New Jersey Criminal Lawyers Blog
If you are facing arrest, resisting the police officer will only complicate matters. It is in your best interests, and everyone’s safety interests, to cooperate even if you believe the arrest is wrongful and exercise your right to an attorney when the time comes.
New Jersey considers resisting arrest to be a serious matter as it impedes law enforcement’s efforts to perform their responsibilities. A person who resists a police officer can be charged with an indictable crime, including aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer, depending on the particular circumstances. Those circumstances can impact both the charge and the penal consequences, which can include imprisonment.
Eluding a police officer is a very specific form of resisting arrest involving fleeing the scene in a motor vehicle, and/or failing to stop a motor vehicle upon law enforcement command. This can be charged as either a second or third degree crime and has the potential of resulting in significant prison time and suspension of a driver’s license.
Other extenuating circumstances can impact the exact charges. If a person’s actions while resisting arrest involve the violation of other criminal or motor vehicle laws, and/or create the risk of injury, more serious criminal charges may be filed.
It is important to note that in New Jersey a person can be convicted of resisting arrest even if the original arrest was found to be improper provided the arresting officer was shown to have been acting reasonably and in good faith under the circumstances.
Because being convicted of resisting arrest, regardless of the degree of the charges, can have a permanent impact on a person’s record, it is in that person’s best interests to retain the counsel of a criminal defense attorney who can guide them through the process and ensure that their rights are protected.