Have you disobeyed a police officer in California? Law enforcement officers have the authority to issue lawful orders to a large population to reserve public safety or maintain order during emergencies. If the public was allowed to disregard these orders, it could be challenging for the police to perform their duties.

To ensure police achieve their mission to protect and serve, Vehicle Code (VC) 2800 criminalizes refusal or failure to willfully observe legal orders or instructions from a peace officer in uniform. When you disobey lawful orders from an officer, you risk a jail term of half a year if sentenced for the violation. The blog below highlights what it means to disobey an officer to understand your charges if you are arrested for the crime.

Legal Definition of Disobeying a Police Officer

Defying a police officer means that you failed to obey their orders, directions, or signals while the officer was in uniform and gave the directives while executing their legal duties according to law provisions. Disobeying the peace officer’s orders is a crime under Vehicle Code 2800. The offense is a misdemeanor whose conviction results in harsh punishment.

A sentence for the crime does not come by easily. The prosecutor must prove several crime elements. These are:

  • You deliberately disregarded legitimate signals or directions from a peace officer
  • While the officer was in uniform and undertaking their duties as prescribed by the law

Additionally, you will face charges for a VC 2800 violation when you disobey a lawful out-of-state order from a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer or any other law enforcement official or agency. A peace officer issues the out-of-state orders when they deem your car unsafe to operate or inadequately equipped.

Scenarios Where You Can Face Charges for Defying Police Instructions

Many people arrested and charged with ignoring police orders do not understand the gravity of their actions. To prevent a violation of these statutes, you must understand what action constitutes the crime. Examples of instances when you could face charges for disobeying an officer are:

  • Failing to step out of the vehicle after an officer has directed you to do so after a traffic stop
  • You refuse to stop after an officer has signaled you to pull over using emergency lights, hand signals, verbal signals, or siren.
  • Defying an officer’s order to produce your license, car registration, and insurance paperwork during a traffic stop.
  • Attempting to flee from an officer in a traffic stop
  • Disregarding a traffic officer’s direction while performing their lawful duty of directing traffic
  • Driving a car while in disregard of the out-of-service order

To learn more about these instances, check the following examples:

  • Peter is on his way home from work. Sadly, the interstate ahead of him seems shut by a CHP officer, who is directing motorists to use the nearest exit ramp. Peter is unfamiliar with the exit the officer is ordering him to use, so he decides to defy the officer’s orders and drives to the next exit, which he is familiar with. If he is arrested and charged, the court will find him guilty of VC 2800 violation because he willfully disobeyed a lawful signal or direction by an officer.
  • Second, assume you are a truck driver ferrying corrosive chemicals on a tight schedule. In your attempt to beat the clock, an officer sees you speeding and signals you to pull over. After inspecting your vehicle, the CHP officer discovers that the truck is unsafe to operate and issues a lawful out-of-service order. Nonetheless, because this is your sole source of income, you defy the orders and continue driving the truck. Under the circumstances, a charge for VC 2800 violation will result in a conviction.

Penalties of VC 2800 Violation

A sentence for disobeying an officer attracts the following misdemeanor penalties:

  • Court fines not more than $1,000
  • Jail incarceration for half a year

Under these charges, the judges can choose to sentence you to informal probation instead of jail incarceration. During the probationary period, you must abide by or observe all the requirements imposed by the court. A breach of these conditions will result in canceling your probation and imposition of the original six-month sentence.

Legal Defenses

As a defendant, you have a constitutional right to defend against charges preferred against you by the prosecutor. Your defense lawyer must reasonably convince the jury or court that you did not commit the crime you are accused of to avoid the above penalties. Some of the defense strategies you can apply are:

You Defied the Orders Because You Were in a Life or Death Situation

Your defense attorney can convince the jury to be lenient with you because disregarding an officer’s lawful orders was out of necessity or for a good cause. The attorney will assert that you were in a life or death situation that entitled you to disobey the peace officer's instructions. To back the claim, the attorney will explain to the court the circumstances that led you to ignore the orders.

