Bill Text: VA HB1196 | 2017 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Arrest; failure to be physically taken into custody by using physical means to resist.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-12-02 - Left in Courts of Justice [HB1196 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2017-HB1196-Comm_Sub.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §18.2-479.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§18.2-479.1. Fleeing from a law-enforcement officer; active resistance; penalty.
A. Any person who intentionally prevents or attempts to prevent a law-enforcement officer from lawfully arresting him, with or without a warrant, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B. For purposes of this section, intentionally preventing or
attempting to prevent a lawful arrest means fleeing from a law-enforcement
officer or failing to allow oneself to be physically taken into custody by
using any physical means to resist, when (i) the officer applies physical
force to the person, or (ii) the officer communicates to the person that
he is under arrest, and (a) the officer has the legal authority and the
immediate physical ability to place the person under arrest, and (b) a
reasonable person who receives such communication knows or should know that he
is not free to leave.