Sgt. Brian Muntean, who retired last week from the Massillon Police Department, wants to make resisting arrest a fifth-degree felony when an officer is injured.
MASSILLON After three police officers were injured in a five-day span, Sgt. Brian Muntean figured it was time to take action.
The officers were injured while making arrests when the suspects put up a fight. Muntean, who retired last week from the Massillon police force, believes the penalty for resisting arrest should be higher when an officer is injured.
Police records show Mike Manos was injured Dec. 8 when he tried to arrest a man wanted on a theft warrant. Manos chased and caught the man,who then forcefully broke away from him, causing injury to Manos' right shoulder.
Resisting arrest is a second-degree misdemeanor. If an officer is injured, it increases to a first-degree misdemeanor. The crime becomes a fourth-degree felony if the person shows a deadly weapon while being arrested.
Muntean wrote a letter to state Rep. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, hoping to change the penalty to a felony when resisting arrest results in injury to an officer.
"Resisting arrest is a big problem in the law enforcement profession," Muntean wrote to Schuring. "Often, it leads to injuries to officers, the suspect, and even bystanders who had nothing to do with the original incident."
Tougher penalty
Schuring received Muntean's letter Dec. 9 and responded that he would help draft a bill. This bill would change the penalty from a first-degree misdemeanor to a fifth-degree felony when an officer is injured during an arrest. The bill also would change the penalty for resisting arrest to a first-degree misdemeanor.
"We need to hold our law enforcement officers in high regard now more than ever," Schuring said. "They do everything they can to maintain law and order. I think we need to have a punishment that is commiserate with the action or the crime."
Massillon's Chief Prosecutor, John Simpson, said a second-degree misdemeanor can result in up to to 90 days in jail with a $750 fine. A first-degree misdemeanor where an officer is injured can result in up to 180 days and a $1,000 fine.
Simpson, who has been in practice for 33 years, said the first-degree misdemeanor for resisting arrest was added in the late '90s.
Simpson supports Muntean's effort to toughen the penalty because situations can quickly become chaotic when people don't follow the orders of officers.
"The officers have a tough enough job to begin with," Simpson said
Shuring said he would work with local judges and Muntean to draft a bill and have it ready for review by mid- to late-January.
'Piling on a charge'
Warner Mendenhall, a defense attorney in Akron, said such a change in legislation could have a variety of "problematic outcomes."
Mendenhall said he often sees people who are overcharged for criminal activity. A higher penalty could further the issue of overcrowded jails by adding an unnecessary charge that would extend the jail time of a person facing criminal charges.
"I don't think it's a necessary thing," Mendenhall said. "I think it's just piling on a charge. We already have jails full and bursting."
Mendenhall disagrees that the penalty for resisting arrest is not severe enough. He said a first-degree misdemeanor can result in up to half a year in jail if a judge rules the maximum penalty.
"If someone thinks six months isn't long, they should be locked in a room and be fed sandwiches for six months," Mendenhall said. "They'll learn how long it is. It is a serious punishment."
Mendenhall has two main concerns: those who are unlawfully arrested and those with mental health issues. If a person is wrongfully arrested, should he or she be charged with a felony, he asks. And if a person is not in his or her right state of mind, should that person receive a felony?
Affirmative defenses need to be added to the legislation to protect people who are wrongfully arrested, in an unstable mindset or those who acted out of fear for their life, Mendenhall said.
"I'm not saying that would make me support this law, but that would make it better," he said.
Muntean said even with the proposed penalty change, there would be cases when a person would not be charged when an officer is injured.
One of the three cases from early December exemplifies how police use discretion in their work, he explained. One of the injured officers was hurt during an encounter with a nursing home patient. Muntean said that person was not charged with resisting arrest.
Muntean said he has seen some arguments against his push to increase the penalty, and he's felt support. Even though Muntean retired on Wednesday, he plans to continue to work with Schuring throughout the process of drafting the bill.
"The words 'you are under arrest' are not negotiable," Muntean said. "That's not for you to decide. If you decide to fight with a police officer, the ramifications have to be there because it's dangerous, and it very well could end up in a death."
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