The criminal offense of resisting arrest—also known as resisting a peace officer—occurs when a person uses any amount of physical force to resist, delay, or obstruct a police officer during an arrest. The resistance that gives rise to a criminal offense may be slight and includes (1) struggling with police officers as they try to place handcuffs on a person and (2) giving police a false name during questioning.

Resisting arrest laws vary from state to state—in California, for example, the law includes delaying or obstructing an emergency medical technician. Resisting arrest is usually a misdemeanor offense. Resisting arrest laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Illinois, the criminal offense of resisting arrest is codified under 720 ILCS 5/31-1, which states that a person who knowingly resists or obstructs the performance by one known to the person to be a peace officer, firefighter, or correctional institution employee of any authorized act within his or her official capacity commits a Class A misdemeanor. This includes actions such as using physical force, struggling during handcuffing, or providing false information to the officer. However, mere argument without physical resistance or threat does not constitute resisting arrest. The law in Illinois does not extend to emergency medical technicians as it does in some other states like California. Given that resisting arrest is a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois, it can result in a significant penalty, including a possible jail sentence and fines.