisting arrest. A person is guilty of resisting arrest when he intentionally prevents or attempts to prevent a police officer or peace officer from effecting an authorized arrest of himself or another person. Resisting arrest is a class A misdemeanor.

Resisting arrest is also a crime almost always committed by people who are too drunk to know what they are doing. I'm not judging you - we have all been there. That said, knowing how we got somewhere is a good start to understanding how we get out of trouble.

We don't often see Resisting Arrest charges within the context of a DWI arrest - if you are charged with Resisting Arrest you probably haven't made it to your car. Typically it begins with somebody leaving a bar. The person almost makes it to the street when a police officer approaches and asks if they are okay, and it's all down hill from there.

The police officer can't/won't/doesn't want to leave the drunk person alone, so they continue to engage that person, and the person gets frustrated because they are too drunk to realize they might be a danger to themselves or somebody else if they actually make it into the street. They are also too drunk to pretend that they have control of themselves so, when the police officer inevitably attempts to take this person into custody, they get angry and push back. Maybe a little, or maybe a lot. It doesn't matter. That's all the police officer needed to put the person face-down (face-first) onto the sidewalk, handcuff them, and wait for backup to load them into the patrol car. The drunk person, now bloody from their interaction with the sidewalk ("Suspect fell onto the sidewalk," is how the police report will read) is left wondering what the hell happened when they wake up the next morning.

Resisting Arrest charges also seem to happen at concerts.  We have recently represented two different couples who faced very similar situations:

Drunk girlfriend gets touched inappropriately by drunk concert-goer, causing drunk boyfriend to confront the drunk concert-goer. Drunk boyfriend often seems to get the attention of police, who attempt to break things up, and in fact, arrest drunk boyfriend. Drunk boyfriend, incredulous because he is getting arrested and not the jerk who grabbed his girlfriend, pushes back. (Maybe a little, or maybe a lot. It doesn't matter.) He suddenly finds himself at the bottom of a pile of sheriff's deputies. Those deputies are often surprised to find that drunk girlfriend comes after them for arresting her boyfriend. All the sudden there are two charges for resisting arrest.

The next thing the (still-intoxicated) couple knows, they are standing in front of a judge in either Hopewell, NY (if they were arrested at CMAC) or Darien Center (if they were arrested at Darien Lake), and the local court justice is not amused.

These charges, like all criminal charges, are best met head on. An proactive approach to managing the defense of any criminal matter is essential; it's the difference between waiting for something to happen to you, and working to make sure that things turn out in your favor. If you have been charged with resisting arrest in Rochester, Canandaigua, Darien Lake, or at one of the concert venues nearby, call The Militello Law Firm at (585) 485-0025. We can help.