For instance, the attorney can claim that you were driving your pregnant wife, who had gone into labor, to the hospital when you came across a police barricade. However, because your wife was in a life-threatening situation, you ignored the officer’s signal to stop and sped to the hospital to save her life. Under these circumstances, the court will exempt you from the charges because you acted out of the necessity to save a life. 

Also, you can argue that you were complying with the officer’s orders. Still, you could not follow their directives due to hazardous road debris or extreme weather conditions.  Whatever the case, your responsibility as the driver is to decide on the best course of action to avoid calamity. And if, under the circumstances, obeying the lawful orders could have led to a catastrophic situation under the circumstances, then it was necessary to defy the directions for your safety and the safety of other road users.

Like in personal injury torts, you cannot be civilly liable for damages incurred in a traffic violation if you reasonably react to an emergency. The same doctrine applies to traffic offenses. Your defense attorney could persuade the prosecutor to drop the VC 2800 violation charges if your actions, construed as ignoring lawful orders, were a reasonable reaction to a disastrous situation.

You Did Not Knowingly Ignore the Lawful Orders

The prosecutor must prove you acted willfully or knowingly to gain a conviction for disobeying a law enforcement officer. It means that you should not be sentenced if you were not aware of the orders in the first place. You can argue that you did not hear the officer issue the directions or were confused about the instructions. A good example is when two officers give you conflicting orders, making it impossible to understand the order to follow without ignoring the other.

Similarly, you can claim that:

  • You did not see the officer
  • The vehicle malfunctioned
  • You lost control of the car
  • You had a medical situation that made you incapable of obeying the officer’s orders

Nevertheless, for the defense to work, your attorney must support it with evidence. You can table as evidence medical report copies to demonstrate your assertion of a medical condition preventing you from following the officer’s directions. Besides, vehicle maintenance records will help illustrate the car malfunctioning, while traffic surveillance and witness testimonies can help prove you lost control of the vehicle. With this evidence, you can convince the prosecutor to drop the charges if they have a weak case or are not guaranteed a conviction.

The Peace Officer Was Not in Uniform

Another defense strategy you can apply is arguing that based on the CHP officer’s dress code, you could not confirm if they were legally performing their duties. And because of this, you had no authority to obey their orders. You can even claim you did not realize the officer was addressing you.

The Said Officer Was Off-Duty 

The law only requires you to obey an officer's directions if they perform their duties as provided under VC 2800 and are in uniform. Therefore, you can defend yourself by arguing that the officer issuing the orders was not on duty at the time, lacking the authority to do so.

You Obeyed the Officer’s Lawful Directions

Police officers, especially those controlling traffic in an intersection or a sobriety checkpoint, are extremely busy, and sometimes, mistakes occur. Maybe you obeyed the officer’s directions, but they did not see it simply because they were swamped. Alternatively, you can claim another driver disobeyed the officer’s orders, but the officer mistook you for them, resulting in an arrest for VC 2800 violation.

Under the circumstances, you will need an experienced attorney to prove what transpired. A profound attorney will collect surveillance footage and eyewitnesses’ statements at the scene of the incident to demonstrate you complied with the lawful orders. Still, the officer missed it, or they mistook you for someone else who defied directions. These assertions will show the court that the prosecutor has a weak case, resulting in charge dismissal.  

Related Offenses

Three crimes are charged with or in place of ignoring an officer’s orders. These are:

1.  Resisting Arrest

As per PEN 148, it is a crime to willfully or intentionally delay, impede or resist an EMT or peace officer executing their mandates as provided by law. The scope of their official duty goes beyond arresting all other work-related activities. Although a PEN 148 violation is often charged alongside the baseline crime, it is a crime and attracts harsh penalties when sentenced.

Also, you do not need to be guilty of the baseline offense to be convicted for a PEN 148 violation. Even if you are innocent of the crime that led to the arrest you are alleged to have resisted, you still risk conviction for resisting arrest. From this explanation, it is evident that you can be guilty of a PC 148 violation even when you are innocent.

Nevertheless, police officers are discouraged from using excessive force whenever they suspect you are resisting or thwarting an arrest. Cases of law enforcement officers using excessive force have been rampant, although most have been associated with racism or ethnicity. Still, you risk conviction if the prosecutor can prove that:

  • The victim was a Public Officer, peace officer, or EMT executing legal duties.
  • You deliberately obstructed, foiled, or resisted any attempts by these officers to perform their duties as provided in law.
  • You must have known the victim was executing official mandates.

