How To Defend Against A Resisting Arrest Charge In Galveston
A charge of resisting arrest can come about as a result of a confrontation that lasts just a few seconds, even though the effects can continue to follow you for a long time. Such cases usually start when an officer states that the person moved away, became stiff in one arm, put up a struggle when being handcuffed, or otherwise physically obstructed the attempt to make an arrest. The details of what occurred in those short moments might later become the main point in a criminal prosecution.
We do not take it for granted that the officer’s account gives the full picture, particularly when body-camera videos, statements from witnesses, medical records, or other evidence might indicate something different. If you are being charged with resisting arrest in Galveston County, we think that the defense should start by carefully looking into exactly what you did, exactly what the officer did, and whether the prosecution can prove each of the elements required by the law beyond a reasonable doubt.
What Texas Law Requires For A Resisting Arrest Conviction
Texas Penal Code section 38.03 addresses resisting an arrest, a search, or transportation. A person is guilty of this offense if they intentionally prevent or obstruct a peace officer or someone acting under the direction of an officer from making an arrest, carrying out a search, or transporting the person or another person by means of force against the officer or another person.
That wording is important because disagreement, verbal protest, or unwillingness to cooperate does not automatically establish every element of resisting arrest. The State must prove intentional conduct and the use of force against an officer or another person while that officer is attempting an arrest, search, or transportation. We examine whether the conduct actually involved force, whether the act was intentional, whether you knew the person involved was a peace officer, and whether the evidence supports the allegation made in the police report.
Texas courts have also addressed what “force against” an officer means. In Finley v. State, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that forceful pulling against an officer’s efforts to restrain a person can satisfy § 38.03. The court explained that force does not necessarily have to involve striking or injuring an officer. Pulling against an officer’s physical efforts may be enough, depending on the evidence.
Simply Being Difficult Is Not The Same As Resisting Arrest
One of the most important questions in these cases is whether the accused actually used force. Police encounters can become tense, confusing, and emotional. A person may ask questions, refuse to answer questions, argue about the basis for an arrest, hesitate before complying, or verbally object to what an officer is doing. Those facts should not automatically be treated as proof of resisting arrest.
Texas Penal Code § 38.03 specifically requires the use of force against the officer or another person. That distinction gives us an important area to examine when building the defense. A police report may use broad language such as “resisted,” “failed to comply,” or “became combative,” but those descriptions do not answer the legal question by themselves.
We compare those statements with the actual physical conduct shown by the evidence. Body-camera video can be especially important. It may show that the person was confused, had difficulty moving, was trying to understand conflicting commands, or did not engage in the type of physical opposition described by the officer.
Pulling Away Can Be Enough Under Texas Law
It is important not to underestimate a resisting arrest allegation simply because no officer was punched, kicked, or injured. Texas courts have interpreted the statute to cover some forms of forceful pulling away.
In Finley, the Court of Criminal Appeals found sufficient evidence where the defendant clenched his body and pulled his arm in the opposite direction while officers were attempting to restrain him. The court concluded that pulling against the officers’ physical force constituted force “against” the officers within the meaning of the statute.
At the same time, the facts still matter. In Dobbs v. State, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals explained that the force must actually be used against the officer or another person, rather than merely being conduct that frustrates the officer’s goal of completing an arrest. The court held that the statutory language requires physical aggression, opposition, or force connected to the officer or another person.
These cases show why the details of the physical encounter are so important. We want to know whether you actively pulled against an officer, whether your movement was reflexive, whether you were attempting to protect yourself from falling, whether multiple officers were pulling you in different directions, and whether the officer’s written account matches the video.
The State Must Prove That You Acted Intentionally
Resisting arrest is an intentional offense. That means prosecutors must establish more than the fact that physical movement occurred.
A person can move during an arrest for many reasons. Someone may lose balance, instinctively pull an arm away because of pain, react when unexpectedly grabbed, or move because an officer is forcing the person’s body into an uncomfortable position. Those facts may look different on a written police report than they do when the encounter is viewed on video.
We examine whether the prosecution can actually prove that your purpose was to prevent or obstruct the arrest, search, or transportation. When the movement was accidental, involuntary, caused by pain, or unrelated to an intent to interfere with the officer, the intent element may become an important defense issue.
An Unlawful Arrest Does Not Automatically Defeat The Charge
One of the most misunderstood parts of Texas resisting arrest law is what happens when the underlying arrest itself was unlawful.
Texas Penal Code § 38.03(b) expressly states that it is not a defense to resisting arrest that the arrest or search was unlawful. In other words, a person generally cannot use physical resistance simply because the officer lacked lawful grounds for the arrest.
This can seem unfair to someone who believes police had no right to arrest them in the first place. Texas law generally expects challenges to an unlawful arrest to be made through the courts rather than through physical resistance at the scene.
However, that does not mean police conduct becomes irrelevant. The officer’s actions, the amount of force used, whether proper commands were given, and the circumstances surrounding the encounter may still be critical to the defense.
Excessive Police Force Can Change The Legal Analysis
Texas law recognizes a narrow circumstance in which force may be justified in response to excessive force used by an officer.
Texas Penal Code § 9.31© provides that force used to resist an arrest or search may be justified if, before the person offers resistance, the officer uses or attempts to use greater force than necessary and the person reasonably believes force is immediately necessary to protect against that excessive force.
