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Thursday 5 June 2014

Resisting arrest: Trinidad and Tobago

Q: I was recently arrested and charged with  assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. What punishment can I expect when I get to court?


A: According to s.59 of the Police Service Act 2006, as amended:

A person who assaults, obstructs, or resists a police officer in the execution of his duty, or aids or incites another person so to assault, obstruct, or resist a police officer or a person assisting the police officer in the execution of his duty, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten thousand dollars and to imprisonment for two years.

I do not suggest going to court alone because these are serious offences and you need a Lawyer to present your mitigating factors for sentencing. This basically means that the Lawyer would go to court to beg for leniency and explain why your sentence should be minimal. S/he would mention things like how many children you have, you being the sole breadwinner, illnesses, age, etc.

3 comments:

  1. The charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest (in combination and without other charges) are the two most commonly abused charges used by police officers to intimidate an individual.

    ReplyDelete
  2. can you be arrested for public urination?

    ReplyDelete

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