Interference With Official Acts
Sometimes. people panic when they're suddenly confronted by police officers arresting them or executing a warrant. Sometimes, people who are panicking do things that they usually never would and end up charged with "Interference With Official Acts," which is often called "resisting arrest."
Depending on what the State can prove happened, an Interference charge can be anywhere between a simple misdemeanor and a class "D" felony.
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Resisting Arrest
Iowa Code 719.1 governs resisting arrest.
It criminalizes resisting or obstructing anyone that you know is a police officer, jailer, emergency medical care provider, or fire fighter when they're performing their lawful duties.
If you're under the custody, care, or control of the Iowa Department of Corrections, you can also interfere by knowingly resisting, obstructing, or interfering with a correctional officer, agent, employee, or contractor.
Penalties
Resisting arrest is a simple misdemeanor. Ordinarily, the penalty for a simple misdemeanor is a fine of $105 - $855 and up to 30 days in jail, however, for Interference With Official Acts, the minimum fine is $250.
If your interference causes bodily injury, it becomes a serious misdemeanor, for which you will face fines of $430 - $2,560 and for which you may also spend up to a year in jail.
If the injury you caused is serious, your charge may be an aggravated misdemeanor, resulting in a fine of $855 - $8,540 and up to two years incarcerated.
Felony Interference
If you display a dangerous weapon or try to cause serious injury, your offense is classified as a class "D" felony, involving fines of $1,025 - $10/245 and up to five years in prison.
Because this is a felonious assault and/or a felony involving a dangerous weapon, felony Interference With Official Acts is a forcible felony, for which you will have to spend five years in prison without the possibility of parole and for which you would not be eligible for deferred judgment.
