Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

I was watching the news and they were showing the police doing a sexual prediator sting at a house. Basically the prediator walked up to the door of a normal house. The moment they knocked the cops ambushed them. The cops were wearing face masks and not wearing a traditional uniform.

So my question is, if one of these guys freaked out that there was a mob of masked gun men coming at him and reacted by punching or god forbid they had a weapon and instinctively defended themselves. Is this still considered resisting arrest or battery on a Leo??

I could almost understand if they had a warrant for your arrest. And I understand the value of surprise.


Asked on 3/25/15, 7:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joseph Justice The Justice Law Firm

The battery on a law enforcement officer statute is actually just an enhancement of the battery statute that makes the crime more serious. In order to apply the person must be recognizable as a LEO. So an undercover or off duty officer wouldn't count. I'm not certain about the show, but usually in these situations the gear still identifies them as law enforcement but the general rule is they must have some clearly visible badge, patch, or insignia for the enhancement to apply.

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Answered on 3/25/15, 7:19 pm


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