When the above elements are proven, the judge will sentence you to:

  • As much as one year in a county jail
  • Financial court fines of up to $1,000

Additionally, the judge can impose summary or informal probation in place of jail incarceration. Although misdemeanor probation is a relief, it comes with strict conditions that you must observe. Otherwise, you risk being sent behind bars to serve the original jail sentence.

Just like defying an officer under VC 2800, PEN 148 criminalizes willful or intentional acts. Therefore, when charged with resisting arrest, you can fight the charges by asserting that you impeded or resisted arrest accidentally or your actions were not deliberate.

2.  Evading a Pursuing Police Officer in a Car

Under VC 2800.1, it is illegal to willfully evade, flee or attempt to elude a police officer while operating a motor vehicle. Typically, when you do this, police pursue you on their car or motorcycle.

To demonstrate you are guilty of evading an officer, the prosecutor must prove that you willfully or deliberately avoided an officer while they were pursuing you in a motorbike or vehicle. The offense is filed as a misdemeanor, and for a conviction to occur, the prosecutor must demonstrate the following facts:

  • You were pursued by an officer on a bike or car
  • You attempted to willfully flee, evade or elude the officer while operating a car

Furthermore, your prosecutor must prove that:

  • The officer had lighted a red lamp visible from the front of their car
  • You saw or ought to have seen the lamp
  • The officer’s vehicle was sounding a siren
  • The officer’s car was uniquely marked
  • The officer was in a unique uniform

Whether or not the officer was in pursuit is up to the court to determine based on the facts presented. This is also true when it comes to establishing specific intent. Whether your actions were willful or not is up to the court to determine.

Like disobeying an officer, VC 2800.1 is a misdemeanor whose conviction attracts a jail term of as much as twelve months or up to $1,000 court fines. Luckily, you have a right to contest the charges and avoid the consequences mentioned above. One defense strategy is arguing that you did not intentionally evade the officers. Instead, circumstances led you to do so. You can apply the same defense when fighting VC 2800 charges.

3.  Felony Reckless Evading

Deliberately evading police while driving recklessly or in wanton disregard for the safety of other road users or property is a crime under VC 2800.2. The offense occurs when you flee an officer while operating a car and drive dangerously or recklessly. The crime elements the prosecutor must prove are:

  • You willfully evaded an officer.
  • The law enforcer’s car has unique marks like a lighted red lamp, a sounding siren, or any other feature that makes it easy for you to identify it as a police car.
  • The officer was in official uniform.

When you commit at least three reckless evading crimes, each with a violation point, you will be construed to be operating the car in wanton disregard for safety. It means that at the time of driving, you knew the fashion in which you drove elevated the risk of causing unjustifiable harm, but you chose to ignore the threat. Your actions will count as wanton disregard even if you do not risk your safety and the safety of others or willfully risk the lives of others.

However, if you were driving while drunk at the time of evading the officer, this will not count as reckless evading because there was no wanton disregard for safety.

Unlike disobeying a police officer, a VC 2800.2 violation is a wobbler offense. The decision on the type of charge you will face depends on your criminal history and the case’s nature. For a misdemeanor sentence, the penalties are:

  • Summary probation
  • Between six to twelve months of jail incarceration
  • Court fines of at most $1,000

The penalties are even more severe if the offense is filed as a felony. They include:

  • Formal probation
  • 16, 24, or 36 months in prison
  • A maximum of $10,000 court fines

Additionally, the vehicle you used to evade will be impounded for thirty days and your driving privileges suspended for the probationary period.

Find an Experienced Criminal Attorney Near Me

Defying the lawful orders of a police officer is a serious crime that is challenging to fight without the help of an attorney. Therefore, ensure you have the best private defender in your corner by contacting the Los Angeles Criminal Attorney now. Contact our criminal defense lawyers for further guidance or case evaluation by calling 424-333-0943. We will answer all your questions regarding the crime at zero cost.