Com. v. Dabney, J., Com. v. Dabney, J. No. 1447 EDA 2016

On Nov. 18, 2014, Philadelphia police observed Dabney engage in two hand-to-hand suspected drug transactions within about an hour.
Officers attempted to apprehend Dabney; Officer Lewis chased and tackled him in an alley. Two crushed vials of PCP were recovered where Dabney was tackled.
During the takedown, Dabney fumbled at his waistband, ignored commands, pulled Officer Lewis’s radio off, grabbed Lewis by the neck and applied pressure, and then tried to flee until subdued and handcuffed.
Dabney was charged with PWID, possession, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person (REAP), and resisting arrest; he was convicted of PWID, REAP, and resisting arrest after a bench trial.
Trial court denied Dabney’s motions to quash and to suppress evidence; post-sentence motion challenging sufficiency of the evidence was denied. Dabney appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Commonwealth)	Defendant's Argument (Dabney)	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for resisting arrest	Evidence showed Dabney grabbed officer by neck during lawful arrest, creating substantial risk of injury	Dabney argued his struggle was "mild" and did not create a substantial risk of injury; contact should be judged on a continuum	Conviction affirmed; grabbing officer by neck created risk of bodily injury and supported resisting arrest conviction
Sufficiency of evidence for REAP	Grabbing and choking an officer showed conscious disregard of risk of death or serious bodily injury	Dabney argued he did not obstruct breathing and did not consciously disregard risk of serious harm	Conviction affirmed; choking conduct created a real risk of serious bodily injury and Dabney had present ability to inflict harm

Commonwealth v. Bibbs, 970 A.2d 440 (Pa. Super. 2009) (standard for sufficiency review)
Commonwealth v. Rainey, 426 A.2d 1148 (Pa. Super. 1981) (minor scuffle insufficient for resisting arrest)
Commonwealth v. Coleman, 19 A.3d 1111 (Pa. Super. 2011) (kicking or hitting an officer can constitute resisting arrest)
Commonwealth v. Stevenson, 894 A.2d 759 (Pa. Super. 2006) (lawful arrest is prerequisite to resisting arrest charge)
Commonwealth v. Jackson, 907 A.2d 540 (Pa. Super. 2006) (Commonwealth need not prove actual injury, only risk of injury)
Commonwealth v. Reynolds, 835 A.2d 720 (Pa. Super. 2003) (REAP requires conscious disregard of risk of death or serious bodily injury)
Commonwealth v. Cordoba, 902 A.2d 1280 (Pa. 2006) (REAP requires actual present ability to inflict harm, not merely apparent ability)