A.R. v. StateA.R. v. State
Appellant argues that his motion for judgment of dismissal on the charge of resisting an officer without violence should have been granted. We agree, because the arresting officers’ bare assertion that they were “investigating a possible crime” did not establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause to detain appellant. Thus, the state failed to establish that the officers were acting in the execution of a legal process or duty — an essential element of resisting without violence. We therefore reverse and remand with instructions to discharge appellant.
Appellant was charged by juvenile delinquency petition with attempted robbery (Count I) and resisting an officer without violence (Count II). The evidence at trial established that at about 4:00 p.m. on February 1, 2012, two Boynton Beach police officers were “investigating a possible crime that had taken place” in a public park. Officer Haugh, who was in the area of the park, testified that he spoke with someone about a possible crime that was committed. He then spoke with Officer Medeiros over the radio, prompting Officer Medeiros to pull into the parking lot of the playground area and approach appellant.
Officer Medeiros, who was dressed in full police gear, stepped out of his marked car. Appellant looked at Officer Medeiros, turned away, and started running. Officer Medeiros identified himself as a police officer and yelled for appellant to stop. Officer Medeiros ran parallel to appellant, maintaining a distance of “twenty yards or so.” He yelled a total of about three times for appellant to stop. Meanwhile, Officer Haugh, who was about 50 to 70 yards away, could “clearly hear” Officer Medei-ros yelling.
The state rested and appellant moved for a judgment of dismissal as to the attempted robbery charge. The state conceded that it failed to present evidence to support Count I, and the trial court therefore granted dismissal of the attempted robbery charge.
Defense counsel also moved for a judgment of dismissal as to the charge of resisting an officer without violence (Count II), arguing in relevant part that the state failed to prove there was a lawful basis to detain appellant. The trial court denied the motion for judgment of dismissal on the resisting count. After closing arguments, the judge found appellant guilty of resisting without violence, stating that “it is the lawful duty of an officer [to investigate] crime.”
The court withheld adjudication and placed appellant on probation.
On appeal, appellant argues that the trial court should have granted his motion for judgment of dismissal, because the state failed to prove that the officer who detained him was engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty. Appellant asserts that an officer’s mere investigation of crime while on the job is not one of the limited duties — such as serving process, legally detaining a person, or assisting in an emergency — that will support an obstruction charge. Moreover, appellant maintains that the assertion that the officers “were investigating a possible crime” was so broad that the lower court lacked any basis for determining whether the attempt to detain appellant was based on reasonable suspicion or probable cause. Finally, appellant argues that his mere flight did not give rise to a reasonable suspicion that he was engaged in criminal activity where there was no evidence that he was in a high crime area.
The state argues in response that the police were engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty by conducting a criminal investigation and that appellant resisted them by running away. The state further argues that “the police were clearly engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty because they had reasonable suspicion to stop appellant.” The state suggests that “if headlong flight from the police in a high-crime area, standing alone, provides the police with reasonable suspicion to support an investigatory stop, then headlong from the police when they arrive at the scene of an alleged crime also provides the police with reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop.” The state thus maintains that the trial court properly denied appellant’s motion for judgment of dismissal.
“Similar to a judgment of acquittal in a criminal case, the standard of review applicable to a motion for judgment of dismissal in a juvenile case is de novo.” E.F. v. State,
A conviction for resisting an officer without violence requires proof that “(1) the officer was engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty; and (2) the actions of the defendant obstructed, resisted or opposed the officer in the performance of that legal duty.” A.W. v. State,
In resisting cases involving an investigatory detention, the state must prove that the officer had a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. A.W.,
To justify an investigatory stop, there must be a well-founded, articulable suspicion of criminal activity. Popple v. State,
But flight, standing alone, is not sufficient to establish reasonable suspicion where there is no evidence to demonstrate that the flight took place in a high crime area. R.J.C. v. State,
In this case, the state never offered any evidence to establish that the police had a reasonable suspicion to stop appellant. The officers might very well have had a reasonable suspicion to stop appellant, but the state failed to prove it. Indeed, the prosecutor erroneously cautioned the testifying officers not to reveal the contents of any out-of-court statements describing the
The state’s evidence that the officers were investigating a “possible crime” was insufficient to establish that the officers had a reasonable suspicion that appellant had committed or was about to commit a crime. Without information regarding the nature of the incident and how appellant may have been involved, there was no way to determine whether the officers were engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty when they detained him. See Davis v. State,
Furthermore, because the state offered no evidence that appellant was stopped in a high crime area, appellant’s flight alone was insufficient to establish that the officers had a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
Because the state failed to meet its burden of proving that the police had reasonable suspicion to detain appellant, it failed to prove that appellant’s flight obstructed the officers in the lawful execution of a legal duty. See Slydell,
Reversed and Remanded.
Notes
. Even words alone may constitute obstruction where a defendant resists an officer engaged in these specific legal duties. D.G. v. State,
. The out-of-court statements would have been admissible for the non-hearsay purpose of establishing reasonable suspicion. See S.D.T. v. State,
. We decline the state's invitation to extend Wardlow and find that reasonable suspicion exists any time flight occurs while the police are investigating a "possible” crime, even if the flight does not occur in a high crime area.