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03/19/2024 04:47 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20190&cosponId=30613
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House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: October 30, 2019 04:57 PM
From: Representative Mark Rozzi
To: All House members
Subject: Resisting Arrest
 
Law enforcement officers in Pennsylvania put their lives on the line day in and day out to keep our communities safe. Oftentimes while conducting an arrest, law enforcement officers can find themselves in danger if an individual resists, or threatens to resist, arrest; such actions may potentially lead to injury or even the death of an officer.

In order to better protect our law enforcement officers, I will introduce legislation to strengthen our laws regarding resisting arrest as well as to prohibit the threatening of law enforcement officers engaged in an arrest.

The bill would redefine resisting arrest as attempting to inflict or causing bodily harm to a public servant or another person or otherwise engaging in physically resistant behavior that would require force to be utilized to overcome the resistance, with the intent of preventing a public servant from effecting a lawful arrest or discharging any other duty. This offense would remain a second-degree misdemeanor.

Additionally, the bill would add the offense of threatening to resist arrest, which would be defined as threatening, by word or menace, to cause bodily harm to a public servant or another person, or otherwise engaging in destructive behavior that would require force to be utilized to overcome the resistance with the intent of preventing a public servant from effecting a lawful arrest or discharging any other duty. This offense would be graded as a third-degree misdemeanor.

Please join me in protecting our law enforcement officers and making our communities safer for all Pennsylvanians.



Introduced as HB2239