Resisting Or Interfering With Arrest
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 575.150 — including fleeing a stop, and no defense that the arrest was unlawful
In Missouri a person who knows or reasonably should know an officer is making an arrest, stop or detention, and to prevent it uses or threatens violence or physical force, or flees, commits resisting. Doing the same to stop the arrest of someone else, including by physical interference, is interfering. It covers stops and detentions as well as arrests, for any offense, infraction or ordinance violation.
Not a defense that the arrest was unlawful. It is no defense to the charge that the officer was acting unlawfully in making the arrest, though the section does not bar a civil suit for unlawful arrest.
Someone who keeps driving after seeing or hearing, or after the point they should have seen or heard, clearly visible emergency lights or an audible signal is presumed to be fleeing. Resisting is a class E felony when the arrest is for a felony or on a felony warrant.
Sources for this section (1)
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 575.150 — Resisting or interfering with arrest
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Missouri attorney.