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Obstruction Laws in Michigan
Move along or you’ll be arrested for Obstruction of “Justice”.
In Michigan, obstruction is a crime that involves interfering with law enforcement or other officials when they are trying to carry out their duties.
Obstruction can cover a wide range of actions, including lying to the police, physically interfering with an officer’s job, or helping someone else avoid arrest. Michigan law takes obstruction seriously, and it can lead to felony charges with significant penalties.
What Is Obstruction?
Under Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 750.81d, obstruction is defined as any action that resists, opposes, or interferes with a police officer, firefighter, paramedic, or other emergency responder while they are performing their duties. This can include:
- Physically stopping an officer from making an arrest
- Giving false information to the police
- Refusing to follow lawful commands
- Tampering with evidence or hiding it from the police
The key part of the law is that obstruction makes it harder for officials to do their jobs safely and effectively. Even if you don’t touch the officer, simply not following orders or making their job more difficult can still be considered obstruction.
750.81d Assaulting, battering, resisting, obstructing, opposing person performing duty; felony; penalty; other violations; consecutive terms; definitions.
Sec. 81d.
(1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), and (4), an individual who assaults, batters, wounds, resists, obstructs, opposes, or endangers a person who the individual knows or has reason to know is performing his or her duties is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.
(2) An individual who assaults, batters, wounds, resists, obstructs, opposes, or endangers a person who the individual knows or has reason to know is performing his or her duties causing a bodily injury requiring medical attention or medical care to that person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.
(3) An individual who assaults, batters, wounds, resists, obstructs, opposes, or endangers a person who the individual knows or has reason to know is performing his or her duties causing a serious impairment of a body function of that person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both.
(4) An individual who assaults, batters, wounds, resists, obstructs, opposes, or endangers a person who the individual knows or has reason to know is performing his or her duties causing the death of that person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years or a fine of not more than $20,000.00, or both.
(5) This section does not prohibit an individual from being charged with, convicted of, or punished for any other violation of law that is committed by that individual while violating this section.
(6) A term of imprisonment imposed for a violation of this section may run consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed for another violation arising from the same transaction.
(7) As used in this section:
(a) “Obstruct” includes the use or threatened use of physical interference or force or a knowing failure to comply with a lawful command.
(b) “Person” means any of the following:
(i) A police officer of this state or of a political subdivision of this state including, but not limited to, a motor carrier officer or capitol security officer of the department of state police.
(ii) A police officer of a junior college, college, or university who is authorized by the governing board of that junior college, college, or university to enforce state law and the rules and ordinances of that junior college, college, or university.
(iii) A conservation officer of the department of natural resources or the department of environmental quality.
(iv) A conservation officer of the United States department of the interior.
(v) A sheriff or deputy sheriff.
(vi) A constable.
(vii) A peace officer of a duly authorized police agency of the United States, including, but not limited to, an agent of the secret service or department of justice.
(viii) A firefighter.
(ix) Any emergency medical service personnel described in section 20950 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.20950.
(x) An individual engaged in a search and rescue operation as that term is defined in section 50c.
(c) “Serious impairment of a body function” means that term as defined in section 58c of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.58c.
Resisting and Obstructing Officers
Michigan law, specifically Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 750.81d, makes it a crime to obstruct, resist, or assault a police officer while they are carrying out their duties.
This law applies not only to police officers but also to firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and other authorized officials.
Resisting involves refusing to comply with lawful orders, such as resisting an arrest.
Obstruction, on the other hand, refers to actions that make it difficult or impossible for an officer to perform their duties, like lying to police, refusing to move when asked, or hiding evidence.
If you are found guilty of resisting or obstructing, you can face a felony charge. The penalties for this crime depend on the circumstances:
- Basic offense: If there is no injury to the officer, the crime is punishable by up to 2 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $2,000.
- Injury to an officer: If the officer is injured during the act of resisting or obstructing, the penalty increases to a maximum of 4 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000.
- Serious injury to an officer: If the officer suffers a serious bodily injury, the punishment increases to 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
- Death of an officer: If the officer dies as a result of the obstruction or resistance, the offender can face up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $20,000.
Passive vs. Active Resistance
There is a distinction between passive resistance and active resistance. Passive resistance is often seen in peaceful protests, where someone might sit or stand in a location without fighting back. While still illegal, passive resistance typically results in lower penalties than active resistance, which involves physical struggle or fleeing from an officer.
Catch All
Michigan law also has a catch all law MCL 750.505.
750.505 Punishment for indictable common law offenses.
Sec. 505.
Any person who shall commit any indictable offense at the common law, for the punishment of which no provision is expressly made by any statute of this state, shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 5 years or by a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both in the discretion of the court.
Conclusion
Resisting arrest and obstructing officers in Michigan whether the resistance is passive or active, it is important to understand that interfering with law enforcement can lead to felony charges and significant penalties.
For more details, you can refer to the laws here:
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