Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 29-A
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 29-A, § 2414 (2026)

Refusing to stop for a law enforcement officer

✓ current as of May 2026
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1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.  
A. "Roadblock" means a vehicle, a physical barrier or other obstruction placed on a way at the direction of a law enforcement officer.   [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
B. "Signal" includes, but is not limited to, the use of a hand signal, siren or flashing emergency lights.   [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
2.  Failure to stop.  A person commits a Class E crime if that person fails or refuses to stop a motor vehicle on request or signal of a uniformed law enforcement officer.  
[PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §153 (AFF); PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. C, §12 (AMD); PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. C, §15 (AFF).]
3.  Eluding an officer.  A person commits a Class C crime if that person, after being requested or signaled to stop, attempts to elude a law enforcement officer by operating a motor vehicle at a reckless rate of speed that results in a high-speed chase between the operator's motor vehicle and a law enforcement vehicle using a blue light and siren.  
[PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §153 (AFF); PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. C, §12 (AMD); PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. C, §15 (AFF).]
4.  Passing a roadblock.  A person commits a Class C crime if the person, without authorization, operates or attempts to operate a motor vehicle past a clearly identifiable police roadblock.  
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
5.  High-speed chase policies.  All state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies must adopt written policies on high-speed chases.  
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
6.  Aggravating factor; eluding an officer.  A person commits a Class B crime if that person attempts to elude a law enforcement officer and another person suffers serious bodily injury, as defined in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 23, as a result.  
[PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §86 (AMD); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
7.  Aggravating factor; passing roadblock.  A person commits a Class B crime if that person passes or attempts to pass a roadblock and another person suffers serious bodily injury, as defined in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 23, as a result.  
[PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §87 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1993, c. 683, §A2 (NEW). PL 1993, c. 683, §B5 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 65, §§A153,C15 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 65, §C12 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 452, §§Q86,87 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 452, §Q87 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 452, §X2 (AFF).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 29 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case: State v. Lear, 722 A.2d 1266 (Me. 1998).
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State v. Lear, 722 A.2d 1266 (Me. 1998). · cites it 8× “” However, the court found that Strout: (I) was justified in stopping Lear based upon a reasonable articulable suspicion that Lear violated 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2414 (1996) 3 by refusing to stop for a law enforcement officer; and (2) was not conducting an interrogation at the time…”
Est. of Patrick P. Smith v. Cumberland Cnty., 2013 ME 13 (Me. 2013). · cites it 2× “Once the pursuit began, there is no dispute that the operator of the motorcycle was committing the crimes of failure to stop for an officer, 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(2) (2012); eluding an officer, 29-A M.”
State of Maine v. Anthony Lord, 2019 ME 82 (Me. 2019). · cites it 2× “§§ 211(1), 1158-A(1)(B), 1252(4), (5) (2018) ; and • Eluding an officer (Class C), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(3) (2018). Months passed between the filing of the indictment and the filing of the motion to suppress due to a motion for a mental examination and resulting report filed in…”
State of Maine v. Dale M. Brackett, 2023 ME 51 (Me. 2023). · cites it 5× “Brackett guilty of that offense and two misdemeanors—failure to stop for an officer (Class E), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(2), and criminal speeding (Class E), 29-A M.”
State v. Lemay, 46 A.3d 1113 (Me. 2012). · cites it 2× “§§ 209(1), 1252(4) (2011); eluding an officer (Class C), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(3) (2011); attempted escape (Class D), 17-A M.”
State of Maine v. Bartolo P. Ford, 2013 ME 96 (Me. 2013). “§§ 211(1), 1252(4) (2012), one count of eluding an officer (Class C), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(3) (2012), and one count of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer (Class E), 17-A M.”
State v. Stoddard, 1997 ME 114 (Me. 1997). · cites it 3× “683, § A-1 (effective January 1, 1995) and replaced by 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2414 (1996). 3 . See text of statute in note 2.”
Bartolo P. Ford v. State of Maine, 2019 ME 47 (Me. 2019). “§§ 211(1), 1252(4) (2018), one count of eluding an officer (Class C), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(3) (2018), and one count of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer (Class E), 17-A M.”
