Offenses Relating to Government Operations - 9.12

This Chapter shall be construed in such manner as to promote maximum fulfillment of its general purposes, namely, to define offenses, describing adequately the act which constitutes each offense relating to public health, to give fair warning to all persons concerning the nature of the conduct prohibited, and to forbid the commission of offenses.

1. A person commits the offense of obstructing government operations if he intentionally obstructs, impairs, or hinders the performance of a governmental function by a public servant, by using or threatening to use violence, force, or physical interference or obstacle. “Public servant” as used herein, means any officer or employee of the Town, whether elected or appointed, and any person participating as an advisor or consultant or otherwise performing a governmental function of the Town, but does not include peace officers.
2. It shall be an affirmative defense that:
   1. The obstruction, impairment, or hindrance was of a lawful action by a public servant; or
   2. The obstruction, impairment or hindrance of a governmental function was by lawful activities in connection with a labor dispute with the government.

1. It is unlawful to resist arrest or interfere with a peace officer. “Resisting arrest”: a person resists arrest if he knowingly prevents or attempts to prevent a peace officer, acting under color of his official authority, from affecting an arrest of the actor or another, by:
   1. Using or threatening to use physical force or violence against the peace officer; or
   2. Using any other means, which creates a risk of physical injury to the peace officer or another.
2. “Interfering with a Peace Officer”: a person interferes with a peace officer if he knowingly prevents or attempts to prevent a peace officer, acting under the color of his official authority, from effecting an arrest or pursuing an investigation, by:
   1. Using or threatening to use physical force or violence against the peace officer or another;
   2. Refusing or disobeying a request by the peace officer to withdraw from the immediate area of the peace officer to a reasonable distance from the officer to allow the peace officer to effect the arrest or pursue the investigation; or
   3. Using any other means, which create a risk or physical injury to the peace officer or another.
3. It is no defense to a prosecution under this Section that the peace officer was attempting to make an arrest or pursue an investigation, which in fact was unlawful, if he was acting under color of his official authority. A peace officer acts under the color or his official authority when, in the regular course of his assigned duties, he is called upon to make, and does make, a judgment in good faith based upon surrounding facts and circumstances that an arrest or investigation should be made by him.
4. The term “peace officer”, as used in this Section, means the chief of police or any police officer in uniform or if out of uniform, one who has identifies himself to the actor by exhibiting his credentials as a member of the Town police department, or one whom the actor knew was a Town peace officer at the time of the alleged offense.

1. A person commits the offense of obstructing a peace officer or fireman when, by using or threatening to use violence, force, or physical interference, or obstacle, he knowingly obstructs, impairs, or hinders the enforcement of the penal law or the preservation of the peace by a peace officer, acting under color of his official authority, or knowingly obstructs, impairs, or hinders the prevention, control, or abatement of fire by a fireman, acting under color of his official authority.
2. It is no defense to a prosecution under this Section that the peace officer or fireman was acting in an illegal manner, if he was acting under color of his official authority.
3. This section does not apply to the interference with a peace officer making an arrest or pursuing an investigation.

1. A person commits the offense of accessory to crime if, with intent to hinder, delay, or prevent the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for the commission of an offense under this Code, he renders assistance to such person.
2. “Render assistance” means to:
   1. Harbor or conceal the other, or
   2. Warn such person of impending discovery or apprehension; except that this does not apply to a warning given in an effort to bring such person into compliance with the law or
   3. Provide such person with money, transportation, weapon(s), disguise, or other thing to be used in avoiding discovery or apprehension;
   4. By force, intimidation, or deception, obstruct anyone in the performance of any act which might aid in the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of such person; or
   5. Conceal, destroy, or alter any physical evidence that might aid in the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of such person.

1. A person commits an offense if, knowing that a public servant, as defined in Section 9.12.020 Obstructing government operations, of this Chapter is legally authorized to inspect property:
   1. He refuses to produce or make available the property for inspection at a reasonable hour, or
   2. If the property is available for inspection, he refuses to permit the inspection at a reasonable hour.
2. For the purpose of this Section, “property” means any real or personal property, including books, records, and documents which are owned, possessed, or otherwise subject to the control of the defendant. A “legally authorized inspection” means any lawful search, sampling, testing, or other examination of property that is authorized by any provision of this Code or lawful regulatory provision.

A person, eighteen (18) years of age or older, commits an offense when, upon command by a person known to him to be a peace officer, he unreasonably refuses or fails to aid the peace officer in effecting or securing an arrest or preventing the commission by another of any offense.

1. A person commits the offense of compounding if he accepts or agrees to accept any pecuniary benefit as consideration for:
   1. Refraining from seeking prosecution of an offender; or 2. Refraining from reporting to law enforcement authorities information relating to the commission or suspected commission of any offense under any provision of this Code.
2. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this Section that the benefit received by the defendant did not exceed an amount which the defendant reasonably believed to be due as restitution or indemnification for harm caused by the offense.

A person commits the offense of false reporting to authorities, if:

1. He knowingly causes a false alarm of fire or other emergency to be transmitted to or within a volunteer fire department, ambulance service, or any other government agency which deals with emergencies involving danger to life or property; or
2. He knowingly makes a report or knowingly causes the transmission of a report to law enforcement authorities of a crime or other incident within their official concern when he knows that it did not occur; or
3. He knowingly makes a report or knowingly causes the transmission of a report to law enforcement authorities pretending to furnish information relating to an offense or other incident within their official concern when he knows that he has no such information or knows that the information is false.

A person who knowingly and falsely pretends to be a peace officer and performs an act in that pretended capacity commits the offense of impersonating a peace officer.

1. A person commits the offense of impersonating a public servant if he knowingly and falsely pretends to be a public servant, as defined in Section 9.12.020 Obstructing government operations of this Chapter, other than a peace officer, and performs any act in that pretended capacity.
2. It is no defense to a prosecution under this Section that the office the actor pretended to hold did not in fact exist.

1. Any person who knowingly aids, abets, or assists another person in custody or confinement and charged with, held for, or convicted of a violation of any provision of this Code, to escape or attempt to escape from custody or confinement commits the offense of aiding escape.
2. Escape is deemed to be a continuing activity commencing with the conception of the design to escape and continuing until the escapee is returned to custody or the attempt to escape is thwarted or abandoned.
3. “Assist” includes any activity defined as “rendering assistance” in Section 9.12.050 Accessory to crime of this Chapter.

1. A person commits the offense of escape if, while being in custody or confinement and held for or charged with a violation of any provision of this Code, or while being in custody or confinement under a sentence following conviction of such a violation, he knowingly escapes from said place of custody or confinement.
2. Any sentence imposed following conviction of this offense shall run consecutively and not concurrently with any sentence which the offender was serving at the time of the escape.