This is very different from claiming that an arrest was unlawful. The issue is not simply whether the officer had probable cause. The question is whether the officer used greater force than reasonably necessary before the accused responded.
We take allegations of excessive force seriously because the timing can determine whether this defense applies. Body-camera recordings, surveillance video, photographs of injuries, emergency-room records, witness statements, and use-of-force reports may help establish what happened first.
Body-Camera Video Can Be Critical To The Defense
Many resisting arrest cases turn on conflicting accounts. An officer may say the accused pulled away aggressively, while the accused remembers being thrown against a vehicle or taken to the ground before making any significant movement.
Body-camera footage can provide an objective record of at least part of the encounter. It may reveal commands that were given, whether the commands were clear, how quickly officers moved to use physical force, whether the accused had time to comply, and how the accused actually moved.
Video can also expose inconsistencies in a police report. An officer’s later written description may sound much more serious than the conduct visible on camera. Conversely, video can sometimes support the prosecution’s case, which is why we want to review the evidence ourselves rather than make assumptions about what it shows.
Early legal representation can be particularly important when evidence needs to be identified and preserved before it becomes unavailable.
Conflicting Police Commands Can Matter
Arrests involving several officers can become chaotic. One officer may tell a person to place both hands behind their back while another is pulling an arm in a different direction. Someone on the ground may hear commands to roll over, stop moving, show their hands, and place their hands behind their back within seconds.
When commands conflict or become physically impossible to follow, the resulting movement should not automatically be treated as intentional resistance. We examine the sequence carefully.
The difference between deliberately fighting an officer and being unable to comply with competing commands can become central to the case. Audio from body cameras and other recordings can help establish exactly what instructions were given.
Penalties For Resisting Arrest In Texas
Under Texas Penal Code § 38.03©, resisting arrest is ordinarily a Class A misdemeanor. A Class A misdemeanor can result in up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $4,000, or both under Texas Penal Code § 12.21.
The charge becomes substantially more serious if a deadly weapon is involved. Under Texas Penal Code § 38.03(d), resisting arrest becomes a third-degree felony when the accused uses a deadly weapon to resist the arrest or search. A third-degree felony is punishable by two to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000 under Texas Penal Code § 12.34.
A criminal conviction can also create consequences beyond jail and fines. Employment opportunities, professional licensing, background checks, housing applications, firearm rights in felony cases, and future criminal proceedings may all be affected.
Resisting Arrest Can Be Filed With Other Criminal Charges
A resisting arrest allegation frequently accompanies another criminal accusation. The underlying encounter may involve DWI, assault, domestic violence, drug possession, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, or another alleged offense.
This means we may need to defend several parts of the case at the same time. The evidence supporting the original arrest may overlap with the evidence supporting the resisting charge. Sometimes the resisting allegation is based almost entirely on what occurred after officers decided to take the person into custody.
We examine each charge separately because weakness in one allegation does not automatically determine what happens to another. The State still has to prove the elements of every offense it prosecutes.
Why We Examine The Officer’s Entire Account
A resisting arrest case should not be reduced to a single sentence in a police report stating that someone “resisted.”
We compare reports written by different officers, review video, examine photographs, study dispatch records, and look for inconsistencies in the timeline. We also consider whether witnesses observed the encounter and whether medical records document injuries that support or contradict the officer’s account.
Police officers are witnesses in criminal cases. Their testimony can be questioned and tested just like testimony from other witnesses. If the physical evidence does not match what an officer claims happened, that discrepancy may become significant when challenging the charge.
How We Defend Resisting Arrest Charges In Galveston
There is no single defense that applies to every resisting arrest case. The strongest defense depends on what actually happened.
We may challenge whether force was used at all, whether the conduct was intentional, whether you knew the person was an officer, whether the officer’s account is supported by video, or whether excessive force triggered a lawful defensive response under Texas law. We may also identify contradictions between witnesses or evidence that undermines the prosecution’s version of events.
Our goal is to determine what the State can prove, not merely what appears in the initial charging documents. That distinction matters because an accusation is only the beginning of a criminal case.
Call Mark Diaz & Associates For A Free Galveston Criminal Defense Consultation
A resisting arrest charge may begin with a brief confrontation, but a conviction can carry serious consequences. We believe these cases require a close examination of the physical encounter rather than automatic acceptance of the police report. Video footage, witness testimony, injuries, officer statements, and the exact sequence of events can determine whether the prosecution can prove intentional resistance through force.
At Mark Diaz & Associates, we defend people accused of resisting arrest and other criminal offenses in Galveston and throughout the city of Houston, Texas. We examine the State’s evidence, identify weaknesses in the allegations, protect our clients’ constitutional rights, and pursue dismissal, reduction of charges, acquittal, or another favorable resolution when supported by the facts and law.
When you hire me, you work directly with me. My clients have my personal cell phone number because questions, emergencies, and concerns don’t always happen during business hours. You won’t be handed off to a junior associate or lost in a system where your case is one of dozens on a crowded docket. From arrest through resolution, I remain personally involved and accessible.
If you have been charged with resisting arrest in Galveston or anywhere in Houston, contact our Galveston criminal defense lawyers at Mark Diaz & Associates by calling 409-515-6170 to receive your free consultation. We can review what happened, explain the charges you face, and determine what defenses may be available under Texas law.
