Few moments in a person’s life are as disorienting as being placed under arrest. Whether it happens on a Greeley street corner, outside a bar on 8th Avenue, or in your own driveway, the combination of surprise, fear, and adrenaline can produce reactions that feel instinctive in the moment but carry serious legal consequences. Pulling away from an officer’s grip. Arguing about whether the arrest is lawful. Physically struggling during handcuffing. Any of these can result in a Resisting Arrest charge on top of whatever underlying offense prompted the encounter in the first place.
Resisting Arrest is one of those charges that people often dismiss as minor, assuming it will get lumped in with the main case and forgotten. That assumption is a costly mistake. In Weld County, Resisting Arrest is pursued as a serious standalone offense, and its consequences, criminal, professional, and personal deserve careful attention.
How Colorado Defines Resisting Arrest: A Greeley Resisting Arrest Attorney Explains
Colorado’s Resisting Arrest statute — C.R.S. § 18-8-103 — defines the offense as knowingly preventing or attempting to prevent a peace officer, acting under color of his or her official authority, from effecting an arrest of the actor or another person by using or threatening to use physical force or violence against the peace officer or another, or by using any other means that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to the peace officer or another.
Several elements of that definition deserve close attention.
First, the statute requires knowing conduct. A reflexive flinch or an involuntary physical reaction to being grabbed is not the same as knowingly resisting. The distinction matters and it is one that experienced defense attorneys explore carefully.
Second, the charge applies not only when resisting your own arrest, but also when attempting to prevent the arrest of another person. Intervening in an arrest, even if you believe the arrest is unjust, can expose you to the same charge.
Third, the language “any other means that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury” extends the statute beyond physical force. Running from officers in circumstances that could create danger, or taking actions that force officers to pursue in ways that risk injury, may fall within the statute’s reach depending on the facts.
Is Resisting Arrest a Misdemeanor or a Felony in Weld County?
Resisting Arrest in Weld County, Colorado is a class 2 misdemeanor under most circumstances, carrying a potential sentence of up to 120 days in the Weld County Jail and fines up to $750.
However, the charge can escalate significantly depending on how the resistance occurred and what happened during the encounter. If the resisting involved the use of a deadly weapon, or if serious bodily injury resulted to the officer or another person, prosecutors may pursue additional or elevated charges including Assault on a Peace Officer under C.R.S. § 18-3-203, which is a Class 4 felony carrying two to six years in prison.
If you have been charged with Resisting Arrest in Weld County, including Greeley, Evans, Windsor, Eaton, Fort Lupton, or Milliken, contact O’Malley Law Office today at 970-616-6009. Together, we can protect your future.
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