Maybe one of the lawyers here can explain it to me.

A friend of mine got jumped by Toledo Police last week. Basically, someone swung at him while he was in a club and he did the right thing--he left, albeit in a bad mood. There were 5 cops outside the club when he came out and they started following him. He fucked up and turned around to say "what do you want?" in an irritatted voice. They went after him, gave him the requisite amount of bruises, contusions and concussions and charged him with Resisting Arrest.

The case was dropped when he got to court, but he's still left with injuries, medical costs, court costs, and 80 bucks confiscated from his wallet. But he can still walk, and has only blacked out once, so there's not much to be done about it from this point.

So, coming back to the title question, what does "resisting arrest" mean. It seems to me that by definition, this charge would have to include an additional charge to cause the arrest, but it doesn't seem to work this way. Is "arrest" simply an order by a policeman to stop? And does the "resisting" part have to include physical resistance?

I smell a lawsuit.

i hope there were witnesses... if so, i think hes got a case... i believe you have to be charged with something and in the process of an arrest before you can resist arrest. Doesn't seem like that was the case.

The cases I've seen around here that have similarities to this always involve a trumped up Failure to Comply and/or Disorderly Conduct charge.

You're pretty much asking for a charge when you leave a bar and say "What do you want" to a cop in an asshole tone. It's like walking past cops while they are trying to handle a situation and saying "Fucking Pigs". Even if that is fucked up and wrong, and the cops have no right to do it, it's something that a little common sense will help you avoid.

Yeah, as far as he's concerned, the matter is over. Mistakes were made, lessons learned. He smartmouthed a cop while walking alone while black--dumb thing to do and not much that can be done without tape, witnesses or permanent physical damage.

Seems like 'resisting arrest' is just a euphimism for abuse of authority--I'm guessing a lot of cases get dropped at the courthouse. It sucks that you can get your head bashed in (semi-) legally just because you've had a bad night, but it happens.

Cops are scum. Plain and simple.

Who the fuck would sign up for that shit? Scum.

So, it wouldn't be a good idea to pull alongside an officer adjudicating a speeding/unsafe operation infraction & asking, "Need a citizen's assistance, Mr Officer?"

Another insightful generalization, sir. I know several people who are cops. I'm in no way best buds with any of them, but I wouldn't consider them bad people. You, on the other hand, are consistently a blowhard.

No, but I've seen plenty of cops tell bystanders to watch somebody as they are trying to settle things down. The incidences I was referencing occur when pedestrian/bike cops are trying to deal with a multitude of drunk college students and/or Football Fans.

I would have needed to be there to ascertain whether the friend was 'resisting arrest' or not. All I've got is hearsay to go on and that don't fly in a court of law.

They incite that generalization when they put on the uniform. It's no secret that cops ain't too bright, usually have violent tendencies, and get off on power.

The vast majority, at least 'round here, sign up just to kick black folks' heads in.