Fleeing Police by Other Means - A Misdemeanor Crime in Minnesota
We’ve already discussed how fleeing police in a motor vehicle is a serious felony level offense. A less serious offense – at least by severity level of the crime – is the misdemeanor charge of fleeing police by other means. As you can imagine, though, despite it only being a misdemeanor level of offense, prosecutors are known to take these charges seriously and want a conviction for fleeing police by other means. The reason – at least according to the State – is they want a criminal record to reflect the fact that a person isn’t cooperative with police so that police may be aware of this during any future interactions with the person. So, let’s take a look at what the statute requires, what the case law has clarified, and how that can create a legitimate defense to this charge.
What Does it Mean to Flee Police by Other Means?
The statutory definition of the crime is critical to understanding this crime:
Whoever, for the purpose of avoiding arrest, detention, or investigation, or in order to conceal or destroy potential evidence related to the commission of a crime, attempts to evade or elude a peace officer, who is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty, by means of running, hiding, or by any other means except fleeing in a motor vehicle, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Minn. Stat. 609.487, subd. 6. Let’s break down this definition. First, the act itself is of fleeing police by “running, hiding, or by any other means (biking, rollerblading, scooter, galloping, hang-gliding…) except via a vehicle.” The other is that this act of fleeing police by other means is done with the purpose of avoiding arrest, detention, or investigation by an officer. So, the act itself must be done with the purpose of evading or eluding police. This raises two real defenses.
Defenses for Fleeing from a Police Officer
The first defense is knowledge. Plainly, the State must prove that the Defendant knew that the officer was acting in lawful discharge of their duties and seeking their compliance. It is not hard to envision a scenario where a person simply does not know that an officer is commanding them to comply or after them – especially when wireless airpods and the like are so common. A person may not hear any oral commands and continue on their way when police are trying to gain control over a scene. Similarly, where there is a large scene with multiple parties, a person may misunderstand that the officer is commanding their cooperation and try to leave the area. Direct testimony from the defendant and/or circumstantial evidence are critical to carrying this defense, especially when an exacerbated officer will take the stand to testify that it was clear as day as to what they were commanding to the defendant.
Next, this is a specific intent crime. Going back to the statutory language, the act of fleeing police by other means must be done with the “purpose of avoiding arrest, detention, or investigation, or in order to conceal or destroy potential evidence related to the commission of a crime.” Because it is a specific intent crime, the defendant may raise the voluntary intoxication defense. Essentially, this equates the defendant being able to say that he or she were too drunk at the time to fleeing police by other means with the purpose of avoiding arrest, detention, etc. Simply put, they didn’t have the requisite plan behind their actions. They were just drunk. And, with this option, it is easy to imagine a scenario where this defense would be critical – an underage party leaves the bar hammered, and a cop sees them and suspects they are underage and illegally consuming alcohol. Cop tries to get them to stop, but the person starts running to catch up to friends and the cop assumes the person is fleeing. Needless to say, this is a valuable defense and one that must be considered whenever a person faces the misdemeanor fleeing police by other means criminal charge.
North Star Criminal Defense
Despite being a misdemeanor level of offense, fleeing police by other means is a serious crime that can lead to negative criminal and collateral consequences. Most HR personnel, for instance, will not view a conviction for this crime favorably. If you are facing this charge, hiring an experienced and reputable criminal defense attorney is critical to guide you through this and raise the needed fight on your behalf. Contact us today.