Defending Your Rights, Protecting Your Freedom
resisting obstruction child abuse
It is a crime to resist arrest by using threats, force or violence against the police officers or other people. It is a class 2 misdemeanor. Not only can you be charged with resisting arrest, but also charged with the underlying crime you were being arrested for.
You resist arrest by knowingly preventing a law enforcement officer from taking you – or another person – into custody by either:
- inflicting physical force on the police or others; or
- threatening to inflict the physical use of force on the police or others; or
- otherwise causing a high risk that the police or others will be injured.
Examples of resisting arrest are:
- Kicking the officer while being cuffed
- telling the officer, “I’ll kill your family unless you release me.”
- Instructing the nearby crowd to jump a police officer who is handcuffing a vandal
Three potential defenses to resisting arrest are:
- The officer is not engaged in their official duties. An example is if the officer is off-duty and working as a private security guard, and there are no grounds for making a citizen’s arrest.
- The officer was using excessive force, and you were acting in lawful defense of another. An example is if the officer beats you despite you not putting up a fight, and a bystander grabs the officer to stop the beating.
- You did not act knowingly. An example is if you have a seizure while being cuffed, causing your arms to flail and hit the officer; here, you are not criminally liable because the flailing was unintentional.
It is not a defense that the peace officer was attempting to make an arrest which in fact was unlawful, if he was acting under color of his official authority, and in attempting to make the arrest he was not resorting to unreasonable or excessive force giving rise to the right of self-defense. A peace officer acts “under color of his official authority” when, in the regular course of assigned duties, he is called upon to make, and does make, a judgment in good faith based upon surrounding facts and circumstances that an arrest should be made by him.
RELATED OFFENSES
Vehicular eluding
Vehicular Eluding is driving recklessly and attempting to evade a pursuing police car. This charge is a felony that carries 1 to 12 years in prison depending on whether an injury or death results.
Eluding a police officer
Eluding a Police Officer is dodging – or attempting to dodge – a police vehicle that is signaling you to pull over.
Disarming a peace officer
Disarming a peace officer is knowingly removing a weapon from a police officer while the officer is acting in an official capacity.
Impersonating a Peace Officer
This crime occurs when you falsely pretend to be a peace officer and perform an act within the capacity (or job functions) of a peace officer.
You need Beck Law to obtain all the evidence to defend you against these charges.
Obstructing a peace officer is hindering or interfering with peace officers, firefighters, EMT providers, rescue specialists or volunteers in the course of their duties. This is a class 2 misdemeanor.
You commit “obstruction” when you, by using or threatening to use violence, force, or physical interference, knowingly obstruct, impair, or hinder the:
- enforcement of the penal law,
- preservation of peace,
- abatement of fire by a firefighter, or
- application of medical treatment or emergency assistance.
Examples of Obstruction
Some common examples of obstruction include but are not limited to:
- verbally threatening harm to police;
- blocking firefighters from putting out a fire;
- stopping or attempting to stop a policeman from making an arrest or writing a ticket;
- crossing yellow police tape;
- uses force to block medical treatment for a person; or
- giving law enforcement officers false information.
The code section is intentionally vague, and broad. A lot of different conduct could be charged as obstruction, but with experienced legal help you can fight the charges against you.
Police Dogs
The same types of acts that may get a Colorado resident charged for obstruction against a police officer or firefighter may result in a charge for the same actions against a police animal.
This most commonly occurs with police dogs, and usually includes behavior like:
- threatening a police dog,
- tackling a police dog,
- kicking or punching a police dog, or
- attempting to block a drug- or bomb-sniffing dog from doing its job.
What if the officer was wrong?
If you are charged with this offense, you may not argue that a peace officer was acting illegally in the course of their duties.
So long as the official was acting “under color of his or her official authority,” the offense may still be charged against you so long as the peace officer:
- acted in the regular course of their assigned duties;
- made a judgment in good faith based on the surrounding facts and circumstances; and
- took actions to enforce the law or preserve the peace.
Challenging a peace officer’s illegal actions is best done in a court of law, not in the heat of the moment.
Defenses
Beck Law has represented many people charged with crimes involving police such as obstruction. These five defenses have proven very effective.