Ford v. State, 205 A.3d 896 (Me. 2019). “) sentenced him to twenty years' imprisonment, with all but nine years suspended, followed by six years' probation.”
State of Maine v. Richard J. Murray-Burns, 2023 ME 21 (Me. 2023). “§§ 211(1), 1604(5)(A) (2022); • one count of failure to stop (Class E), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(2) (2022); and • one count of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer (Class E), 17-A M.”
State v. One Blue Corvette, 1999 ME 98 (Me. 1999). · cites it 2× “§ 2411(1) (1996), and failure to stop, pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2414(2) (1996). At the time of his arrest, Audette’s license was under suspension for a previous OUI conviction.”
State v. Saucier, 2001 ME 107 (Me. 2001). “2000), and eluding an officer (Class C), 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2414(3) (1996), but his appeal is limited to the manslaughter conviction.”
Show all 29 citing cases →
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 29-A, § 2414(1)(A) — 1 case
State v. Milne, 2011 ME 83 (Me. 2011).
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 29-A, § 2414(1)(B) — 3 cases
State v. Blier, 162 A.3d 829 (Me. 2017).
State v. Lowe, 868 A.2d 168 (Me. 2005).
State v. Blier, 162 A.3d 829 (Me. 2017).
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 29-A, § 2414(1996) — 1 case
State v. Lear, 722 A.2d 1266 (Me. 1998). “” However, the court found that Strout: (I) was justified in stopping Lear based upon a reasonable articulable suspicion that Lear violated 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2414 (1996) 3 by refusing to stop for a law enforcement officer; and (2) was not conducting an interrogation at the time…”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 29-A, § 2414(2) — 11 cases
Est. of Patrick P. Smith v. Cumberland Cnty., 2013 ME 13 (Me. 2013). “Once the pursuit began, there is no dispute that the operator of the motorcycle was committing the crimes of failure to stop for an officer, 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(2) (2012); eluding an officer, 29-A M.”
State of Maine v. Richard J. Murray-Burns, 2023 ME 21 (Me. 2023). “§§ 211(1), 1604(5)(A) (2022); • one count of failure to stop (Class E), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(2) (2022); and • one count of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer (Class E), 17-A M.”
State v. Lear, 722 A.2d 1266 (Me. 1998). “” However, the court found that Strout: (I) was justified in stopping Lear based upon a reasonable articulable suspicion that Lear violated 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2414 (1996) 3 by refusing to stop for a law enforcement officer; and (2) was not conducting an interrogation at the time…”
State of Maine v. Dale M. Brackett, 2023 ME 51 (Me. 2023). “Brackett guilty of that offense and two misdemeanors—failure to stop for an officer (Class E), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(2), and criminal speeding (Class E), 29-A M.”
State v. Johnson, 2009 ME 103 (Me. 2009).
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 29-A, § 2414(3) — 19 cases
State of Maine v. Anthony Lord, 2019 ME 82 (Me. 2019). “§§ 211(1), 1158-A(1)(B), 1252(4), (5) (2018) ; and • Eluding an officer (Class C), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(3) (2018). Months passed between the filing of the indictment and the filing of the motion to suppress due to a motion for a mental examination and resulting report filed in…”
Est. of Patrick P. Smith v. Cumberland Cnty., 2013 ME 13 (Me. 2013). “Once the pursuit began, there is no dispute that the operator of the motorcycle was committing the crimes of failure to stop for an officer, 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(2) (2012); eluding an officer, 29-A M.”
State v. Lemay, 46 A.3d 1113 (Me. 2012). “§§ 209(1), 1252(4) (2011); eluding an officer (Class C), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(3) (2011); attempted escape (Class D), 17-A M.”
State of Maine v. Bartolo P. Ford, 2013 ME 96 (Me. 2013). “§§ 211(1), 1252(4) (2012), one count of eluding an officer (Class C), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(3) (2012), and one count of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer (Class E), 17-A M.”
State of Maine v. Dale M. Brackett, 2023 ME 51 (Me. 2023). “Brackett guilty of that offense and two misdemeanors—failure to stop for an officer (Class E), 29-A M.R.S. § 2414(2), and criminal speeding (Class E), 29-A M.”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 29-A, § 2414(4) — 1 case
State v. Milne, 2011 ME 83 (Me. 2011).
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