- The peace officer or another emergency worker not acting under color of their official authority at the time of the alleged offense;
- You did not know you were obstructing an official covered by this law (for example, the officer was not in uniform and did not offer identification),
- You were acting in self-defense or defense of others,
- A peace officer was using excessive force against you; or
- There was police misconduct.
If the case gets dismissed, you can pursue a criminal record seal right away.
Convictions carry significant consequences, and you should not do this on your own. Beck Law has extensive experience in getting to the bottom of these cases and has been successful for their clients.
In Colorado, child abuse is defined as:
- Causing an injury to the child’s life or the health of the child, such as physical abuse or emotional abuse; OR
- Permitting a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation that poses a threat of injury to the child’s life or health; OR
- Engaging in a continued pattern of conduct that results in:
- malnourishment,
- lack of proper medical care,
- cruel punishment,
- mistreatment, or
- an accumulation of injuries that ultimately results in the death of a child or serious bodily injury to a child;
- If no serious injury results, child abuse is a misdemeanor.
- If there is serious bodily injury, child abuse is a felony.
Some examples of child abuse are:
- DUI/DWAI with a child in the car
- Performing or allowing female circumcision or genital mutilation (“infibulation … of the labia minora, vulva, or clitoris of a female child … or such child’s labia majora,”); or
- Allowing the presence of a child near the manufacture of controlled substances or near certain drugs and precursors (such as phenylpropanolamine, pseudoephedrine, methamphetamine, and isomers)
PENALTIES
First-degree Murder
Child abuse is murder in the first degree in Colorado if:
- The child was under 12 years of age,
- You were in a position of trust with respect to the child, and
- You knowingly caused the child’s death.
The penalty for Colorado first-degree murder is:
- life imprisonment
Death of a Child
If you acted recklessly, child abuse that results in death is a class 2 felony. Penalty can include this sentencing range:
- 8-24 years in prison, and/or
- A fine of $5,000-$1,000,000.
If you acted negligently, it is a class 3 felony Penalties for negligent child abuse resulting in the child’s death can include:
- 4-16 years in prison, and/or
- A fine of $3,000-$750,000.
Serious Bodily Injury
When a person acts knowingly or recklessly, and results in serious bodily injury, it is a class 3 felony with penalties of:
- 4-16 years in prison, and/or
- A fine of $3,000-$750,000.
If you acted with criminal negligence, however, and the child was seriously injured, it is aa class 4 felony. Possible penaties include:
- 2-8 years in prison, and/or
- A fine of $2,000-$500,000.
Minor or No Injury
If child abuse does not result in death or serious bodily injury, it is a misdemeanor.
If you acted knowingly or recklessly, it is a class 1 misdemeanor. If you acted negligently, it is a class 2 misdemeanor.
Note that defendants may face civil liability in addition to criminal liability. The custody of a child may also be jeopardized by charges of abuse of a minor.
Knowing Abuse of a Child
You “knowingly” commit the crime of child abuse when you are generally aware of the abusive nature of your conduct in relation to the child, or the circumstances in which you commit an act against the well-being of the child.
Reckless Abuse of a Child
You act recklessly when you are aware of and consciously choose to disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk that your conduct could result in injury to a child’s life or health.
Negligent Abuse of Child
You act with criminal negligence when, through a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise, you fail to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a result will occur or that a circumstance exists.
Position of Trust
For purposes of Colorado’s child abuse law, you are in a position of trust with respect to a child if at the time of the unlawful act you are responsible for a child’s
- physical and mental health,
- education,
- welfare, or
- supervision, no matter how briefly.
People in a position of trust can include (without limitation) the child’s:
- parent,
- foster parent,
- legal guardian,
- teacher,
- counselor,
- day care supervisors,
- doctor or health care professional, and
- babysitters.
Child Abuse charges can result in serious criminal penalties, including heavy fines and many years in Colorado prison. At the very least, you face jail time and significant monitoring as well as the possible loss of your child.
Beck Law is very aware that innocent people get accused of abuse of a minor. This could be because of a misunderstanding, misinterpretation of what happened or revenge in a domestic case.
DO NOT take the chance of doing this by yourself because there is too much at stake. Call Beck Law to defend your rights and protect your freedom.